U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn was sworn in to the Senate in January 2019.

Marsha Blackburn was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2018, and is currently serving her first term representing the state of Tennessee. Before her election to the Senate, Marsha represented Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District. Marsha’s public service is dedicated to promoting opportunities for women and making America a more prosperous place to live. Marsha’s leadership philosophy is based on her experiences in the private sector as a small business woman and author, as well as being a mother and grandmother. Marsha went to college on a 4-H scholarship and worked her way through school selling books for the Southwestern Company as one of their first female sales associates, and later as one of their first female sales managers. She then became Director of Retail Fashion and Special Events for the Castner Knott Company, which was a Nashville-based regional department store. Later, Marsha founded her own business, Marketing Strategies, which focused on the retail marketplace, as well as electronic and print media. Marsha began her career in public service in 1995 when she was named executive director of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment, and Music Commission. In 1998, she was elected to the Tennessee State Senate. In the state legislature, she earned a reputation for fiscal responsibility and government accountability by identifying waste and offering realistic solutions to Tennessee’s budget challenges. While serving in the Tennessee Senate, Marsha led a statewide grassroots campaign to defeat a proposed state income tax. The tax was defeated, and Marsha’s leadership earned her a reputation as an anti-tax champion. In 2014, the people of Tennessee passed an amendment to the state constitution to expressly prohibit a state income tax – a fitting cap to a 14-year battle. In 2002, Marsha was elected to represent the people of Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District based on her record in the state legislature. She brought her Tennessee values to Washington, DC, and became a leader in the fight for small, efficient federal government that is accountable to its citizens. As a Congressman, Marsha was often selected by her colleagues to lead the charge for principled conservativism. Her congressional career was also noted for her Chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, as well as bipartisan expertise in defending songwriters’ and performers’ rights. Marsha is a member of numerous charitable organizations and is an active member of her church, Christ Presbyterian. Marsha and her husband Chuck live in Williamson County, Tennessee. They have two children, Mary Morgan (Paul) Ketchel and Chad (Hillary) Blackburn, two grandsons, and a granddaughter. Originally from Laurel, Mississippi, Marsha is a graduate of Mississippi State University.

Advisory Council Member Sally Wagenmaker provides legal counsel in corporate, tax, employment, and real estate matters for nonprofits operating on local, national, and international levels. Her clients include churches and other religious organizations, social service providers, and schools.   Sally’s corporate and tax work includes development of new tax-exempt entities, providing guidance for effective nonprofit governance and other operational legal issues. In addition, she represents clients in property tax exemption matters for charitable, religious, and educational purposes, shared occupancy arrangements, and property transfers. Sally also regularly advises and counsels the firm’s nonprofit clients on employment matters including contracts, termination, employment policies, unemployment insurance, and compliance with other employment laws, particularly as they relate to nonprofit issues such as volunteers and clergy.   Prior to practicing law with Wagenmaker & Oberly, Sally was a partner with Mosher & Wagenmaker and also worked with the Chicago law firm of Hoogendoorn & Talbot. In addition, she worked as a solo practitioner, providing legal assistance to indigent and low-income clients primarily in Chicago’s west side neighborhood of North Lawndale. Sally lives in Chicago with her husband Dan, and they have two children in college.

Advisory Council Member Gil Baumgarten is a 35-year veteran of the securities and investment industry. After beginning his career at the venerable EF Hutton in the early 1980s, Gil became a top producer for UBS and Smith Barney; what is today Morgan Stanley. However, Gil found Wall Street routinely emphasized its own interests over those of the client. By the time 2010 came about, Gil jumped off the brokerage train to start Segment, a fee-only firm where the interests of the client could align with the interests of the firm.   Named one of the top-20 Exchange Traded Funds thought leaders in America by BARRON’S and the Wall Street Journal, Gil’s expertise is frequently recognized and called upon. He is a multi-year recipient of the BARRON’S Top 1,200 Financial Advisors distinction given to the best financial advisors in the United States; has been ranked by BARRON'S as one of the 35 best advisors in Texas; has been recognized by the Financial Times as one of the Top 300 Registered Investment Advisors in America; and is a perennial recipient of the Texas Monthly Magazine Five-Star Advisor award, which is based on an independent study of client satisfaction. Having participated as one of six beta-testers in a national UBS program on all-ETF portfolios, Gil is one of only a handful of professional money managers with a 16-year all-ETF portfolio track record. Beyond that, Gil has been a guest commentator on Bloomberg Radio and even hosted his own radio talk show called Dollars and Sense.   As an avid outdoorsman, Gil has traveled the world hunting and fishing. Gil excels at sports and activities involving precision. He was his university’s billiard champion and likes golf, archery, darts, skeet, and marksmanship. Gil is an award-winning woodworker, specializing in a particular art form called segmentation, from which the firm’s name is derived. Segmentation is the assembly of various species of wood, cut to fit in a precise pattern. This knack for precision extends to Gil’s investment strategies, where risk components and financial strategies are added and subtracted from client accounts with the same attention to detail.   Gil and his wife Sue are active members of Seven Mile Road Church in Houston. They are former resident house-parents of a ministry called LifeHouse where women who are experiencing unplanned pregnancies are provided housing, help, and hope. Gil and Sue are both present and past board members and volunteers of numerous charities including: Young Life, Young Lives, Coastal Conservation Association, LifeHouse, Star of Hope, Lamar High School Alumni Association board, National Christian Foundation, and others. Gil also serves on the corporate board of Blaze Portfolio Systems, an investment software provider. They have three children who have graduated from TCU, Ole Miss, and Pepperdine.

Advisory Council Member Cameron is founding partner at Eldon Pass. Eldon Pass is a family of mature operating companies and new ventures that aspire to do good in the world. We use relationships to mobilize human and financial capital to invest in, build up and operate businesses. Eldon Pass is focused in the lower middle market space, real estate and venture stage deals. As a serial entrepreneur, investor and advisor, Cameron has co-founded & invested in several tech enabled companies in multiple vertical markets such as healthcare, oil & gas, social media, video streaming, AI, big data, video / photo editing and manufacturing; the most recent transaction occurring with GoPro acquiring Splice, a company Cameron co-founded. Cameron's professional career started 15 years ago as an OB/Gyn physician and quickly pivoted towards the startup world with the co-founding and subsequent development of his first company, AirStrip - founded in his church parking lot and backed by several firms including being led by Sequoia Capital. Cameron has a BA from Brown University and an MD from the University of Texas Medical Branch.

House Bill 2213, introduced to legislation by Texas State Rep. John Frullo (District 84) would allow hunters to donate exotic game meats, such as Axis fallow deer, to be donated to nonprofit food banks, giving them the ability to feed more people. Current laws in Texas do not allow exotic game meat to be donated… Continue reading Texas House Bill 2213: Exotic Meat To Be Donated

Matt Gaetz, a member of the 118th Congress, is currently serving his fourth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. His work in Congress focuses on national security, veterans’ affairs, and adherence to constitutional principles. From Florida to D.C., Matt has lived up to his reputation as an outspoken conservative firebrand. Matt has been a prominent voice for uncovering corruption within the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation during his tenure in the US House, as well as fighting to advance former President Trump’s America First agenda for the United States on the House floor, on television, directly to his constituents during “Open Gaetz Days” or town halls, and most recently in a nation-wide America First tour. During the Russia Hoax and subsequent partisan impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, Matt was a staunch defender of the President and a fierce advocate for his acquittal. Matt spearheaded the charge for transparency during the Democrats’ partisan impeachment depositions by leading over fifty Republican colleagues into their secretive, closed-door impeachment inquiry to observe the proceedings. Matt was a tireless defender of President Trump and his vision for the United States during the Trump Administration, and continues to defend the former president. He has earned nicknames such as the “Trumpiest Congressman in Trump’s Washington” by GQ magazine and “the Trumpiest Congressman” by Rollin Stone, which he considers badges of honor. Matt has authored key pieces of legislation on foreign policy, veterans’ health care, immigration, climate change, and more during his nearly four years in office. In 2019, Matt introduced the “Green Real Deal,” a plan to address climate change by harnessing the power of free markets, embracing technological innovation and entrepreneurship, and cutting excessive governmental red tape. In 2020, he introduced the “PANDEMIC Act,” which mandates the deportation of all illegal aliens held in the United States when a national emergency related to a communicable disease is declared, and in 2020 he authored the “Ainsworth Act,” which allows centenarian military veterans to qualify for full pension benefits from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs regardless of their net worth. Prior to serving in Congress, Matt worked as an attorney in Northwest Florida with the Keefe, Anchors & Gordon law firm, where he advocated for a more open and transparent government. In 2010, Matt was elected to serve in the Florida House of Representatives to represent portions of Okaloosa and Santa Rosa county. He was chairman of the Finance and Tax Committee, where he authored and passed $1 billion in tax cuts, all while balancing the state budget and repealing or replacing over 4,000 regulations. Matt also served as chairman of the Criminal Justice Subcommittee, where he authored and passed some of America’s toughest penalties against violent sexual predators. Matt was born in Hollywood, Florida, to Don and Vicky Gaetz and grew up in Northwest Florida. He is a member of First Baptist Church in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Matt is married to Ginger Gaetz and has one son, Nestor, who he has described raising as “the most rewarding thing I’ve done in my life.” Since Northwest Florida is home to strategic military installations such as Eglin AFB, Hurlburt Field, and NAS Pensacola, Matt has made it a priority to ensure the military has extraordinary capabilities to protect America. During the FY2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Matt secured numerous provisions, including an amendment to increase the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) to service members in the district, and a $600 million in funding for Military Construction Projects throughout the district and enhancements to the Golf Test Range. Matt graduated from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary sciences. After finishing his undergraduate studies, Matt moved to Williamsburg, Virginia, to attend William & Mary Law School, where he received his Juris Doctorate.

A provision in the Johnson Amendment of 1954 to the US tax code that prohibits religious tax-exempt organizations from endorsing political candidates has been found unconstitutional as a result of a lawsuit filed by the National Religious Broadcasters and Intercessors for America against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  Both parties came to a consent judgment… Continue reading IRS Finds That Religious Organizations May Endorse Political Candidates Without Loss of Tax-Exempt Status