ADVANCE
AGENDA FOR THE 2001 USCF BOARD OF DELEGATES MEETING
FRAMINGHAM,
MA, AUGUST 11 and 12, 2001
I.
CALL TO ORDER BY USCF PRESIDENT TIM REDMAN.
II.
ROLL CALL OF DELEGATES.
III.
IN MEMORIAM. A moment of silence
remembering those from the chess community who have passed on. Please give the Secretary the names of
those whom you wish us to remember.
ADM
01-01. (Harold
Winston, IL) The Delegates re-elect as Delegates at Large those whose terms are expiring or have expired and who are present
at this meeting. (Names to be filled in.)
ADM
01-02. (Executive Board). Proposed change of the Alaska State Affiliate.
ADM
01-03. (Doris Barry,
NJ/AZ and Tim Redman, TX). The
Delegates approve the advance agenda.
ADM
01-04. (Tim Redman, TX). The Delegates approve the standing rules.
ADM
01-05. (Tim Redman, TX). The Delegates affirm the appointment of Mike Nolan as the
Parliamentarian for the 2001 Delegates’ Meeting.
IV. Ratification.
ADM
01-06. (Harold
Winston, IL) The Delegates ratify all actions of the Executive Board appearing
in Minutes published in Executive Board Newsletters and the Delegates' Call /
Annual Report, between the 2001 and 2002 Delegates' Meetings.
ADM 01-07. (Bill Goichberg, NY) The Delegates refuse to ratify EB 01-69,
which authorized the signing of the Games Parlor contract by a 5-2 vote (Smith
and McCrary opposed), and require that copies of this contract be distributed
to all Delegates present at the Delegates meeting for review. $
[The presence of this sign means that
the motion has a financial impact.
Refer to the analysis by the CFO in a separate memo.]
ADM 01- 08 (Eric C. Johnson PA) The delegates hereby
instruct the office to immediately make available copies of the recently
concluded contract with Games Parlor, such that every delegate at this meeting
shall be provided a paper copy of the agreement prior to the end of this
meeting.
$
V.
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE 2000 DELEGATES' MEETING.
ADM
01-09 (Doris
Barry, NJ/AZ): Moved, that the Minutes of the 2000 Delegates' Meeting be
accepted as published.
VI.
CERTIFICATION OF ELECTION RESULTS.
ADM
01-10 (Doris
Barry, NJ/AZ): Moved, that the election of Executive Board members for the
2001-2005 term be certified.
VII. REPORTS OF USCF OFFICERS AND STAFF.
A. Report of the President.
B. Report of the Executive Director.
C.
Report of the Charitable Trust (Harold Winston)
D.
Report of the Editor of Chess Life.
E.
Report of the Vice President of Finance.
1.
Report of the Finance
Committee (Chair, Leroy Dubeck)
2.
Presentation of the Planning Budget for fiscal year 2002.
3.
Consideration
of motions that have significant financial impact.
ADM
01-11
(Mike Goodall, CA-N) Move that the annual rating list be restored to the
December issue of CL. $
ADM
01-12
(Mike Goodall, CA-N) Move that the annual yearbook be restored to the April
issue of CL $
ADM 01-13
(Co-sponsors: ( Bruce Draney, Neb.; Eric
Johnson, PA) This ADM is only to be considered if Bruce Draney
obtains delegate credentials for the Framingham meeting, otherwise it is
withdrawn.) In 2002, the USCF shall
resume printing an Annual Rating List and Annual Yearbook in Chess Life.
The Annual Rating List shall be included in the December issue of the 2002
Chess Life and the Annual Yearbook shall be included in the May or April 2002
Chess Life. $
ADM 01-14 (Harold Winston IL)
The
issue of Chess life that appears in April shall contain the names and addresses
of current USCF Delegates and Alternate Delegates. $
ADM 01-15 Lawrence
Cohen, IL) As Article II Section I of the USCF bylaws states: The Federation
shall cooperate with schools, colleges, hospitals, military bases, community
centers, recreation departments, and other groups and institutions, in teaching
chess, conducting tournaments, and other activities." It is proposed that
the USCF compile a nationwide list of players and volunteers to teach chess and
or run chess programs. This list would then be used to refer clubs,
schools, community centers, recreation departments and other
groups/organization to these Chess Mentors. It is hoped that this would lead to
further development of chess play in general and possibly increase the number
of chess clubs and chess club attendance in the U.S. $
ADM 01-16 (Co-sponsors:Bruce Draney NE, Eric Johnson, PA) This ADM is only to be
considered if Bruce Draney obtains delegate credentials for the Framingham
meeting, otherwise it is withdrawn.)
The USCF shall appoint or create a network of regional contact
representatives throughout the country. These people shall be volunteers
and will answer letters, e-mails or telephone calls about tournaments, the
USCF, and questions about how to join or become members or acquire USCF
services. These Regional Reps must agree to allow publication of their
phone numbers, addresses, and e-mail addresses so that new or prospective
members can contact them. $
Secretary
ADM 01-17 (Doris Barry,
NJ/AZ) Article VI Section 8
Duties of Secretary -Replace language with the following . The secretary
shall approve and have input into the selection and engagement of a
stenographic service and/or a stenographer to attend and record each meeting of
the Executive Board. The secretary
shall review the transcript of each Executive Board meeting and post the
transcript minus "closed session" discussion of each Executive Board
meeting on the USCF website. If any member wishes to pay for a hard copy of the
transcript minus closed session, he or she may do so for the cost incurrred by
clerical and mailing. Other methods that produce a real time transcript may
also be considered by the secretary.
Rationale:
The secretary is in the best position to evaluate the competence of the
stenographer. It would be less costly and more efficient to retain the same
stenographer, without incurring agency costs.
ADM 01-18 (Doris Barry, NJ/AZ) The stenographer
shall be directed to prepare a full official transcript of each regular and
special meeting. The secretary will furnish each Board member with a disk containing
the closed session and e-mail a complete copy of the transcript minus “closed
session” to each Board member. Electors shall be provided with a copy of the
minutes in an "Executive Board Newsletter" distributed by the USCF
office six to eight weeks after each regular meeting of the Executive Board.
Electors who wish to receive the transcript (minus closed session material)
should advise the office of their e-mail address
Rationale
To mail hard copies of the transcript to fellow Board members and electors
would be very costly. Transcripts include closed session material that cannot
be distributed beyond the Executive Board. Disks are easily copied and can be
altered to remove closed session material. In addition the cost of postage is
minimal. E-mail transmission of the transcript is highly recommended as the
most cost efficient and timely. In order to facilitate e-mail transmission,
electors are requested to furnish their e-mail addresses to the secretary. $
ADM 01-19 (John McCrary,
SC) Article VI, Section 8 of the USCF Bylaws is amended as follows: In
the subsection dealing with the Secretary's duties, delete the first five
sentences, and replace them with these sentences: " The Secretary shall
prepare Minutes of all Executive Board meetings, Delegates' Meetings, and
Membership Meetings. The Secretary shall post those Minutes, after Executive
Board review, on the USCF website and shall mail the Minutes to all
Delegates and Alternate Delegates within six weeks of the meetings."
Delete the last two sentences in Article VI, Section 8 in the subsection
dealing with the Secretary's duties.
Rationale:
This would eliminate the requirement for stenographic transcripts, which have
cost about $15,000 this past year. The transcripts contain substantive transcription
errors which alter statements and motions, and could put the USCF at legal
risk. Audio taping is vastly cheaper and arguably more reliable. $
ADM
01-20
(Myron Lieberman, AZ) TLA Fees and Rating Fees. The minimum rating fee for a
tournament advertised in a TLA is the cost of the TLA (up to 6 lines) or the
minimum rating fee for the same tournament without a TLA, whichever is higher.
Payment
of the minimum rating fee as defined above is due with the placement of the
TLA. If the TLA contains more than 6 lines, the entire TLA fee, regardless of
the number of lines, is due with the placement of the TLA.
If
the total rating fee for a tournament exceeds the minimum rating fee as defined
above, the difference is due with the rating report for the tournament. If not,
no additional payment is due with the rating report. $
ADM 01-21
(Co-sponsors:Bruce Draney Neb &Eric
Johnson, PA) This ADM is only to be considered if Bruce Draney obtains
delegate credentials for the Framingham meeting, otherwise it is
withdrawn.) The Delegates, as the
official governing body of USCF, reclaim all powers of price setting, dues,
fees and rates for CL advertising and TLAs. The only exception to this is that
the ED or the Board may, at their discretion, institute special promotional
memberships, incentives or rates so long as they are not substantially (i.e.,
more than five percent) different than those rates set by the Delegates. Promotional rates may not run longer than
one year in any case, unless such promotions have been approved at the annual
meeting of the Delegates.
ADM
01-22
(Harold Winston, IL) Pursuant to Article III, Section 9 of the Bylaws, the
Delegates have reviewed the promotional memberships offered by the Executive
Board for 2000-2001 and authorize their continuation.
ADM 01-23 (Eric Johnson,
PA) The delegates hereby affirm the principle that TLAs comprise a vital and
intrinsic part of the content of the printed version of Chess Life. The
office is hereby instructed to take active measures to solicit and print as
many TLAs as possible in each issue, after first establishing sustainable price
levels for this service by working through appropriate governance channels. The
delegates explicitly renounce and forbid any announced office strategy or plan
that would include the diminution, elimination or discouragement of paid TLAs
in printed form, including but not limited to proposals based on the aesthetics
of Chess Life or its attractiveness to unnamed sponsors or advertisers.
The delegates hereby affirm that Chess Life's priority mission is to
communicate organizational news to all USCF members, including news about
upcoming local USCF-rated events.
ADM 01-24 (Tom Martinak, PA, and the Affiliate and
Membership Growth Committees). The
following is accepted as the new USCF policy on TLAs: [Note that what follows is a mixture of committee report,
sponsor’s rationale, and new policy. I
believe the intent is clear so I have chosed to run it as submitted. Tim Redman] I have two goals in this proposal: 1) To make it financially
feasible to run small to medium size chess tournaments; 2) To minimize the
workload for the organizer/affiliate and the USCF office. Since most organizers of these small
tournaments are volunteers (or at best receiving less than minimum wage) we
must not give them reasons to quit organizing events, as that will inevitably
lead to reduced USCF membership. The basic idea is to return to something
like the pre-Cavallo structure, where TLA fees were collected as part of the
rating fee.This reduces the typical number of communications between the
organizer and the USCF by 33% and the number of checks to be written (and
processed) by 50%. This makes things
simpler for the organizer and reduces USCF staff workload without reducing the
number of tournaments. After this was
originally changed, the deadlines for TLAs had to be increased by 5 days due to
this increase in workload/communication.
I
give an example of the necessary rating report form below. I am basically trying to make it as simple
and fair as possible. For that reason,
I have eliminated the differences for quick/regular and open/scholastic pricing
and have used as a base rate the current lower figure of .10/game. Since the cost of rating the event does not
differ for these options, there seems to be no reason to have different prices
(and the resulting confusion for inexperienced organizers). The TLA fee will then be based upon a
multiple of the base bill. So, in essence, the TLA fee is proportional to
the size of the event - which correlates well with the benefits provided by the
USCF in supplying interested viewers of the TLA. In addition, the size of the TLA will set minimum prices for
rating the event, so as to encourage organizers to produce the minimal length
TLA appropriate to their event. After a
TLA is processed by the USCF office, they would fill in lines 2 and 7 on the
form sent to the organizer with his proof TLA.
I
would also recommend eliminating the $2 crosstable fee and only send
receipt/return requested for those enclosing a SASP, so these lines would be
unnecessary on the rating report form. There is also the Professional
Players Health and Benefit Fund (as far as I know the USCF Tour has never
actually existed other than a brief promotion). If the Grand Prix is continuing, then the Enhanced Grand Prix
mandatory contribution is also needed in this form. In that case I would suggest changing it to be a multiple of
three times the Base Bill rather than basing it on the number of players. Games rather than number of players is
simpler and also probably fairer as you don't have questions about counting
house players, cross-section players, etc.
The
middle billing part of the rating report form would be changed to this:
1. Number of
rated games played (minimum 60) Subtotal_____________
2. TLA minimum
number of games (10/line + 5/line for each additional appearance in CL/SM) Subtotal_____________
3. Billable
games - enter the greater of lines 1 and 2 above Total_____________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Base Bill
(multiply line 3 by .10) Total
Due $_____________
5. TLA charge
(if TLA submitted, multiply line 4 by 2) Total
Due $_____________
6. Manual
Rating Report submission charge
Total Due
(if Rating
Report is not submitted electronically, then enter amount from line 4) Total Due_____________
7. Manual TLA
submission charge (if TLA is not submitted electronically, then add
$1/line)
8.
Professional Players Health and Benefit Fund Enhanced Grand Prix fee
(multiply line
4 by 3)
Total Due _________
9. Grand Total
(sum of lines 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 above) $_____________
Comments on
changes/numbers:
1.
Elimination of $2 crosstable fee - this is built into the price of rating the
event. It is in the interest of the
USCF office for all organizers to receive the crosstable for their events. The organizer is in the best position to
catch and correct mistakes and it will be simpler for the USCF staff to deal
with the organizer (who has event codes, etc.) rather than concerned
players. It also allows the USCF to
recommend that concerned players first contact the organizer rather than the USCF.
2.
I have tried to design the system so that the net income to the USCF will be
roughly equivalent to the current system.
In addition, I have specifically tried to avoid including hidden raising
of fees. For scholastic events without TLAs, scholastic organizers sending in
on disk will still see .10/game rating fee and those submitting by hand will
still see a .20/game fee. In order to merge scholastic and open pricing
schedules, open events without TLAs will see fees decrease from .30 to .20 per
game and those submitting on disk will see a drop from .15 to .10 per
game. However, the TLA fees will often
balance this effect. Without complete data about tournaments, I can only
summarize my rough view on the costs. For
tournaments with less than 300 entries, it should be roughly equivalent to the
pre-October TLA prices. For events of
300-500, it should be roughly equivalent to the current prices. For events with over 500 entries, it will be
more expensive, but those are largely "professional" events and the
increased costs should be balanced somewhat by the increase in use/size of
TLAs. And it should be roughly
equivalent to an inflation-adjusted pre-Cavallo system. Basically for open tournaments sent in on
disk we have the equivalent of a .30/game rating fee - a 25% raise from the
earlier .25/game rate.
COMMITTEE
ADDENDA TO MARTINAK PROPOSAL:
ADM 01-25 (The
Affiliate Committee and the Membership Growth Committee). The following are added to the new USCF
policy on TLAs.
Each affiliate is entitled to
4 free TLA insertions of up to 5 lines each, if submitted electronically in
composed form. This means 2 TLAs with 2
insertions each, 4 TLAs of 1 insertion each, or one TLA of 2 insertions and 2
of one insertion each.
Any affiliate which agrees
not to receive Chess Life is entitled to one additional TLA insertion of up to
5 lines instead.
For TLAs of over 20 lines,
there is a surcharge of $5 per line for each line over 20 (half price for
additional insertions), which must be paid regardless of what the rating fee
is.
TLAs of over 60 lines are considered
display ads.
Affiliates may choose either
Chess Life, School Mates, or both for their free TLAs. However, placing the same TLA in both
magazines counts as two insertions.
If the USCF office feels that
it is more efficient, then they have the option of requiring that the minimum
TLA payment be made with the TLA and any balance due be paid later with the
rating report.
It is recommended that USCF
offer online TLA submission via its website, using a program that will track
usage by each affiliate. This should
avoid the problems of having to count free TLAs and of matching rating reports
to TLAs. $
ADM 01-26 (Sponsored by the
Affiliate and Membership Growth Committees)
If the USCF office and or Executive
Board finds that it makes software implementation easier (by removing TLA
formatting for the billing process), or allows organizers to more easily
calculate their bill, the USCF office can change calculations for TLA charges
from “lines” to either “words” or “characters
(with spaces)”.Values should be replaced at the rates of “12 words/1line” or 72
characters (with spaces)/1 line”. For the convenience of organizers, values
equivalent to those that can be calculated by Microsoft Word or other suitable
word processing program should be used. $
ADM 01-27 (Harold
Winston, IL)
Tournament
life announcement fees shall not be increased except by a vote of the Executive
Board.
ADM 01-28 (Jim
Pechac,OH) DEBT REPAYMENT PLAN: The
delegates endorse the $665,000 seven year debt repayment plan developed by the
CFO and VP Finance and approved by the EB and LMA committee. $
ADM 01-29 (Jim Pechac,OH) BUILDING REPAIR AND MODERNIZATION: The
delegates support a building repair
and modernization plan for the New Windsor facility as the most practical means
of maintaining the value of this LMA asset.
The LMA management committee should actively work with Operations to have this work completed during fiscal
2002. At a minimum the following should
be addressed.
Parking
Lot
Pointing
Ceiling
tiles
Carpeting
Painting
Lighting
ADM 01-30 (Jim Pechac OH) BUILDING MORTGAGE: The
delegates encourage Operations to actively search for bank financing in fiscal
2002. The delegates authorize
Operations to secure such financing by mortgaging the New Windsor building,
with prior approval by both the EB and the LMA committee. All proceeds from building financing must be
returned direct to the LMA for resolution of LMA debt. Building financing will be reported as a
loan on the Operations financial records.
All payments on building financing will be made by Operations direct to
the bank. $
ADM 01-31 (Jim
Pechac,OH) (LINE OF CREDIT: The
delegates authorize Operations to shop for a line of credit loan – maximum $50k
- for inventory management purposes.
Collateral for the line of credit contract is restricted to
inventory. The contract must be
reviewed and approved by the CFO prior to being signed by the ED. Use of the credit line requires
justification by the ED, approval by the CFO, and approval by he EB. $
ADM 01-32(Jim
Pechac,OH) QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORTING: Summary USCF Financial reports will
be placed on the USCF Website on at least a quarterly basis. Reports will be prepared by the CFO and
approved by the ED and the VP Finance.
ADM 01-33 (JimPechac OH) LMA INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO: The
LMA Investment statement as a pdf file, provided by Investment Custodian, will
be placed on the USCF website at least quarterly.
ADM 01-34 (Jim Pechac,OH) EIGHTEEN MONTH
INVITATIONAL EVENT BUDGET: An eighteen (18) month (June, 20xx – November 20x1)
budget planning process will be used to authorize funding for invitational
events. The budget will be developed
annually by the Office and approved by the ED, EB and Delegates. The last six months of the budget will be
reevaluated and adjusted by the ED with CFO and EB approval at the Spring EB
meeting based on financial and other considerations. The purpose of the six month budget extension is to provide the
office with authority to make timely financial commitments to invitational
participants during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year.
ADM
01-35
(John McCrary, SC) The Board of Delegates overrides and rescinds
EB
01-70, regarding the reduction of book and equipment offerings, and calls for a
return to a more comprehensive book-and-equipment policy that addresses the
larger needs of our members.
Rationale:
The Executive Board, by a slim 4-2-1 vote, endorsed a major strategic change in
one of the USCF's most important membership services, without Delegate
consideration. This change is resulting in dropping the number of books in the
catalog from 300 titles to only 45. $
ADM 01-36 (John
McCrary, SC) The Board of Delegates requires the continuation of the USCF
correspondence chess program.
Rationale:
The correspondence chess program is a major membership and retention incentive
to thousands of specialists, while nearly breaking even on direct and staff
costs due to its revenues. However, some Board members have argued for its
elimination by the office. $
ADM O1-37 (Anthony
Cottell NJ) There shall be formed a new New York state non-profit corporation
to hold the all assets of the LMA (Life Members' Assets). $
If
the above motion passes, the following motions are to be considered
individually:
ADM 01-38 (Anthony Cottell, NJ) The name of the corporation will be
the LMA Trust, Inc. and shall have a fiscal year ending December 31.
ADM 01-39 (Anthony Cottell NJ )
The assets to be held are, but not limited to, land, building, cash, mutual
funds, stocks, bonds, notes receivable, certificates of deposit and any
other assets heretofore not presently known to the Delegates.
ADM 01-40 (Anthony Cottell NJ) The
corporation shall be incorporated prior to December 31, 2001and the assets
specified in three (3) above shall be transferred free and clear of any liens,
mortgages, encumbrances prior to March 31, 2002.
ADM 01-41 (Anthony Cottell NJ)
The initial temporary board of directors shall consist of all past
Presidents and Treasurers.
ADM 01-42 ( Anthony Cottell NJ
) The temporary board of directors shall conduct a mail ballot of all living
life members within six (6) months of date of incorporation to select a ten
(10) member board of directors.
ADM 01-43 (Anthony
Cottell NJ) Any life member who has not been convicted of a felony and is
a citizen of the United States is eligible to vote in the election of the board
of directors, and to serve on the board of directors.
ADM 01-44 (Anthony Cottell)
The LMA Trust, Inc. shall purchase a full page in Chess Life to
announce the names of the individuals requesting to serve, along with a
twenty-five word biography. $
ADM 01-45 (Anthony
Cottell NJ) The election of the board of directors will be by mail ballot and
counted by a recognized professional counting organization.
ADM 01-46 (Anthony Cottell) The
newly elected ten (10) member board of directors shall
implement agreements with the United States of America Chess Federation to
receive all life
and
sustaining members dues money and to enter into other agreements for office
rent and
payment
of LMA assets to the USCF to defray the cost of direct benefits accorded the
life
and
sustaining members.
ADM 01-47 (Anthony Cottell NJ)
The elected members of the board of directors shall employ
such professional help as needed to properly protect the LMA assets and shall
issue certified
audited
financial statements yearly.
ADM 01-48 (Myron Lieberman AZ)
Non-confidential BINFOs are to be made available via e-mail without cost to any
Delegate or Alternate that asks to receive them. This is to be done by setting
up a read-only mailing list and adding to the list anyone who wants to receive
the BINFOs
via
e-mail.
Rationale - When BINFOs were first established anyone could request to receive
copies of non-confidential BINFOs for the price of postage and printing. That
should still be the case for printed copies delivered by mail, but today
neither printing nor postage nor office expense in making a postal mailing are
needed. Simply create a read-only e-mail mailing list of the people who are to
receive (but not respond to) BINFOs. They can be e-mailed in real time with no
significant extra work or expense per recipient. Note that very few people
subscribed to the printed version and the information is public
information. $
ADM 01-49 (Co-sponsors:
Sam Sloan, N.Y.; Eric C. Johnson, Pa.) The following ADM is only to be
considered if Sam Sloan gains Delegate credentials for the Framingham meeting,
otherwise it is withdrawn.Article III, Section 3 of the USCF Bylaws are hereby
amended to state: Any person under 15 years of age and a resident of the
United States (or if he or she submits his or her membership through a USCF
affiliate) may become a Scholastic Member of the Federation upon payment of $15
for one year, $25 for two years or $35 for three years. $
ADM O1-50 (Mike Goodall NCA & Eric Johnson PA for Sam Sloan NY) That
Affiliate commissions are set as follows: Each affiliate shall receive a
commission of 10% for signing up a USCF
member and submitting the member's dues to the USCF, with the exception of life
membership dues. The affiliate commission is to be deducted by the affiliate
from the dues sent by the affiliate to the USCF. The affiliate may voluntarily
waive such commission. $
ADM 01-51
(Co-sponsors: Bruce Draney, Neb.; Eric C. Johnson, Pa.) This ADM is only
to be considered if Bruce Draney obtains delegate credentials for the
Framingham meeting, otherwise it is withdrawn.
Resolved that the Delegates shall restore a $3.00 commission to affiliates for
the sale of a $40.00 Regular adult membership, beginning on January 1, 2002.
Rationale:
Adult regular membership is critical to our survival and has dropped from
32,900 in 1995 to the present level of only 26,600 (April 2001). While USCF
need not offer commissions to affiliates for sales of other memberships, the
need to stop shrinkage and encourage growth in this profitable membership
category makes it imperative that we do something positive. $
ADM 01-52 (Sponsored by
the Affiliate Committee and the Membership Growth Committee). The USCF Affiliate Incentive Program is
discontinued, and there shall be a $3 affiliate commission on each adult
membership instead, effective January 1, 2002.
We recognize that this change will entail some cost. We believe that it
is important to help affiliates and to restore a feeling of partnership between
them and USCF, and that this will benefit the federation financially in the
long run. However, in this fiscal year, the cost may exceed the monetary
benefits.
Affiliate commissions are a more worthwhile program than many other USCF
expenditures. We suggest to the Delegates and the Executive Board that
the estimated cost of the above motion be covered by some or all of the
following:
1. Reducing advertising done at USCF expense for US ChessLive.
2. Eliminating the mailing of binfo packages to Delegates and Alternates
unless specifically requested, and posting significant USCF governance
information on the USCF website instead.
ADM 01-53 (Tom Dorsch NCA,Steve Doyle NJ) Any and all loan or credit agreements of any kind must be signed by the
Executive Director AND the USCF President.
ADM01-54 (Steve Doyle NJ, Tom Dorsch NCA) No loan agreement may encumber the LMA assets, either cash,
investments, or building and property.
ADM 01-55,
DM-00-51, NDM-00-25 (Jim Pechac, OH) Revise Article 1X: Sundry Bylaws by adding the statement: The
Federation will publish an annual report subsequent to each fiscal year
end. The report will contain, among other
thing, a complete presentation of the audited financial statements.
ADM 01-56 (Harold
Winston, IL and the Bylaws Committee)
Add to Article IX the following:
The
Federation will publish an annual report within four months of the end of the
fiscal year. The report will contain,
among other things, a complete presentation of the audited financial statements. (Amends DM 00-52)
ADM01-57,
DM-00-52, NDM-00, 26 (Jim Pechac, OH)
Revise Article V1: Executive Board duties to include that the Vice President of
Finance will review and approve all financial reports, including all financial
information presented in interim and annual reports, prior to publication and
release.
Referred to Finance and Bylaws.
ADM 01-58 (Harold
Winston, IL and the Bylaws Committee) Add to Article VI, sec. 8 VICE PRESIDENT
FOR FINANCE
The
Vice President for Finance shall review and have the right to comment on all
financial reports, including all financial information presented in interim and
annual reports, prior to publication and release. (Amends DM 00-52)
Comment: The intent is that the VP for finance have
an adequate opportunity to comment, the right be exercised timely, and the
comments appear with the reports.
ADM01-59 (Jim Pechac, OH) The Executive Board is
authorized by the Delegates to hire an accounting firm.
ADM01-60 (Jim
Pechac,OH) The 2001-2002 budget as
presented by the Vice President of Finance and as modified by any of the
motions above is adopted, with a projected surplus (deficit) of _______.
VII. REPORT OF THE ZONAL PRESIDENT Jim Eade & FIDE DELEGATE Bill Kelleher &
FIDE Vice-President Steve Doyle
Drug testing
ADM
01-61
(Mike Goodall, NCA) Move that drug tests at chess tournaments be prohibited.
ADM O1-62 (Mike Goodall
NCA & Eric Johnson PA for Sam Sloan NY)
That the United States Chess Federation shall not require, participate in or be
in any way
involved
in any program which involves the drug testing of chess players. No chess
player
shall
ever be required to submit to any drug or anti-doping test as a condition for
participating
in
or receiving a prize in any chess event rated, conducted or reported by the
United Chess
Federation.
No chess event held anywhere within the territorial jurisdiction of the United
States
of
America shall require or be involved in the drug testing of chess players in
any way whatever.
ADM 01-63 (Bill
Goichberg NY, Joel Benjamin NY)
Mandatory
or random drug testing is prohibited at all USCF-rated events.
USCF’s
FIDE representatives are instructed to actively campaign at all FIDE meetings
against
the practice of requiring drug testing at
any chess tournament or match.
ADM 01-65 (Bill
Goichberg NY and Harold Winston IL)
1) USCF's FIDE
representatives are instructed to actively campaign at all FIDE meetings
against any efforts by FIDE to require a time control faster than 3 hours per
player for the World Championship cycle, the Olympiad, or any privately held
tournaments.
2) USCF's FIDE representatives are instructed to actively campaign
at all FIDE meetings against any efforts by FIDE to outlaw the use of USCF
rules or USCF pairing procedures in FIDE rated tournaments in the United
States, for to require organizers to turn over prize money to FIDE for the
purpose of having FIDE award prizes
ADM 01-66 (Bill
Goichberg (NY).
The U.S. Championship shall continue to have a time control no faster than 3
hours per player- for example, 40/2, SD/1. It shall be USCF policy not to
use the "New FIDE Time Control" of 40/75, SD/15 with a 30 second
increment for the U.S. Championship, even if this is required by FIDE.
Delegate
Committees:
ADM 01-67 (Harold
Winston, IL and the Bylaws Committee)
Add to Article VI, section 4:
“In contested elections for the Executive Board, a campaign statement of
up to 110 words for each candidate will appear in the Chess Life issue
published (not later than June 20) (not
later than June 15) (approximately June 1)
(Amends part of DM 00-34)
Comments:
The Delegates will choose one of the three parenthetical alternatives. The committee believes a time specification
rather than a cover issue month should be included in the motion.
ADM 01-68 (Harold Winston, IL and the Bylaws
Committee) Amend Article V, section 4 as follows:
States
Chapters shall submit an ordered list of nominees and the ballots shall list
the State Chapter nominees in that order;
State
Chapter nominees shall have a special symbol on the ballot and shall appear
ahead of other nominees;
ADM 01-69 (Harold Winston, IL and the Bylaws
Committee) Amend Article V, section 5 as follows:
Candidates who receive no votes are not elected Delegates or Alternate Delegates.
ADM 01-70 (Harold Winston, IL and the Bylaws
Committee) Amend Article V section 6 as follows:
If
no one is elected by a State, vacancies exist which can be filled by the State
Chapter.
ADM 01-71 (Harold Winston IL and the Bylaws Committee) Add to Delegates’ Actions of Continuing
Interest:
STATE
ELECTION PROCEDURES
Ballots
should indicate that voters may vote for up to as many persons as there are
positions to fill. To minimize ties,
State Chapters are encouraged to nominate more persons than there are positions
to be filled.
ADM 01-73,
DM-00-47/ADM-00-64 (Jerry Hanken, SCA)
Members of USCF Committees shall not be paid for committee work without
the authorization of the Delegates.
They may continue to receive reimbursement for expenses. Referred to Bylaws
Delegate
Committees (continued):
Ethics (Chair, Hal
Terrie III)
LMAC (Chair, Tom
Dorsch)
EB Committees presenting written
reports:
Affiliate
Committee (Chair,
Bruce Draney)
Arnold
Denker Championships (Chair, Jack Mallory)
Chess
in Education (Chair, Javier Pinedo)
Club
Development (Chair, Harvey Lerman)
College
Chess (Chair,
Alan Sherman)
Correspondence
Chess (Chair,
Harold Stenzel)
FIDE
Advisory (Chair,
Sharon Burtman)
Hall
of Fame (Chair,
Bob Dudley)
ADM 01-74 (Eric C. Johnson, PA) The
delegates endorse the nomination and induction of Anthony E.Santasiere
into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame, citing his accomplishments as a player,
writer, and overall chess celebrity during the founding years of the U.S. Chess
Federation.
Internet/
Computer (Chair,
George John)
ADM
01-75
(Mike Goodall, NCA) Move that US Chess Live be shut down until a server without
spyware is found.
Master
Affairs and Development (Chair, Selby Anderson)
Membership
Growth
(Chair, Bill Goichberg)
Military
Chess
(Chair, David Hater)
Olympic
Participation Task Force (Chair, Sharon Burtman)
Organizers
(Co-Chairs,
Denis Barry, Lee LaFrese)
Outreach
(Chair,
Myron Lieberman)
Prison
Chess (Co-Chairs,
Steven Frymer, Norman Zemke)
Publications
(Chair,
Selby Anderson)
Ratings
(Co-Chairs,
Mark Glickman, Frank Camaratta)
ADM
01-76
(Mike Goodall, NCA) Move that all changes in the rating system be voted by the
Delegates.
ADM
01-77
(Mike Goodall, NCA) Move that rating floors be abolished.
ADM
01-78
(Mike Goodall, NCA) Move that bonus points, feedback points, activity points
and all other types of "fiddle points" be abolished.
ADM 01-79 (Bill
Goichberg NY and Frank Camaratta AL).
Major changes in the USCF rating system shall require approval by the Board of
Delegates. Minor adjustments of a technical nature may be made without
Delegate approval, if endorsed by both the Executive Board and the Ratings
Committee. Some examples of major changes: institution of activity points,
abolition of or large increase or decrease in bonus points, abolition of or large increase or decrease in the use of rating
floors.
ADM 01-80 (Robert Karch, WA)
Move
that the USCF Rating classes below expert be re-named “Amateur” and the letter
“A” be used following the numbered level for each class. For example, “class A”
changes to “1A”, “class D” changes to “4A” etc.
Rationale:
More than one old time player whose rating has dropped over the decades has
expressed to me his embarrassment at having to tell family and friends that he
is now a “class D” (or lower) rated player.
ADM 01-81 (Harold Winston IL) Prompt processing of
USCF memberships and rating reports by the USCF office is essential. In support of that goal, for the next two
years every Executive Board Newsletter, Delegate Call, and Binfo mailing to
Delegates shall include the current processing time of USCF memberships, disk
rating reports, and paper rating reports. ( For example: memberships are being
processed within 3 days of receipt, disk reports within 4 days, paper reports
within 7 days)
Rules (Chair, Al
Losoff)
Scholastic
Committee and Council (Co-Chairs, Steve Shutt, Pat Hoekstra)
Senior
(Chair,
Dr. Joseph Wagner)
States
(Chair,
Guy Hoffman)
TD
Certification (Chair, Tim Just)
Women's
Chess (Co-Chairs,
Alexey Root, Forrest Marler)
EB Committees not presenting written
reports:
Cramer
Awards/CJA (Chair,
Peter Tamburro)
Fast
Chess
(Chair, Garrett Scott)
Grandmaster
Affairs (Co-Chairs,
Anjelina Belakovskaia, Alex Yermolinsky)
U.S.
Championships (Chair, Sophia Rhode)
ADM 01-82, ADM
00-65
(Jerry Hanken, SCA) The Delegates call upon the Executive Board to appoint an
unpaid, volunteer Rulebook Revision Committee.
X.
GENERAL ORDERS
ADM
01-83 (Doris
Barry, NJ/AZ) Each member of a
Delegate-appointed committee shall be voted on individually.
Rationale:
The Delegate appointed committees require a greater responsibility than other
committees. At the present time a list of candidates is predetermined by a
small representative body of the membership.
The delegates are asked to vote on a group without the option of making
individual choices Delegates should have the opportunity to volunteer, suggest or
choice committee members individually..
Bylaws Committee (Names to be filled in.)
ADM 01-85 The Delegates appoint the
following people to the Ethics Committee. (Names to be filled in.)
ADM
01-86 The
Delegates appoint the following people to the LMA Committee. (Names to be filled in.)
Any motions referred to the Delegates
by the USCF Membership Meeting.
ADM 01-87 (Doris Barry,
NJ/AZ) Article VI Section 4 Replace
language with the following: A USCF member shall be eligible for nomination to
an elected office on the Executive Board upon submitting to the secretary by
April 1, of an election year, his or her own valid petition containing the
signatures of 30 or more voting members. Each candidate will submit his or her
petition with no more than one candidate per petition. Candidates are
required to make a statement of intent to serve, if elected by, signing their
own petition or submitting a statement of intent and willingness to serve if elected.
No employee of the USCF is eligible to serve on the Executive Board. (Eliminate
"full- time")
Rationale:
It is incumbent upon each candidate to collect their own signatures. Visiting
tournaments and attendance at clubs not only gives the candidate an opportunity
to express his positions, it also gives the candidate an opportunity to get
feedback from the voting members, making him or her a better informed candidate
and a more effective board member if elected. If candidates are not willing to
exert the effort to gather their own signatures, what can be expected of their
effectiveness if elected to the Board.
ADM
01-88 (Denis
Barry, NJ/AZ) Glenn Petersen is named a Life Alternate Delegate. (Motion requires 75% and must pass again
next year).
ADM
01-89 (Hal
Terrie, NH) No round of the U.S. Open may be scheduled to conflict with the
Delegates Meeting.
ADM 01-90 (Hal Terrie,
New Hampshire) All bids for the U.S. Open must include the so-called
"traditional" schedule as an option (under which only one game per
day is played). Other schedules are permitted but no bid may be considered
which entirely eliminates the one game per day option.
ADM 01-91 (Hal Terrie,
NH) The Delegates strongly recommend (but do not require) that the USCF seek to
organize the U.S. Open under the 12 round format at least one year in every
three.
ADM 01-92 (Myron Lieberman, AZ) National
Championship Teams and Individuals who finish first in any section of any USCF
National Championship tournament are entitled to be considered as national
champions for the category of the section in which they competed. Although only
the winner of the Open or Championship section is to be recognized as the national
champion for the tournament, winners of all sections can legitimately claim the
national championship for their section.
Example: The winners of age, grade, or
rating categories in national championship tournaments are to be considered
national champions for their age, grade or rating for that event.
Rationale: If a player or team enters a
particular section in a national championship tournament and wins the section,
that player has won a national event which was open to all players or teams in
that specific category. As such, that player or team deserves publicity as the
national champion for that category. While USCF does not need to include the
winners of each section of an event when documenting who won the event it is
very important that outside publicity recognize as many players and teams as
possible. This is especially true in scholastic events where the more titles
and trophies that are won the more schools will support their chess teams and
the more exposure and acceptance chess will have within the local community.
Consideration of section winners as national champions for their category does
not in any way weaken the prestige of the overall winners but provides
motivation and prestige for many more people
ADM 01-93 (Tim Just,
IL) Motion, Organizers and tournament directors will not be billed for either a
USCF membership or any special per game tournament fee for players that present
valid USCF membership receipts from other organizers and tournament directors,
as long as USCF is provided with the ID number of the affiliate issuing the
receipt. If possible a copy of the receipt should be forwarded to USCF
with the tournament report.
Rationale:
The USCF currently spends time and effort trying to get organizers and Tournament
directors to pay for a membership or pay a special rating fee (currently $2)
per game of any player presenting a valid membership receipt issued by other
organizers and TDs that have collected those fees but did not pass them along
to USCF. Instead of spending time and energy in pursuing those fees from the
organizer it blames for accepting a valid receipt, the USCF could spend that
time and effort in getting those fees from the organizer or TD that issued the
receipt. It is unfair for other organizers and TDs to pay the price for
the issuing organizers
ADM 01-94 (Tim Just,
IL) If the previous ADM fails: the USCF will no longer print membership forms
as the receipts are invalid. Rationale: It saves money not printing forms that
have no use.
ADM 01-95 (Sophie Rohde NY)
Proof of USCF Membership Submitted By Tournament Directors
Tournament Directors shall require players who are not listed in the Rating
Supplement as having current USCF memberships, but who attest that they have
previously paid their USCF dues, to provide the Tournament Director with the
specific dates, payment amount and individuals to whom the player paid their
membership dues. The USCF Office shall accept this information from the
Tournament Director as proof that the Tournament Director has complied with the
USCF's membership requirements for those players.
ADM 01-96 (Rachel and Myron Lieberman AZ) Executive Board candidates are
asked to disclose if they are employed full time or are a candidate for full
time employment with any organization that is a vendor for USCF, a competitor
to USCF in any area, or has any significant other business interest (including
substantial ownership of a business) that could be affected by decisions made
by USCF.
Failure
to disclose these interests would not disqualify a candidate from running, but
could affect the voter’s evaluation of the candidate.
ADM 01-97 Bill Goichberg (NY), Myron
Lieberman (AZ)
The Bylaws are amended as follows:
ARTICLE VI, EXECUTIVE BOARD
Section 1. Composition. The Executive Board shall consist of the President,
Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and three Members at Large, all elected
for staggered terms of three years. Remainder of Section 1 is unchanged.
Section 4. Nomination. After "thirty or more voting members," insert:
"However, no incumbent member of the Executive Board who has served at
least half of a three year term shall be eligible to succeed himself or
herself, with the exceptions of the offices of Secretary and Treasurer, whose
occupants are eligible to serve one additional succeeding three-year term. The
retiring President may not be elected to any office in the three years
following his or her term as President, and no person may serve on the
Executive Board more than nine consecutive years." Remainder of Section 4
remains unchanged.
Section 5. Election of Executive Board members. Replace "Each elector may
vote for as many persons as there are Executive Board positions to be filled.
The persons receiving the largest vote totals shall be elected to the available
Executive Board positions." with "Elections will be held on a three
year cycle: Year 1, President and Vice President. Year 2, Secretary and
Treasurer. Year 3, three Members at Large. Each elector may cast one vote for
each office, except that in the At- Large election, each elector may cast up to
three votes, and the three persons receiving the largest vote totals shall be
elected."
Replace "The election of
Executive Board members shall take place in odd numbered years starting in
1999" with "The election of Executive Board members shall take place
in 2003, and annually beginning in 2005."
Section 6. Deleted.
Section 7. Terms of Office. The terms of office of the Executive Board members
shall commence at their first meeting, which shall immediately follow the
Annual Meeting, and shall continue for three years except as provided in
Section 10 of this article.
Section
8. Duties. Replace "Vice President of Finance" with
"Treasurer" in two places.
Section 9. Vacancies. If a vacancy shall occur on the Executive Board, it shall
be filled by special election as described in Section 5 of this Article, except
that a vacancy occurring less than five months before the next regular Annual
Meeting shall be filled by a vote of the Board of Delegates at the next regular
Annual Meeting. If the position of President becomes vacant, the Vice President
shall become President. If the positions of President and Vice President both
become vacant, the Board shall elect the President from among its members.
ARTICLE X: TRANSITION FROM BYLAWS IN EFFECT PRIOR TO AUGUST 13, 2001
The Executive Board as described in the Bylaws in effect prior to August 13,
2001 shall continue to exist and function until the end of the Delegates
Meeting in 2003. In 2003, the President shall be elected for a two year term,
and the Secretary and Treasurer for three year terms. The Vice President shall
be elected by the Board from among its members for a two year term. In 2005,
the President shall be elected for a three year term and the three Members at
large for two year terms. In 2006, a regular cycle of elections for three year
terms shall begin: 2006 Secretary and Treasurer, 2007 Members at Large, 2008
President and Vice President, etc.
RATIONALE:
1) Officers should again be elected directly by position, in order to
strengthen the President and provide appropriate candidates for posts requiring
special capabilities and extra commitment. These advantages override the
increased possibility of negative campaigning in a two person
race.
2.) Members at Large should continue to
be elected as a group rather than one on one, minimizing negative campaigning,
as the advantages of #1 do not apply.
3) Four years is too long a term, too much of a commitment for some, too
hard for voters to change direction if desired. Two years is too short,
too much turnover and politicking. Three years seems best.
4) Annual elections are important to maintain a continuing and healthy
discussion of issues.
5) The old method of five seats one year and one each for two years makes it
too difficult for the voters to change the Board if unhappy with how things are
going.
ADM 01-98 (Jerry Hanken SCA).
In the July 2001, issue of Chess Life, which includes Executive Board
candidate statements, one candidate (Jim Pechac) is allowed almost as much
space as all the other candidates combined.
The Delegates object to the timing of the Pechac “Across the Board”
column, and ask the office to avoid the appearance of bias for or against
candidates in the future.
ADM 01-99 (Jerry Hanken SCA and Bill Goichberg
NY)
The Delegates express dismay regarding a
mailing done by the USCF office, at USCF expense, and in the name of USCF,
which prominently featured a personal attack by the USCF President against a
candidate for the USCF Executive Board. For the President to have replied
to this candidate regarding issues was acceptable, but including negative
comments about the candidate's personal life in an official USCF mailing was
inappropriate.
ADM 01-100 (Jerry Hanken, SCA)
The
board of Delegates expresses its disappointment that the Executive Board did
not grant the Distinguished Service Award to Rachel Lieberman and Randall Hough
and urges the new Executive Board to give them the award they richly deserve.
ADM
01-101 Arnold Denker
FL and Bill Goichberg NY).
The censure of Bob Smith, voted by Executive Board members Redman, Pechac,
Warren, and Barry, is rescinded. Bob did nothing to warrant censure, and
was given no chance to defend himself. We thank Bob Smith for his many
years of fine volunteer service to the USCF.
ADM 01-102 (Steve Doyle,NJ, Tom Dorsch NCA, Jim Eade
NCA) The Executive Board and Executive Director will seriously investigate the
possibilities of moving USCF headquarters to the same building as the World
Chess Museum in Miami.
ADM 01-103 (Steve Doyle NJ, Jim Eade & Tom Dorsch NCA) Executive Board officers will stand for election (or re-election)
annually.
ADM 01-104 (Tom Dorsch NCA,Steve Doyle NJ) A full report on compliance or
noncompliance with the previous year’s Delegate Motions will be provided in the
Delegates’ Call each year.
ADM 01-105 ( Bill Goichberg NY) The
Board of Delegates, which according to our Bylaws "is responsible for the
management of the USCF," expresses dismay at not being consulted about a
number of fundamental policy decisions made during the past year. For example:
1. An enormous increase in
TLA fees was announced in the October issue of Chess Life. The Delegates
should have been consulted about this at St. Paul in August, the month the
October issue is typeset. They were not.
2. The Executive Board voted
to add activity points to the rating system in October, a plan that was
eventually rescinded. This idea was first suggested by the "DDDE Committee"
in May, and if the Board was seriously considering it, they should have
consulted the Delegates in August. They did not.
3. The Executive Board voted
in January to drastically reduce the variety of books and equipment sold by
USCF. This decision may do irreparable damage to a long established,
profitable and popular membership benefit. This major policy change
should not have been enacted without Delegate approval.
4.
The Games Parlor contract was renewed in May for another two years, even
though USCF has lost over $100,000 on US Chess Live with no noticeable effect
on membership totals, and the new contract is apparently more favorable for
Games Parlor than the old. The signing of this contract should have been
postponed, and the Delegates asked whether they approve of the expensive and
thus far unproductive policy of free online play.
OMOV
ADM 01-106 (Bill
Goichberg, NY, Nolan, NE,) The Bylaws
are changed as follows:
Article IV: Voting Members
Section 1. Responsibility. The Voting Members are responsible for electing the
Executive Board, and the Delegates and Alternate Delegates that represent their
state. An insert containing nominees and voting instructions shall be inserted
in an appropriate issue of Chess Life.
Section 2. Definition. Any member residing in the USA who is 16
years of age or older at the time of the election, and whose membership is
current through the end of a month in which an election is held, is a Voting
Member. Any member of any age who is a full adult, Sustaining or Life
Member is also a Voting Member. Members not receiving Chess Life who are
16 years of age or older at the time of the election may request a ballot by
sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to the USCF, 3054 NYS Route 9W, New
Windsor, NY 12553, before May 20th of an election year. Members not receiving
Chess Life who wish to vote must furnish their date of birth to the USCF
office. The ballot shall contain the signature of the voter certifying that the
voter
is eligible to vote.
Article V Section 9. Deleted
Article VI: Executive Board
Section 4. Nomination. Any USCF member shall be eligible for nomination to
the Executive Board upon submitting to the Secretary both of the following by
January 15 of an election year:
1. A valid petition containing the signatures of thirty or more Voting Members.
2. A filing fee of $250 made payable to USCF.
No full-time employee of the USCF is eligible to serve on the Executive Board.
The Secretary shall have advertised a call for nominations in the issue of
Chess Life published no later than November 20th of the year prior to an
election year and shall publish a list of all duly-submitted
nominations in the issue published not later than April 20th of an election
year.
Section 5. Delete and Replace with: Election. Executive Board members shall be
elected by the voting members. Ballots for that purpose shall be included in an
issue of Chess Life to be mailed prior to June 10 with ballots to be eturned no
later than July 20 of a year in which there is an election so that the ballots
can be counted no later than August 1. Ballots shall be authenticated by use of
official mailing labels provided with the ballots. The ballot shall list all
duly submitted nominations. Each voting member may vote for as many persons as
there are Executive Board positions to be filled. The persons receiving the
largest vote totals shall be elected to the
available Executive Board positions. The ballots shall be returned by mail to
an independent agency and counted by an independent agency or by the Secretary
or his or her designee and by tellers appointed by the Executive Board prior to
the Annual Meeting of the Board of Delegates. Ties, if any, shall be broken by
a secret ballot vote of the Delegates present in person at that year's
Delegates meeting, taken at the time that election results are certified. The
election of Executive Board members shall take place in odd numbered years
starting in 2003.
Article VI Section 8. Duties.
Secretary. USCF Operations, with the approval of the Secretary, shall
engage a stenographic service to attend and record each meeting of the
Executive Board. The stenographic service shall be directed to prepare a full
official transcript and a summarized official transcript of each Regular and
Special Meeting. Members of the Executive Board shall be provided with a copy
of the full transcript through the BINFO system, and all Delegates and
Alternate Delegates shall be provided with a copy of the summarized transcript
in an Executive Board Newsletter distributed by the Secretary not more than six
weeks after each Regular Meeting of the Executive Board. Transcripts of Special
Meetings may be included with and distributed with the transcript of the next
Regular Meeting. The Secretary shall review the summarized transcript of each
Executive Board meeting and post the summarized transcript of Executive Board
meetings, Membership Meetings, and Annual Meetings on the USCF Internet web
page. The Secretary shall act as custodian of the corporate seal, preside over
Federation elections, ensure that the annual report is filed with the Secretary
of State of the state of Illinois, and perform such other duties as are
prescribed by these Bylaws. The Secretary shall officially publish and mail and
also post on the USCF Internet web page a summary of the minutes of Membership
Meetings, Annual Meetings, and Executive Board meetings. USCF members may purchase a copy of the
complete transcript of Executive Board meetings at a reasonable cost.
Article VI Section
10. Removal and Recall.
Members
of the Executive Board are subject to removal through recall by
Petition for Recall. Petition for Recall. A Petition for Recall bearing the
signatures of 300
Voting Members may be filed with the USCF Secretary, except that a Petition to
Recall the USCF Secretary shall be filed with the USCF President. A recall
election may also be initiated by a vote of 75% or more of the Delegates
present and voting at an annual meeting of the Board of Delegates. Upon
certification of the petition or initiation of recall by the Board of
Delegates, timely notice of the recall shall be provided to the Voting Members
by notice in Chess Life magazine. All interested parties shall have no less
than sixty days to communicate his/her views to the Voting Members. At the end
of that period a recall ballot shall be included and prominently placed in an
issue of Chess Life magazine. Ballots must be received by mail by an
independent agency by the end of the month following the issue date of the
Chess Life magazine containing the recall ballot. At the end of that period the
ballots shall be opened and tabulated by an independent agency agreed upon by
both sides or in the presence of three tellers, one appointed by the Executive
Board member who is subject to recall, one appointed by the first available
signer of a recall question, and one appointed by the other two tellers. If at
least two-thirds of those voting support recall and at least 500 votes are
received, the Executive Board Member is recalled. Both sides shall be allocated
250 words in Chess Life magazine to be included in the issue with the ballot
for recall.
Article VI Section 11. Candidate statements and advertising. Each duly
nominated candidate who has met the requirements established in Section 4 is
entitled to a 150 word statement plus photo in the issue of Chess Life
published no later than April 20 of the election year, plus reasonable and
equitable space on the USCF website. Election supplements shall accompany or be
inserted in issues of Chess Life published no later than May 20 and June 20 of
the election year. Each duly nominated candidate who has met the requirements
established in Section 4 is entitled to one-half page of space in each election
supplement. The purchase of additional campaign space in the election
supplements or other USCF publications is prohibited. $
Article VI Section 12. Effective date. Revisions to the bylaws relating to
the election of the Executive Board take effect on January 1, 2003
ADM 01-108 (Mike Nolan, NE) Add to Article V,
Section 7 of the Bylaws: Only those certified as Delegates, including any
Alternates who have been elevated to Delegate through the death or resignation
of a Delegate, may submit motions for the advance agenda. Motions not
having a Delegate present as a sponsor or co-sponsor when reached in the
meeting shall be deferred to the end of the meeting. Chairs of Delegate
or Executive Board appointed committees may submit motions on behalf of their
committees.
See sponsor’s rationale below.
ADM 01-109 (Mike Nolan, NE) Add to Article V, Section 7 of the Bylaws: All Delegates and
Alternates may submit motions for the advance agenda. Motions not having
a Delegate present as a sponsor or co-sponsor when reached in the meeting shall
be deferred to the end of the meeting. Chairs of Delegate or Executive
Board appointed committees may submit motions on behalf of their committees.
Sponsor's Rationale for both ADMs: The Bylaws are unclear as to whether
only Delegates or Delegates and Alternate Delegates may submit ADM's.
These motions also codify the practice of deferring motions until their sponsor
is present and make it clear that committees may submit motions even if the
chair is not a Delegate.
If
the first ADM is passed, the second will be withdrawn.
ADM 01-110 (Mike Nolan, NE)
Part 1: In Article V, Section 5 of the Bylaws, delete the 4th and 5th
sentences (dealing with the election and selection through an ordered list of
Delegates and Alternates), and replace them with the following:
Candidates shall be listed on the ballot with an indication of their
willingness to serve as a Delegate if so elected, except that those elected as
Delegates in either of the previous two election cycles but who were unable to
serve at any of the regular Delegates meetings for which they were elected may
not be so indicated.
Candidates nominated by their state chapter shall be designated as such on the
ballot.
Each State shall elect the designated number of Delegates and Alternates. An
ordered list shall be created listing candidates in the order of votes
received, highest first. From this ordered list a second list shall be
made, consisting of a number of candidates equal to the total designated number
of Delegates and Alternates, selected in order of the number of votes received,
highest first, and ordered with those candidates who were indicated on the
ballot as willing to serve as a Delegate ahead of those who were not so
indicated, and then in order of votes received, highest first.
From this second ordered list, the designated number of Delegates shall be
elected from the top of the list with the remaining candidates elected as
Alternates. Once the list of Delegates and Alternates has been certified
by the Board of Delegates (pending the breaking of any ties by the State Chapter
as described below), any vacancies resulting from the death or resignation of
an elected Delegate or Alternate shall be filled by the State Chapter as
specified in Article V, Section 6 of the Bylaws.
The ordered list of elected Delegates and Alternates will also serve as the
initial ordered list for filling vacancies at the Delegates Meeting as
specified in Article V, Section 6 of these Bylaws.
Part 2: In Article V, Section 4 of the Bylaws, add the following: A
candidate petition may nominate only one candidate, who must consent to
nomination by either signing the petition or by notifying the Secretary. State Chapters shall obtain the consent of
all candidates they nominate.
Sponsor's Rationale: Candidates willing to serve as Delegates should
receive preference for election as Delegates over those who do not. This
motion also finalizes the list of Delegates and Alternates as of the
certification of the election by the Delegates, which will simplify the
Secretary's task of notifying those elected by eliminating the need to go
further down the ordered list of candidates beyond the number of Delegates and
Alternates for that state. This motion also clarifies the process for
nomination by petition and ensures that all candidates on the ballot have consented
to nomination. This motion may be incorporated into related motions
submitted by the Bylaws Committee.
ADM 01-111 (Mike Nolan, NE)Amend the Bylaws as follows:
In Article IV, Section 2, delete the last sentence dealing with requiring the signature of the voter on the
ballot.
Sponsor's
Rationale: There is no good reason for requiring the signature for all
voters.
ADM 01-112 (Nike Nolan, NE) Amend the Bylaws as follows:
1. In Article V, Section 1, delete the final [word missing] referring to
Regional Vice Presidents.
Members.
2. Revise Article V, Section 9, to read:
The Electors consist of the Delegates, Alternate Delegates, Delegates at Large,
and the elected Executive Board Members. The Electors are responsible for
electing the Executive Board and for the removal and recall of the Executive
Board members as specified in Article VI, Section 10
3.
Delete Article X dealing with transition from the Bylaws in effect prior to
August 8th, 1998.
4. Amend the beginning of Article VI, Section 10 to read "Elected
members of the Executive Board are subject to removal through recall by
Petition for Recall."
5. In Article V, Section 6, modify the 7th sentence to read in part:
"Any Executive Board member
who
completes his or her term..."
6. In Article V, Section 10, modify the 2nd sentence to read in
part:"...shall have no less than thirty days to communicate his or her views to the electors."
Sponsor's Rationale: This ADM is a collection of technical changes.
It completes the transition to the current Bylaws and removes language which is
no longer required, including the references to Regional Vice Presidents, and
clarifies that only elected EB members may be recalled, since the Executive
Director is now a non-voting member of the EB. It also makes all language
consistently non-sexist.
ADM 01-113 (Mike Nolan, NE) Amend Article V, Section 8B of the Bylaws by
adding "for both meetings" to the end of the first sentence.
Sponsor's Rationale: This eliminates a loophole in the process for
creating DAL's by making it clear that the motion must be present on the
advance agenda for two consecutive meetings.
ADM 01-114 (Mike Nolan, NE
1.
Amend Article IX, Section 9.B of the Bylaws to read: No lien, encumbrance or
mortgage can be placed in any fashion on the building without action by the
Delegates at a regular meeting or
special meeting called for that purpose.
2. Amend Article IX, Section 10.B of the Bylaws to add the following
between 10.B.3 and 10.B.4 (renumbering as appropriate): All borrowing shall consist
of loans from the Life Member Assets to fund USCF operations. All Life
Member Assets shall be shown on USCF financial statements as a separate class
of assets with appropriate entries to
indicate all current transfers and any
outstanding loans between Life Member Assets and all other assets,
including the effect upon statements of operation and flow of funds of any transfers or accounting entries between the
Life Member Assets and other USCF accounts, such as those affecting principal,
interest on outstanding loans, real or imputed rent, and any transfers from Life Member Assets for the purpose of supporting services
rendered to Life Members.
Sponsor's Rationale: This clarifies the authority of the LMAC and how
transfers between Life Member Assets and USCF operations are to be handled and
accounted for.This clarification was requested by members of the
LMAC.
ADM 01-115 (Harold Winston IL)
Amend
Article VI, section8 (President) effective the end of the Delegates meeting to
read; “In case of a tie vote, the President, if he had already cast his or her
vote, may cast an additional tie-breaking vote.
Rationale: We need to avoid tie votes on the Executive
Board and strengthen the weakened Presidency
(demonstrated by the recent one year term).
ADM 01-116 (Kevin L.
Bachler, and (as sponsor only) Tim Just IL) A package ADM concerning DUES,
SERVICES, VOTING RIGHTS, AND MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES.
I Dues
A committee will be formed and charged to implement the following into USCF
By-laws by January 1, 2002, assuming all such changes are compliant with the
laws of the State of Illinois.
1. A $5 commission will be implemented on Full Adult 1-year and 2-year USCF
dues.
2. A $10 commission will be implemented on Full Adult 3-year dues.
3. The scholastic dues percentage will be increased to 37.5% from 33.3%
4. A $5 commission will be implemented only on 3-year scholastic dues.
5. All other existing dues will remain unchanged.
6. All current dues categories will be removed from Voting Member status.
7. The dues category of Voting Member will be instituted, with an annual dues
of $100. Only members who are in this dues category or higher will have
the right to vote.
8. The dues category of Patron Member will be instituted, with an annual dues
of at least $250, pricing to be determined by the Executive Director. Members
in this category will receive a premium, comparable to a year subscription to
New In Chess, also to be determined by the executive director. Patron
members will be voting members.
9. All dues categories are subject to changes in inflation, etc., over time.
10. Life Voting Members will have a one-time dues payment of $3,000. Players
may convert their life membership to life voting membership by a onetime
payment of $2,150, or provide an annual payment of $60 to achieve
Voting Member Status.
11. Life Patron Members will have a one-time dues payment of at
least$6,000; alternatively, and annual payment of $210 will achieve the Patron
status.
II Services
As part of this arrangement, USCF agrees to implement the following during the
2001-2002 fiscal year, using committees and consultants as necessary.
1. A revised membership database, with potential for expansion of data fields,
and the ability to store additional information relevant for youth and scholastic
players, including but not limited to grade, school, school address and other
contact information, coach name, coach address, coach e-mail, parent names and
contact information, and also player e-mail address for players of all
membership categories.
2. An online system to allow players to enter tournaments via the Internet,
connecting to this entry system from tournaments listed online, selecting
their player information from the USCF database, and paying by credit card,
PayPal or similar systems online. USCF will provide this service to
organizers for a modest fee, and will deliver entry fees to the organizer
via PayPal or a similar service, and will also deliver an electronic file
capable of being read into the major pairing programs.
3. An online system to submit completed events for rating, including
electronic payment of fees. Such online service should include the
ability
to allow an organizer to manually enter results from a non-computer paired
tournament to enjoy the preferable fees in the next section.
III Fees
1. Rating fees shall be repriced to one pricing structure for all tournaments.
2. Non-electronic submissions must be charged at least double the rate of
electronic submission.
3. Within 3 years, non-electronic submissions must be charged at least triple
the rate of electronic submissions.
IV Governance
A committee will be formed and charged to implement the following into USCF
By-laws by January 1, 2002, assuming all such changes are compliant with the
laws of the State of Illinois.
1. OMOV as last proposed by the OMOV committee will be implemented with the
sole change that only Voting Members and higher will have the right to vote.
Rationale: USCF obviously needs to consider some major changes to move
forward in its ability to grow and provide better services. This ADM
tackles the issues as a related package.
First, it is recognized that steps need to be taken to encourage Full Adult
membership. To this end, commissions are provided to motivate affiliates
or to act as a price decrease.
Second, it is recognized that turnover is a major difficulty in growth and
revenue both for the Full Adult and the Scholastic Membership. Thus,
re-pricing and commissions allow a focus that makes 3-year memberships highly
beneficial to members.
Third, it is recognized that although USCF itself is not a 501(c)(3), USCF
needs the additional revenues provided by philanthropic memberships. It
structures its memberships similar to that of some other organizations, or also
to the concepts of common versus preferred stock, such that not all memberships
have voting rights and other premium benefits.
Fourth, it is recognized that for all categories, but particularly for youth
and scholastic, where tournaments are large and quick ratings turnaround is a
requirement due to the relatively short chess season which is part of the
scholastic calendar, that improvement in the rating service is an absolute
requirement. This is achieved by creating an error-free online entry file
via an improved member database and online service. It is further
achieved by creating an online rating submission service.
Fifth, it is recognized that to get the most benefit from these new electronic
services, organizers will need significant financial incentives to use these
services.
Sixth, it is recognized that to justify the changes in dues structure, members
must have the ability to have a direct right to vote.
Thus: dues are decreased for most members, increased for those who wish to vote
or who wish other premiums. Scholastic dues are increased slightly for 1
year, and with commission are decreased slightly for 3 years. As a
trade-off, particularly to scholastic members, new and important services are
provided. As a trade-off to voting members, OMOV is offered, in the
form of OVMOV.
The maker is open to friendly amendments discussed prior to the delegates
meeting, but is generally not open to motions to separate
Motions
presented to the secretary in writing during the meeting or after the ADM
deadline.
Congratulatory
motions.
XII.
PRESENTATION OF CERTIFICATES OF GOVERNANCE TO OUTGOING BOARD MEMBERS
Installation
of New Executive Board Members.
XIII.
ADJOURNMENT