Minutes

of the
Libertarian Party of West Virginia
Executive Committee Meeting

1998-07-11

13:00, Marion County Courthouse, Fairmont, WV

(Approved 1998-09-12)

Present

Executive Committee

Chair John Brown present
Vice Chair Richard Kerr, M.D. absent
Treasurer John Sturgeon present
Secretary David Wallace Croft present
1st District Chair Bob Jones absent
2nd District Chair Karl Swisher present
3rd District Chair Wallace Johnson, M.D. absent
VP/Membership Greg Henshall present
VP/Campaigns Joseph Whelan, M.D. present
VP/Public Relations Travis Raines present
VP/Finance Michael Todd, M.D. present
Historian Larry Durrette present

Members and Guests

John Welbourne, Ed BeLot, Carman Pizatilla, and Don Sconess.

Call to Order

Mr. Brown. Those present introduced themselves including, as guests, three residents of Marion County.

Reading and Approval of Previous Minutes

Mr. Croft. Convention business minutes read and approved.

Officer Reports

Treasurer

Mr. Sturgeon.

Collections 1998 $4,261.56
Payments 1998 $4,134.21
Net 1998 $127.35
Balance on Hand 7/10/98 $588.09

Vice Chair

Dr. Kerr. Absent.

VP/Campaigns

Dr. Whelan. Recommended the instructional tape "Flying Upside Down" for campaigners. Reported advising Mr. Croft on his campaign.

VP/Membership

Mr. Henshall. Introduced a WV quiz for attracting members. Dr. Whelan warned against "Vote Smart". Mr. Pizatilla, guest, brought up contacting registered Libertarians. Discussion of the failure of the State to distribute the new voter registration forms with the "Libertarian" option.

VP/Public Relations

Mr. Raines. A newsletter is forthcoming. Mr. Raines may be moving to another state. Mr. Croft mentioned that LPWV member Jeff Robinson is entering the publishing business. Discussion of converting the newsletters to HTML.

VP/Finance

Dr. Todd. Surveyed the ExeCom for ideas on fund-raising ideas and potential future expenses. A newsletter costs roughly $0.70 per issue. Mr. Brown addressed a question regarding the UMP: in the long run, the LPWV receives $12 of $25 from annual dues. Discussion of using fund-raising letters. Identified expenses for a potential budget included the post office box, the 1-800 number, the bulk mail meter, the newsletter, the convention, and the website. It was suggested that the LPWV should pay the initial registration fee for candidates. The use of receiving monthly pledges was discussed with mention that the LPVA is currently doing this. Dr. Whelan brought up the issue of "deep pocket entities" such as PACs. The four main income sources were identified as dues, fund-raising letters, individual donors, and events. Dr. Todd was encouraged to form a finance committee.

1st District Chair

Bob Jones. Absent. Mr. Croft announced his recent front-page newspaper interview and encouraged members to carbon copy the press on meeting announcements.

2nd District Chair

Karl Swisher. No report.

3rd District Chair

Dr. Johnson. Absent.

Old Business

None.

New Business

By a unanimous decision, a bylaw was created to add the office of Historian to the Executive Committee. By a unanimous vote, Mr. Larry Durrette was elected as the LPWV Historian.

Mr. Croft made a motion for a bylaw such that "No person shall be eligible to serve more than 2 consecutive terms in the same office." The motion was amended to "Commencing with the officer elections after January 1st, 2000, no person shall be eligible to serve more than 4 consecutive terms in the same office." The amended motion failed, 3 to 4.

The Executive Committe decided to reconvene in Wheeling on Saturday the 12th of September at 13:00. Mr. Brown volunteered to arrange for the meeting room.

Adjournment

Meeting adjourned.

David Wallace Croft, Secretary, LPWV