MCRGO news from CARE - Concerned Activists for Reform and Ethics / 04

MCRGO activists notified of membership revocation.

February 5, 2004

Dear :

The MCRGO Board of Directors is of the opinion that you may have engaged in conduct materially and seriously prejudicial to the interest or purpose of the Corporation, or may have caused or intended to cause embarrassment to the organization. Under the provisions of the Bylaws, which are given below, you are provided twenty days from the date of this mailing of this letter to respond to this complaint. Following a review of the facts, if found to be true, the Board may revoke your membership by a two-thirds vote.

This action is governed by the requirements in the MCRGO Bylaws, which state in part as follows:

SECTION 7. TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP (PA 162 of 1982, 450.2304)

The membership of a member shall terminate upon the occurrence of any of the following events:

(3) After providing the member with a reasonable written notice and an opportunity to be heard either orally or in writing, upon a determination by the Board of Directors that the m ember has engaged in conduct materially and seriously prejudicial to the interest or purposes of the Corporation or caused or intends to cause embarrassment to the organization, or is in violation of its Bylaws or rules. A member will be given not less than fifteen days to respond to such complaint. If the Board of Directors, upon review of the facts, finds the complaint to be true, it may revoke the individual's membership by a two-thirds affirmative vote.

(4) A member whose membership has been revoked is barred from re-applying for membership for a period of 5 years from the date of revocation, and must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Board of Directors before membership may be re-established.

(5) All rights of a member in the Corporation shall cease on termination of membership as herein provided.

The Board does not wish to act precipitously, and will give full consideration to information you provide us. Please either write us at the above address or send an e-mail to me at shantzd@kirtland.edu

Sincerely yours,

Dale Shantz
President
MCRGO

FOSTER ZACK & LOWE, P.C.
LAWYERS

February 18, 2004

    RE: Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners

Dear :

    This letter is to advise you that the law firm of Foster Zack & Lowe, PC has been retained by several members of Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners.

    This letter is also, among other things, a response to the MCRGOs Board of Directors complaint sent to our clients on February 5, 2004. First, it is our position that your "complaint" is of absolutely no consequence or effect. Any notice concerning possible termination of membership must notify the respondent, with sufficient specificity, of the charges that are the basis of the "complaint" so that the respondent can formulate a defense for the hearing. Your defective "complaint" speaks only in self-serving conclusory statements. Before we respond to anything of this nature we demand that any notice set out the findings made by the Board of Directors upon which they based their "opinion." Also, a copy of the minutes of the Board meeting where this matter was discussed showing the Board findings and the vote of the Board to authorize MCRGOs President to send the February 5, 2004 letters. Once we receive a sufficient notice we will examine the specific allegations. Please note that if you go forward with this improper termination of our clients memberships we will file a mandamus action for immediate reinstatement plus costs.

    My clients also demand access to inspect and copy MCRGOs books, minutes, financial records and membership records. Financial records are to include information concerning income, expenses, and a list of bank accounts showing signature cards and locations. Membership records are to include the names and addresses of all past and current members, a separate list for past members and a separate list for current members. MCRGO shall provide copies of the books, minutes, and records list at no charge. Membership lists are to be in electronic format. The inspection shall take place February 27, 2004 at 4:30 p.m. at MCRGOs registered office. The purpose of the inspection and the copy of the records is for the proper purpose of seeking information; to determine the financial health of MCRGO; concerning compliance with state and federal by-laws; discrepancies between actual expenditures for tax line charges and operating budget; compliance with IRC Â§ 4958; and any other information bearing upon membership interests.

    We will contact the President of MCRGO on February 23, 2004 to confirm the 27th. If MCRGO refuses our clients rights to inspect and obtain copies, those rights will be enforced in the circuit court to compel production.

    The above is enough for now. We have sent this letter to all MCRGO Board members and the Executive Director because it is our position that they possibly have exposed themselves to individual personal liability.

    If you have a questions please do not hesitate to contact me. However I will not tell you anything different then what is in this letter.

Very truly yours

Foster Zack & Lowe, P.C.,

February 20, 2004

Dear Current and Former Members of MCRGO,

As you know there are a number of MCRGO members who are very concerned about the current state and future direction of MCRGO. Several of these very concerned members have retained a law firm in an effort to protect their membership rights and to compel inspection of MCRGO records and documents. The issues we are concerned about are too numerous to mention, however all of the concerns center on the management of MCRGO.

MCRGO members are entitled to a membership meeting to discuss the direction of the organization. In order to hold a special membership meeting there must be 250 members who want the meeting. If you are interested in righting this organization through a special membership meeting, please provide you name, e-mail address, mailing address, and MCRGO number to any of the following individuals. Your name will be forwarded to the Attorneys handling this matter for later contact. We are seeking membership support to add to this effort and restore MCRGO to its original status as a member driven grass-roots organization that works for the benefit of its members in furthering our Second Amendment rights.

Sincerely,

Steve DeFrain

John Johnson Jeanne Kidle Brian Kroll

Felix Li Neva Li Gary Skimin

James Vass

Proxy Form

		Steve DeFrain
John Johnson	Jeanne Kidle	Brian Kroll
Felix Li	Neva Li	Gary Skimin
James Vass