April Minutes
April Minutes
Democratic Party of Baxter County
Meeting Minutes
Baxter County Library
4/4/26
Chair Mary O’Shields called the meeting to order at 10:18 a.m.
Pledge of Allegiance: Shane led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance
Minutes: Called for any changes to March minutes. Called for approval of minutes. Johnny Rickman made the motion. Donnie Huffine 2nd and all were in favor. March minutes were accepted.
Treasury Report: Paulette Riley
As of the end of March 2026 and with ACT Blue contributions the ending balance is $12,407.97. Mary explained that we get funds from Contest Every Race ($200/month) which also goes towards electing Democrat candidates. Former treasurer Karen Breton reminded everyone that the group does not require dues but we accept donations. Direct donations can be made now or recurring ones via Act Blue.
Update: $520 collected at the meeting.
Chair Update: Mary O’Shields
Mary reported that the scholarship committee received three applications. Mary clarified that any Baxter County district can submit then. Micha Johnson, a scholarship committee member, spoke about how he has been spreading the word about the scholarship. The three applicants are academically impressive. The scholarship committee decided that, in addition to the two scholarships we were already going to award we would fund an additional scholarship making three scholarships total. This enables us to assist all three applicants. This year only Mountain Home school students applied. Next year we will work more diligently to inform other districts, such as Norfork and Cotter, about the scholarship.
Mary mentioned that the No Kings rallies are the only rallies that our group currently partners with. She spoke about the recent rally and how positive it was.
Mary spoke about future meeting plans including possible guests. She also spoke on the upcoming fundraiser to be planned for raising money for candidates. Booths for the Fair were also mentioned.
New Business:
Mary explained the process to elect delegates to attend the upcoming annual Democrat state convention and their purpose within the DPA. We need three women and three men plus one alternate.
Beth Vanderstek, Johnny Rickman, Micah Johnson, Kristin Johnson, Donnie Huffine, and Glenda Huffine showed interest with Carrie Huddleston as the alternate. Mary asked those in favor of these delegates to raise their hand;all were in favor. The annual convention delegates were elected.
In addition; Jim Kouns, Donnie & Glenda Huffine, and Mary O’Shields, our current delegates, were also unanimously reelected.
So as follows, our convention delegates will be;
Beth Vanderstek
Kirstin Johnson
Glenda Huffine
Johnny Rickman
Micha Johnson
Donnie Huffine
Alternate: Carrie Huddleston
And our state delegates will be:
Jim Kouns
Donnie Huffine
Glenda Huffine
Mary O’Shields
A campaign donation committee was formed, consisting of; Paulette Riley, Shane Tilley, and Donnie Huffine. They are tasked with coming up with options for donation amounts to local/state/national races.
They welcomed conversation and debate regarding where the donations will go. Mary also added that all opinions matter on this topic. Whether you’re new or have been in the group for a long time – if you have something to say please speak up. All opinions are valid.
The proposed options were presented by the committee:
Option A:
Hallie Shoffner-$1,000Fred Love- $500Kelly Grappe-$1,000Mary O’Shields- $1,000Micah Johnson $1,000Carrie Huddleston $1,000
Option B:
Hallie Shoffner-$1,000Fred Love- $500Kelly Grappe-$1,000Mary O’Shields- $1,500Micah Johnson $1,500Carrie Huddleston $1,500
Opinions included; ‘going bold’ with the higher option A. Jackie Leatherman made a motion to choose option A. Ann Glueck seconded. Before voting occurred, Mary spoke up proposing that we donate $1,000 total to Fred Love, the Democrat candidate for governor. Donnie explained that the current amount for Love was with the idea that we could donate more to him later if the polls move his way. He stated that the options proposed have a focus on local elections. Mary stated that her concern was that statewide candidates don’t always receive financial support from the state committee. She said she’s concerned that people will stop running for statewide positions without support. With that, the motion for Option A was withdrawn and a new motion was made by Jackie Leatherman to select an option similar to Option B, but amended to include a total of $1,000 towards Fred Love’s campaign. This new option was called Option C. Libby Stewart seconded the motion. All were in favor. The motion passed with Option C chosen.
Option C:
Hallie Shoffner: $1,000
Fred Love: $1,000
Kelly Grappe: $1,000
Mary O’Shields: $1,500
Micha Johnson: $1,500
Carrie Huddleston: $1,500
(with an option for donations to Terry Green in the future)
Announcements/Open Discussion:
Marketing manager Kirstin Johnson spoke to the group about the increase in followers to the Facebook page, a net increase of 71 followers, after the No Kings rally.
Mary reminded the group that we have Democratic Party of Baxter County t-shirts available for $20.
Remember two current petitions available for signatures at the Farmers Market each Wednesday and Saturday. If you would like to volunteer, contact Glenda Huffine.
Bob Bodenhamer spoke about how the recent run-off election went. He explained that the losing candidate from the Secretary of State Republican run-off requested a recount from seven different counties. Baxter county was one of these and he was happy to report that the hand count matched the original count. Bob thanked everyone for their help during this election.
Donnie Huffine spoke about the confusion at the polls if someone wanted to vote for local sheriff but were registered as Democrat. He said it was left to the poll workers to educate voters. He said education should have been provided by the state and not be left to poll workers. Bob spoke up to say yes, that happened, and poll workers did what they could to assist people.
Paula Stewart spoke about billboards that Ozark Forward and Like-Minded Women have worked to put up. They will continue to take donations for those. Signs can be found on Hwy 62 and on Hwy 5.
If you would like to discuss something or add something to the agenda please contact Mary at meaoshields@gmail.com or Jennifer at jennifer@baxtercountydemocrats.com and we will work to add that. Remember we allow time for discussion at the end of the meeting for these items.
Chair Mary O’Shields adjourned the meeting at 11:43 a.m.
DPBC Meetings: (1st Saturdays)
May 2nd: 10:15 Baxter County Library (300 Library Hill Ln, Mountain Home, AR 72653)
June 6th: 10:00 Back Forty (1400 Hwy 62 E, Mountain Home, AR 72653)
July 4th: No meeting
City Council Meetings: (1st and 3rd Thursdays)
Meetings take place at City Hall-720 Hickory St, Mountain Home, AR 72653
May 7th: City Hall 5 p.m.
May 21st: City Hall 5 p.m.
June 4th: City Hall 5 p.m.
County Quorum Court Meetings: (1st Tuesday)
Meetings take place at Baxter County Courthouse- 1 East 7th Street, Mountain Home, AR 72653
May 5th: County Courthouse 6 p.m.
June 2nd: County Courthouse 6 p.m.
July 7th: County Courthouse 6 p.m.
Mountain Home School Board Meetings (3rd Thursday)
Meetings take place at Central Office-2465 Rodeo Drive, Mountain Home, AR 72653
May 21st: Central Office 6 p.m
June 18th: Central Office 6 p.m
July 16th: Central Office 6 p.m
