19 May 2011

18:03: President Bob Primeaux Called the meeting to order.

The pledge of allegiance was followed by the opening prayer offered by chapter chaplain Jim Kelly, and a moment of silence for POW/MIAs.

Minutes. The minutes from the 20 April meeting were read by the secretary. Bob Marshall took exception, stating he was in error at the last meeting when he said all present could vote. Greg Montalvo stated members must be in the national roster in order to be eligible to vote.

Jim Hanson made a motion to not accept the minutes. Bob Primeaux ruled him out of order. Jim took exception, stating he believed last month’s election of chapter officers should be reversed. He cited his rationale for questioning the last election.

State president Darrol Brown made the procedural point that there was a motion on the floor to act on the minutes. The motion carried (no second recorded). Secretary Michial Nolan stated he would amend April’s minutes to accord with Bob Marshall’s statement.

Vice president Bill Thomas stated he believed the questions about the election were aimed at him and President Bob Primeaux. He stated he would not stay where he is not wanted, announced his resignation, and left the meeting.

Jim Hansen was recognized and stated he wanted to discuss the election. Leonard Munoz asked why the chapter did not know the rules before the election. Bob Marshall stated it was his fault. This was the chapter’s first contested election and he should have anticipated the difficulties. Greg Montalvo disagreed w/ Bob Marshall, stating the chairperson of the election committee was responsible for the conduct of the election.

Bob Primeaux stated he spoke with Dick Southern, whose opinion was that because state president Darrol Brown was in attendance and the issues were not raised at the time, the election was valid. Greg Montalvo disagreed, stating he also spoke to Dick Southern, who informed him that the resolution of this dispute was up to the chapter.

Larry Mullins seconded a motion to accept the minutes with a correction as presented by Bob Marshall (no new motion recorded).

Darrol Brown suggested taking a poll to determine who in attendance was a member of the chapter. It was the responsibility of the Sgt at Arms to assure who is a member in good standing of the chapter. A head count was taken. Kenny Williams was recognized. He apologized to the chapter for not excluding the chairman of the election committee, who was unfit to serve at the time of the election.

Bob Primeaux called for more discussion. Larry Mullins asked if the issue was a challenge to the voters in the election or to the elected officers.

Greg Montalvo moved to hold a re-election in 6 days (25 May), seconded by Jim Hansen. Due to the convention schedules, the election results had to be in to national by July 15.

Ron Coleman stated he didn’t think we needed a new election.

Greg Montalvo argued the election was flawed because:

The election committee chair was unfit to conduct the election.

No national roster was on hand to confirm the eligibility of voters.

Members of AVVA voted.

James Stinson stated he believed we needed a new election.

Jim Hanson stated that if we decide to have a new election, all chapter members must be notified. Greg Montalvo confirmed that according to the President’s Handbook, members must be notified of upcoming meetings. James Stinson asked how they would be notified.

Larry Mullins asked who would be the opposing slate of officers (Bob Sperry and Gary Fink).

Darrol Brown took the floor, stating he had a couple of issues:

The chapter would need an election chair (never overtly stated but apparently the previous election chair was relieved).

He did not believe that a re-election could take place within a 6-day window.

We would have to gather the voters from the past election.

The motion for a new election must come from the winning side.

Bob Primeaux said it feels like the purpose of the new election is to impeach him. Rusty Bolton asked if we can verify who voted in the previous election. Greg Montalvo stated voters were not verified. James Stinson stated if there were no new election we would have a year of indecision.

Rick Shuster took the floor. He said he cared about veterans and our purpose and grants the same good faith to everyone in the room, and that we need to honor those who hold the responsibility.

Greg Montalvo stated he totally agreed as long as things are transparent. He feels like that is his central complaint. Bob Primeaux stated he was trying to do things right. Greg replied actions with the bank account were not transparent. Jim Hanson observed that the chapter has always been inclusive and his concern was that we were becoming exclusive.

Bob Marshall took the floor to state he believed he started the problem when he turned over the records to Bob Primeaux and Bill Taylor but destroyed the old check registers, which he said were irrelevant because all transactions were preserved electronically. He recounted events with the bank accounts since they were turned over, questioning in particular a check for $175. Bob Primeaux stated the check was for a money order for Fitzmorris.