Thanks to Rory Marshall for the July Minutes!!-------The Webmistress

General Membership Meeting Minutes of WMSA

July 20, 2006

Missouri National Guard Armory, 2323 S. Crysler in Independence

The July General Membership meeting of Western Missouri Shooters Alliance was called to order at 7:22 PM., with Sheila Stokes-Begley, WMSA President, presiding and conducting the meeting. The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Sheila.

Sheila began by noting that WMSA currently has approximately ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in its treasury.

Next, she mentioned that there was a gun show coming up on the 28^th through 30^th of July. She requested help from those in attendance as volunteers to man the WMSA table on Friday evening and Saturday.

Regarding the upcoming election, Sheila told the group that Senator Jim Talent’s campaign staff was seeking locations suitable for posting large 4-foot by 8-foot campaign signs. If anyone has property rights and would be willing to have a sign posted to help Senator Talent, she requested that those persons contact a member of the board of WMSA. Their names and email addresses can be found at www.wmsa.net.

Sheila said that it was her understanding that Missouri legislators are likely, according to what she has heard from her own state representative, Rex Rector, to put forth bills to eliminate the “permit to acquire” law and to institute the new “castle doctrine” law. We are hopeful that the election will yield sufficient numbers of Missouri house and senate members to make these significant changes in Missouri law next session.

In new business, Sheila told the membership that the board of directors of WMSA is giving strong consideration to having radio advertisements produced and broadcast in Missouri. She read an example of the type of message that we’d like to get across to the listening public. She said that WMSA would be looking for a media consultant who can help advise and craft the advertisement. If anyone is aware of a person or group who has experience or training as a media consultant and who might be willing to assist, he or she is kindly requested to contact Sheila. We are considering using a radio station that broadcasts into forty-seven counties and that has 100,000 watts of transmission power. More details will be shared as more specifics emerge.

Sheila said that she received an email from Mark Pursell, WMSA membership chairman, requesting WMSA members who would be willing, to send needed “care package” items to a WMSA member who is currently serving our country in Iraq. His name is S.S.G. Jason Brown, HHC 506^th RCT, 101^st ABN DV, Alpha Co., 414^th CA BN, APO, AE 09390. If you’d like to see general information on the types of items that soldiers are currently requesting, point your Internet browser to http://anysoldier.com for examples of what is good to send and what is not good to send. We’re confident that this soldier would share extras that we send him with his fellow soldiers, so, if you wish to help, please feel free to do so!

Sheila reminded us, that on the WMSA website, there is the ability to order nice items that carry the WMSA logo. She said that it’s likely that some additional items with a somewhat different WMSA logo may be available soon. Here is the Internet address if you wish to view and/or order some nice items: http://www.cafepress.com/wmsa

Mention was made of WMSA’s upcoming picnic in commemoration of the organization’s seventeenth anniversary. Sunday, the 10^th of September is tentatively being considered as the date. Members are invited to view our website at www.wmsa.net for more complete information and to confirm the date as we get closer to September.

It was reported that Gary Davis, a WMSA past President, was currently hospitalized in Kansas City. We all wish him a speedy recovery!

Sheila told members that a young man in the Jackson county area was turned down from receiving a “permit to acquire” from the Jackson county sheriff’s office because he was unwilling to answer questions above and beyond what is required by Missouri law. WMSA members who wish to see what has been posted on this topic are invited to point their Internet browser to www.missouricarry.com and search for the post “I was DENIED a PTA!!!” It appears that this young man is planning to file suit in small claims court to force the sheriff’s department to comply with the law. Longtime WMSA members will remember that this is not the first time that we have had to have members file suit in small claims court to get the Jackson county sheriff to follow the law. Such lawsuits were required some years ago regarding forcing the sheriff to issues permits to acquire and more recently, because the sheriff was unwilling to follow the law and issue Missouri concealed carry permits to qualified NRA instructors. We wish Adam Petrie success as he attempts to secure a PTA. We are aware that there are others in Jackson county who are holding off buying handguns because they don’t want to answer questions which we firmly believe are being illegally asked of citizens by the sheriff’s department.

In attendance at the general membership meeting was Sergeant John Bullard, Jr., who ran for sheriff in Jackson county in 2004 and was narrowly defeated. Sergeant Bullard, while not yet ready to formally announce, told those in attendance that he was very likely to run again for Jackson county sheriff in 2008. He shared general information with the group and answered a few questions that those in attendance had for him.

Finally, Sheila reminded the group that Teresa Hensley, the current Cass county prosecutor, was scheduled to speak to WMSA members at the September general membership meeting.

No further business appearing, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 P.M.