American Leadership Conference
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Simply, the ALC (American Leadership Conference) was the brainchild of former NAL GM Edward O'Kinneide. The notion was to foster ties between decision-makers in North America, thus (hopefully) allowing a long-term planning for mutual benefit. At least that was the idea.
In practice, the ALC itself has acted as a forum for airing grievances, for the occasional joint statement and the chance for attendees to get their names mentioned in the news. Since its creation in 1981, the ALC has met ever other year in a different city--New Orleans, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco have been the most popular. The Conference consists of 15 persons, representing most of the nations in the region. Each individual member nominates his or her successor which the Conference approves by majority vote. The 'term' for each member is two actual conferences. Among the initial members were Edward O'Kinneide and Ronald W. Regan. William Clinton is also a former member, as was Jorge Bush, his brother Jaime and Marc-Albert Mitterand. Roland Powell and R.J. O'Kinneide are among the current members.
Conspiracy theorists have sometimes tried to make much of the ALC, claiming it to be some kind of secret cabal. In the wake of the assassination of Jean-François Young, accusations have been made that elements of the ALC were somehow involved.
Probably of more significance is the American Leadership Conference Foundation (ALCF) which was created in 1985. The Foundation is a "think tank" dedicated to increasing ties between the various nations of the region. Some of their reports have included suggestions for tariff reform, for possible strategies in dealing with the Deseret insurgency, for contingency plans in case Florida-Carribea's territorial ambitions grew unacceptable, etc. They also organized considerable relief efforts following the Florida War and the destruction which occurred in the wake of the New Orleans Furacanoe. Funding for the Foundation comes from a variety of private sources, including the Bush family and several major corporations such as Pizza Queen and Air Louisianne. The current chair of the Foundation's board is Maureen Regan (born 1964), daughter of the late former General Moderator.
