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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 28, 2012: Hopewell
Township, Pennsylvania
Contact:
Maria Heil
Cell:
717-515-6048
Email:
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LOCAL WOMAN ON NATIONAL BALLOT
York
County Resident on Ballot for National Rifle Association Board of Directors
Maria
Heil, a New Freedom resident, has been a member of the National Rifle Association (NRA) for twenty-one years and has been a Life member since 2003.
Now she has decided it is time to become more involved and run for the NRA’s Board of Directors.
Mrs.Heil thinks of herself as an “accidental activist” stating, “I never intended to get involved to the level that I have. I was satisfied shooting and hunting
with my husband and children, but when I realized that some people want to take away our freedom to own guns, and by extension our right to defend ourselves by
the most effective means possible, that’s when I got involved.”
Mrs. Heil has been a Second Amendment activist since 2000 when she joined Second
Amendment Sisters (SAS), which was founded in response to the so-called “Million Mom March.” Mrs. Heil was the SAS
National Spokesperson for four years.
As a result of her role with SAS, Mrs. Heil was featured as the pro-gun mother in the
PBS-aired documentary Guns and Mothers. She became a writer and speaker supporting Second Amendment rights with
appearances on national shows such as CBS’ Sunday Morning, C-Span’s Washington Journal,
NRA News’ Cam & Company, NBC’s The John Walsh Show, and Oprah’s Pure Oxygen and was interviewed by
numerous media outlets throughout the United States as well as overseas. She is a past Contributing Editor for Women & Guns Magazine.
Mrs. Heil is currently a Local Committee Woman, the Treasurer for a county-wide
political club, and a member of the Executive Committee for a county-wide political committee. She has been active
in the successful election campaigns of Pro-Second Amendment candidates resulting in the recent expansion of Pennsylvania’s Castle Doctrine protection.
Mrs. Heil served as the White Rose Friends of NRA Committee Co-Chair in 2007 and is currently a White Rose Friends of NRA Committee Member.
In a letter to NRA Voting Members, found in the voting section of the NRA’s February magazines, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne La Pierre states…
”To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, remember what your vote means: It assures that theNRA remains an Association of the members, for the members and by the members.”
From her home in Southern York County Mrs. Heil states, “I see myself as just an average NRA member. My husband and I work every day to earn a living. We have
raised four children who value this country and the freedoms we enjoy. Yes, I’ve gotten involved in this battle to preserve our rights and perhaps have
done a little more than most folks would, but I cannot just stand around and watch our rights being assaulted.”
In her quest to be placed on the NRA ballot, Mrs. Heil spent countless hours talking with NRA Members at gun clubs, gun shows, Friends of NRA dinners, and
at political events. “There are only seven of us on the ballot that collected signatures from voting Members to secure a spot on the ballot. I think it’s important to
spend time talking with other NRA Members, listening to their concerns and thoughts. Gathering petition signatures is an excellent opportunity to connect
with the NRA Membership.”
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Background Information-
There are 76 seats on the NRA Board of Directors. Each year 25 seats are up for election to a 3-year term and one seat is filled for a 1-year term by a vote of
members present at the Annual Meeting. There are 31 nominees on the ballot this year.
NRA Voting Members are Lifetime Members and Annual Members with five or more consecutive years of membership. They also must be at least 18 years of age and
citizens of the United States of America. The Voting Members are entitled to vote for no more than one person for each seat, so they may vote for up to 25
of the 31 people on the ballot this year.
There are two ways to get on the ballot. One way is to be nominated by the Nominating Committee and the other way is to get on the ballot by
petition. The petition process requires the collection of at least 250 valid Voting Member signatures.
The ballots for the NRA Board of Directors can be found in the Member’s February edition of their NRA magazine if they are a Voting Member. The February NRA
magazines started arriving in mailboxes around January 23rd.
This year the 141st NRA Annual Meeting and Exhibits will take place in St. Louis, Missouri April 12-15. |
