Didn't Jim Gilley become President of 3ABN?

Government filings say otherwise

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On September 6, 2007, Danny Shelton and Jim Gilley announced on a 3ABN broadcast that Danny Shelton was stepping down from the presidency and Jim Gilley was taking his place. Many thus believe that things are different now at 3ABN, and unquestionably they are.

Yet as to who is president of 3ABN, various official documents filed by 3ABN send contradictory and confusing messages.

Papers filed with the State of Michigan

Each year 3ABN is supposed to file an annual report with the state of Michigan, reports which can be viewed on a website belonging to the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth ("DLEG"). As can readily be seen from the website, sometimes 3ABN files these reports a year late.

On September 26, 2007, Larry Ewing, as 3ABN's Director of Finance, signed 3ABN's 2007 annual report, which then arrived at the DLEG on October 1 and was filed on October 5. Attached to the form was a list of 3ABN's officers and directors, and in that list Danny Shelton was twice identified as being president of 3ABN.

DLEG's instructions for the annual report state:

The information on the report or statement (officers/directors, purposes, resident agent, registered office, etc.) should reflect information as of the due date of the report.

Thus, according to 3ABN's annual report, Jim Gilley had not yet become president as of October 1, 2007. (The due date of annual reports for non-profit corporations is October 1.)

As can be seen from DLEG's website, 3ABN as of September 1, 2009, had not yet filed their 2008 report. Thus, it cannot yet be seen from this source whether Jim Gilley had become president of 3ABN by October 1, 2008.

Papers filed with the FCC

On October 9, 2007, Jim Gilley as 3ABN president signed an application filed with the FCC, in order to get approval for the sale of K58DL, a station in Yakima, Washington.

On April 1, 2008, Jim Gilley certified that he was president of 3ABN in an ownership report filed with the FCC. (See page 10.) Danny Shelton is listed on page 4 of the ownership report as 3ABN vice-president, and Jim Gilley is listed as 3ABN president on page 7.

Thus it is clear from the above documents that Jim Gilley was president on October 9, 2007, and on April 1, 2008.

Papers filed with the State of Florida

Each year 3ABN is supposed to file an annual report with the state of Florida, reports which can be viewed on a website belonging to the Florida Department of State. These reports are due by May 1 each year, according to instructions for filing the annual report.

On April 16, 2008, Brian Hamilton, 3ABN's new Director of Finance, filed the 2008 annual report. Hamilton certified as if under oath that the report was "true and accurate." The report identified that there had been a change of officers, that Hamilton was now treasurer instead of Larry Ewing.

Yet Danny Shelton was listed as still being president:

The instructions for the annual report contain the following:

Step 10: You may list up to six (6) principals (i.e., officers, directors, managers, managing members, etc.) on our computer database. If you have more than 6 principals, please enter the 6 principals you want listed on our data base. If you have more than 6 principals, please contact our office for special filing instructions. At least 1 principal must be provided. Enter or change the names and street addresses of the principals in the spaced provided. There are four spaces provide in the "title" field for each principal. Use abbreviations to designate the title(s) for each individual listed. Use "P" for president/pastor; "V" or "VP" for vice president; "S" for secretary, "AS" for assistant secretary; "T" for treasurer or trustee; "D" for director; "C" for chairman or clerk; "CEO" for chief executive officer; "CFO" for chief financial officer; "MGR" for manager; "MGRM" for managing member; etc. A person may serve in more than one capacity. For example, use the letters "PST" for an individual who is president, secretary and treasurer.

Thus, the "PD" listed as Danny Shelton's title on the annual report indicates that Danny is 3ABN's president as well as a director, as of April 16, 2008.

No report filed after that date is available on the Florida Department of State's website, indicating that no report has been filed since the above date, as of September 1, 2009.

So who's president?

So who's president? That depends on which filing made by 3ABN that you go with. Or perhaps Jim Gilley and Danny Shelton are both president. Who knows?

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