Fairfax, VA – On the Nationwide Rifle Affiliation’s 2024 Annual Conferences & Displays, the NRA Board of Administrators elected Doug Hamlin, then govt director of NRA Publications, to function the group’s new CEO and govt vp following the resignation of Wayne LaPierre. You’ll be able to hear straight from Hamlin and his imaginative and prescient for NRA right here in his personal phrases. In only a few months, Hamlin has tackled the job with enthusiasm and vigor and is shifting forward with initiatives that may renew the Nationwide Rifle Affiliation and set it heading in the right direction for the long run. His new function comes after a lifetime of service and dedication, first as a United States Marine after which as a longtime presence within the firearm trade.
“I’m a Midwesterner at coronary heart. I’m from the good state of Michigan,” NRA CEO & EVP Doug Hamlin mentioned. “At a younger age, I had excessive hopes to be a U.S. Marine, and I used to be lucky to get that chance. I served on energetic obligation for six years as an infantry officer, and I additionally was on recruiting obligation.”
Following his work as a Marine Corps recruiting officer, the place he performed an necessary function in officer choice, Hamlin set his sights on the firearm trade.
“At the moment, I used to be launched to the Petersen Publishing Firm via pals who had been working for the corporate in Michigan,” Hamlin mentioned. “And since I used to be based mostly in Los Angeles, I used to be in a position to apply there and ended up going to work for Weapons & Ammo journal within the late ’80s and had a beautiful 14-year run there.”
Hamlin ultimately moved as much as work because the writer of MotorTrend, the flagship publication of the Petersen Publishing Firm. With the Web taking off within the Nineteen Nineties, Hamlin embraced the digital age and based autoMedia Options, a non-public firm devoted to offering up-to-date automotive information and knowledge to trendy shoppers.
“Finally, although, I used to be recruited to come back to the Nationwide Rifle Affiliation in 2014 as the chief director of Publications,” Hamlin mentioned. “And that has clearly been the spotlight of my profession up so far.”
As a divisional director on the Nationwide Rifle Affiliation, Hamlin has labored with different leaders and staffers inside the group, giving him a eager familiarity with all components of the NRA. Moreover, he acknowledges the distinctive place the group has inside our nation.
“The NRA has honorable historical past going again to 1871. We’ve had 9 U.S. presidents as members,” Hamlin mentioned. “We’ve had Medal of Honor recipients as presidents of the group. We proceed to rejoice, culturally, our heritage.”
In its greater than 150-year historical past, the Nationwide Rifle Affiliation has develop into the world’s largest and only advocacy group for firearm homeowners. Its broadly recognizable model and monitor document of success makes it an important a part of the firearm neighborhood.
“The return on the funding the members have made within the NRA is plain,” Hamlin mentioned. “The clout that now we have on Capitol Hill, it comes from our membership. The NRA Institute for Legislative Motion is the gold customary in political lobbying in Washington. They win.”
In the present day, Hamlin has one aim: develop the Nationwide Rifle Affiliation. The energy of the NRA has all the time been in its members, and with an growing membership, plus elevated participation from present members, the group will likely be an much more highly effective advocate for the rights of firearm homeowners nationwide.
“There’s no query that we’ve contributed to society, and we’ll proceed to take action,” Hamlin mentioned. “We wish you to go to NRA.org, be part of, get your mates to resume their memberships, donate to our group, study concerning the applications which are obtainable, and assist the group. We’d like you to come back dwelling. We’d like you now greater than ever earlier than.”
Included in 1871, the Nationwide Rifle Affiliation is America’s longest-standing civil rights group. Along with our thousands and thousands of members, we’re proud defenders of historical past’s patriots and diligent protectors of the Second Modification.
Comply with the NRA on Fb, Instagram, and X (Previously Twitter).