Governance

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I. CALL TO ORDER BY USCF PRESIDENT JOHN MCCRARY

II. CERTIFICATION OF QUORUM

III. OLD BUSINESS

IV. NEW BUSINESS

V. ADJOURNMENT

Note: All motions in this advance agenda have been taken verbatim from the submissions of individual Delegates. The publication of any motion in the advance agenda does not constitute an endorsement, agreement, or position of the USCF regarding anything included or implied in such motion.

I. CALL TO ORDER BY USCF PRESIDENT JOHN MCCRARY

II. ROLL CALL OF DELEGATES BY SECRETARY BOB SMITH

ADM 03-01 (John McCrary, SC): 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.)

III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND STANDING RULES, AND APPOINTMENT OF PARLIAMENTARIAN

ADM 03-02 (Bob Smith, FL; John McCrary, SC): The Delegates approve the advance agenda.

ADM 03-03 (John McCrary, SC): The appointment of the Parliamentarian for the 2003 Delegates� Meeting is affirmed.

ADM 03-04 (John McCrary, SC): The Delegates approve the standing rules.

IV. IN MEMORIAM (A moment of silence for those we have lost in the past year.)

V. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE 2002 DELEGATES� MEETING

ADM 03-05: (Bob Smith, FL): Moved, that the Minutes of the 2002 Delegates� Meeting be accepted as published.

VI. CERTIFICATION OF ELECTION RESULTS

ADM 03-06 (Bob Smith, FL): The Delegates certify the election of Executive Board members for the 2003-2007 term.

VII. RATIFICATION

ADM 03-07 (Harold Winston, IL): The Delegates ratify all actions of the Executive Board appearing in Minutes published in Executive Board Newsletters and the Delegates� Call, since the conclusion of the 2002 Delegates� Meeting.

VIII. REPORTS OF USCF OFFICERS AND STAFF

ADM 03-08 (Frank Camaratta,AL): The Delegates adopt the Planning Budget for the Fiscal Year ending in 2004.

• A. DELEGATE-ELECTED COMMITTEES
  • BYLAWS
  • ETHICS
  • LMA MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
• B. COMMITTEES WITH REPORTS PRINTED IN THE DELEGATES� CALL
• C. OTHER COMMITTEES

X. OLD BUSINESS

ADM 03-09 (Harold Winston, IL): Pursuant to Article III, Section 9 of the Bylaws, the Delegates have reviewed the promotional memberships offered by the Executive Board in 2002-2003 and authorize their continuation.

ADM 03-10/ DM 02-24 (Myron Lieberman, AZ; George John, TX) : Advertisements for any organization, event, or activity that can be viewed as illegal in one or more states in the U.S. can be accepted only upon receipt of a legal opinion as to the liability of the USCF for accepting and distributing that advertisement, approval by the marketing manager, the Executive Director, and the Executive Board. ( This was referred to the Legal Task Force in 2002.)

ADM 03-11/ DM 02-25 (Larry Cohen, IL): The Executive Board shall make certain that a system for electronic media submission of rating reports is available and publicized by February 1, 2002. All effort is to be made to have this system in place as soon as possible. Furthermore, the Executive Board (along with the ED and Ratings Manager) should study the concept of sending crosstables back to affiliates, TD�s, and organizers via electronic media, and is given power to enact such a crosstable electronic media system if feasible. (This was referred to the MIS Committee in 2002.)

ADM 03-12/DM 02-48 (Larry Cohen, IL): All new affiliates receive one free TLA in either �Chess Life� or �School Mates.� (This was referred to Affiliate Affairs in 2002.)

XI. NEW BUSINESS

ADM 03-13 (Ernest Schlich, VA): The USCF shall post all past Executive Board Newsletters (EBNs) currently available in the office as an electronic file in a suitable electronic format in an archive on the USCF website. This should start as soon as possible and be completed not later than 1 Feb 2004. As each new EBN is posted, the previous EBN shall be placed in the historical archive.

ADM 03-14 (Ernest Schlich, VA): The USCF shall post each Delegates� Call and Annual Report in a suitable electronic format in an appropriate area of the USCF website. These documents shall be posted on the website within the same timeframe requirements established for distribution of the hardcopy version. As each new document is posted, the previously posted document will be stored in an archive on the website. This motion to take effect immediately and shall apply to the 2003 Annual Report and all subsequent Calls and Reports.

ADM 03-15 (Ernest Schlich, VA): The USCF shall post all Executive Board Newsletters (EBNs) starting with issue #1 of 2003-2004 in a suitable electronic format in an appropriate area of the USCF website. Each new EBN shall be posted on the website within the current 6 week requirement for hardcopy EBNs.

ADM 03-16 (Richard Koepcke, NCA; Mike Goodall, NCA;) : Moved: TLA�s will only appear in Chess Life for tournaments starting from the first of the cover month on.

Sponsors� rationale: The motion is based on the premise that nearly everybody plans their lives at least two weeks in advance, and few people have schedules so fluid that upon finding out about a tournament on the 15th they�re going to drop everything and rush off to play in it. Hence the main value of a TLA appearing in the same month of the tournament is to confirm the existence of a tournament to players who already know about it, through prior advertising and have already made a decision on whether or not to play.

ADM 03-17 (Rich Jackson, CT; Robert Ferguson, PA; Robert Milardo, CT; Ralph Bowman, KS; John McCrary, SC; ) It is hereby proposed that the USCF Scholastic Committee be made a permanent committee which has only an advisory role to the Executive Board, the Executive Director, and the USCF Scholastic Director just like the Bylaws, Finance, and LMA Committees are in their own respective ways.

Sponsors� Rationale: As the largest percentage by far, of USCF members, is made up of scholastic, youth, coaches, and parents who are members, it is the appropriate time to recognize this large group by creating a permanent committee which will represent them with the appropriate USCF officers in the years ahead.

Sponsor�s rationale:

1. A member who does not receive a publication is less likely to renew, play rated chess, or buy merchandise.
2. Some scholastic organizers mention only the �Economy Scholastic� membership in their tournament publicity, eliminating the possibility of signing up new members with a publication.
3. Affiliates will not need to charge new scholastic members any more for USCF dues than they currently must charge.
4. While USCF will obtain less net revenue from each six month membership because of the cost of the publications, our objective is to at least recover this amount by selling more memberships due to their earlier expiration. However, the ED has not done a financial-impact estimate of this motion at the time of its submission; we expect that to be presented at the meeting.

ADM 03-19 (Bill Goichberg, NY): Effective January 1, 2004, USCF shall no longer offer �Economy Regular� memberships.

1. A member who does not receive a publication is less likely to renew, play rated chess, or buy merchandise.
2. Most who purchase �economy� memberships will buy membership with a publication instead, if required. Very few players will give up USCF-rated chess because of a $10 annual difference in dues.

ADM 03-20 (Ernest Schlich,VA; Harold Winston, IL;): Amend the Bylaws concerning economy regular memberships by making the following changes:

• Change 1. Amend Article III, Section 11 Rights and Privileges by changing the sentence �Economy memberships� terms and dues shall be set by the Executive Director with approval of the Executive Board� to �Economy memberships do not include a subscription to any publication.�
• Change 2. Replace all of Article III, Section 1 Regular Membership with the following language.

  Section 1. Regular Membership.

  A. Regular Member. Any person may become a Regular Member of the Federation upon payment of $49 which includes a commission of up to $4, $90 for two years which includes a commission of up to $5, or $130 for 3 years which includes a commission of up to $5. This may also be referred to as Full Adult Membership.
  B. Economy Regular Member. Any person may become an Economy Regular Member of the Federation upon payment of $39 which includes a commission of up to $3, $73 for two years which includes a commission of up to $4, or $107 for 3 years which includes a commission of up to $5.

• Change 3. Amend Article III Section 3B Economy Scholastic Membership by deleting the final sentence that states � Economy memberships do not include a subscription to any publication.�

Sponsors� Rationale: The sentence concerning the economy membership in section 11 became unclear when the economy scholastic membership was created. As we have specifically enumerated all other memberships, mandating the dues for the economy regular membership in the bylaws maintains consistency. Change 3 places the fact that economy memberships do not receive a subscription to a USCF publication into the section that deals with rights and privileges.

ADM 03-21 (Ernest Schlich, VA, on behalf of the Bylaws Committee): Correct the Bylaws language to properly document the changes passed in 2002 reducing the number of Alternate Delegates.

• Change 1. Replace the 2cd, 3rd, and 4th paragraphs of Article V, Section 5 Election with the following language.

  Each State shall elect the designated number of Delegates. An ordered list shall be created listing candidates in the order of votes received, highest first. A candidate must receive at least one vote to appear on this list. From this list, the designated number of Delegates shall be elected from the top of the list and the designated number of Alternate Delegates elected from the remaining candidates on the list.

  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 6A of the Bylaws.

  The ordered list of candidates shall also serve as the initial ordered list for filling vacancies at any meeting of the Board of Delegates� Meeting as specified in Article V, Section 6A.

• Change 2. Delete the sentence �candidates who receive no votes are not elected Delegates or Alternate Delegates� from the 5th paragraph of Article V, Section 5.

• Change 3. Rename and break Article V, Section 6 Vacancies into subsections to make it easier to read and make changes needed to implement the changes made to the number of and procedures for the election of Alternate Delegates by replacing it with the following language.

  Section 6. Miscellaneous

  A. Vacancies. If one or more Delegates from any state are not present or are unable to attend the Annual Meeting, the ordered list for that state is used to fill the Delegate vacancies for that meeting. The regularly elected Delegates continue in office for the remainder of their term.

  The state president or senior state officer present may add names to the end of the ordered list for the purpose of seating Delegates at the Annual Meeting of the Board of Delegates. If a Delegate dies or resigns during the term of office, the vacancy shall be filled for the duration of the term of office in accordance with the ordered list. If a Delegate or Alternate Delegate moves from the state of residence, that person shall be deemed to have resigned as Delegate unless the State Chapter indicates otherwise.

  Vacancies in the position of Delegate or Alternate Delegate for any state chapter, including those resulting from the promotion of an Alternate Delegate to Delegate, may be filled by the state chapter for the remainder of the term, provided that such appointments are placed at the end of the ordered list for that state chapter.

  If no Delegates or Alternate Delegates are elected by a state, vacancies exist which can be filled by the State Chapter.

  B. Executive Board Members as Delegates. Any Executive Board member who completes his or her term without re-election to the Executive Board, remains a Delegate until the conclusion of the Annual Meeting of the Board of Delegates in the year following the completion of the Board term, except that if he has Delegate status for that period under another provision of these Bylaws, this provision shall not apply. Any former Executive Board member receiving Delegate status by the provisions of the preceding sentence shall not be a Delegate on the ordered list of any state, and shall not be replaced if he dies or resigns the position.

  C. USCF Membership requirement. To serve as a Delegate, an individual must have a current USCF membership as of the first day of the Delegates� Meeting.

  Sponsor�s note: Please note that change one has two references to section 6. If change one passes and change 3 does not, these references have to be changed to section 6 vice section 6A.

  ADM 03-22(Ernest Schlich, VA, on behalf of the Bylaws Committee): Delete Article V, Section 10 Electors.

  ADM 03-23 (Ernest Schlich, VA, on behalf of the Bylaws Committee): Revise Article VIII, Section 4a to reflect the discontinuation of School Mates by replacing it with the following language.

  Section 4. Rights and Privileges. Each affiliate shall:

  (a) receive a subscription to Chess Life.

  ADM 03-24 (Bill Smythe, IL; John McCrary, SC): ( Code of Ethics): Improve the grammar and spelling of the Code as follows:

  • a) In paragraph 3, move the colon and �(A)� to after �by,� to make it clear that �actions and behavior by� applies to both (A) and (B).
  • b) In 5h, add �then only� between �and� and �for behavior.� The present wording is ungrammatical.
  • c) In 6d, correct the spelling of �peperson� to �person.�

  ADM 03-25 ( Bill Smythe, IL; John McCrary, SC): ( Code of Ethics): In paragraph 3, add the following sentences after �representatives of the USCF�: � This code shall not apply to actions or behavior by paid employees of USCF. Such actions fall instead under the province of the Executive Board.� Make the remainder of paragraph 3 a new paragraph, paragraph 4, and renumber the following paragraphs ( including the reference to 6e in 6c) accordingly.

  Sponsor�s rationale: Allowing ethics complaints to be brought against paid employees causes problems. Such complaints are better handled by the Executive Board.

  ADM 03-26 ( Bill Smythe, Il; John McCrary, SC): ( Code of Ethics): In 6b, change � shall be recommended by the Ethics Committee� to �shall be recommended to the Executive Board by the Ethics Committee.� In 6c, change �recommended sanctions� to �sanctions recommended to the Executive Board.� In paragraph 8, change �may recommend no sanctions� to �may recommend to the Executive Board no sanctions.�

  Sponsor�s rationale: Paragraph 8 appears self-contradictory as currently written. These changes clarify the distinction between sanctions recommended to the Executive Board and those recommended to the Board of Delegates.

  ADM 03-27 (Bill Smythe, IL; John McCrary, SC): ( Code of Ethics): In paragraph 3, change �tournaments or other activities� to �tournaments or similar activities.�

  Sponsor�s rationale: This makes it clearer that �activities� is to be interpreted narrowly. An Ethics Committee with too much power is a frightening prospect.

  ADM 03-28 (Bill Smythe, IL; John McCrary, SC): ( Code of Ethics): In paragraph 6, after �with the USCF Ethics Committee,� add the following sentences: � A good-faith deposit of $25 must be submitted by the complainant. The deposit shall be returned if the committee finds in favor of the complainant, or finds that the complainant�s case has serious grounds. The deposit shall not be returned if the Committee finds the complainant�s case frivolous. The Committee may determine whether to return the deposit even before it determines jurisdictional and merit questions.� Make the remainder of paragraph 6 a new paragraph, and renumber the following paragraphs accordingly.

  Sponsor�s rationale: This requirement, similar to one already in use with the Rules Committee, should discourage frivolous complaints.

  ADM 03-29 (Mike Nolan, NE; Bill Goichberg, NY; on behalf of the Election Procedures Committee): The Executive Board is authorized to implement electronic voting via the Internet. In all cases where the use of Chess Life for distributing ballots is referenced, the Bylaws are modified to permit the use of such a designated electronic voting method in place of distributing the ballots in Chess Life and with an equivalent voting period. Mail ballots shall continue to be available to those members who cannot or choose not to use electronic voting.

  ADM 03-30 ( Mike Nolan, NE; Bill Goichberg, NY on behalf of the Election Procedures Committee): Modify the Bylaws to replace Article !V, ( Voting Members), Section 2 ( Definition) with the following:

  Section 2. Definition. Any current member residing in the USA who is 16 years of age or older as of the time of an election is a Voting Member. For a regular or special election, the membership must be current through the last day of the month in which balloting is to begin and the member must have reached 16 years of age by the last day of the month in which balloting is to begin.

  Members not receiving Chess Life who are 16 years of age or older at the time of a regular or special election may request a ballot by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to the current USCF office address before the 15th day of the month prior to the month in which balloting is to begin. Members not receiving Chess Life who wish to vote must furnish their date of birth to the USCF office.

  Sponsor�s rationale: These changes will simplify the process it takes to determine the eligible voters for an election, and clarifies the eligibility issues for special elections which may be held in months other than the month in which we hold regular elections.

  ADM 03-31 (Mike Nolan, NE; and Bill Goichberg, NY; on behalf of the Election Procedures Committee): Modify the Bylaws to include the following in Article VI:

  Special Elections. The Executive Board shall decide the schedule for a Special Election for the Executive Board, using the deadlines and dates for a regular election as a guide for scheduling reasonable intervals for announcing the special election and calling for nominations, the date for candidate petition filings and the issue of Chess Life which will contain the ballots. The requirement for candidate statements and election supplements may be reduced to having this information in a single issue of Chess Life. The Board may choose to waive any filing fees for a Special Election.

  The Executive Board shall, by January 15th of an election year for a regular Executive Board election, choose a date on which ballot counting shall be performed, which date is to be no earlier than the 20th of July and no later than the Wednesday prior to the annual meeting of the Board of Delegates. For a special election, the Executive Board shall choose a date for ballot counting no later than 90 days prior to that date.

  Ballots shall be authenticated by use of voting member information to be provided with or printed on the ballots. All properly authenticated ballots that have been received by the date designated for counting the ballots shall be counted. The Executive Board shall designate an address for the return of ballots at the time the date of counting the ballots is set.

  ADM 03-32 (Mike Nolan, NE): Modify the Bylaws to replace Article IV, ( Voting Members), Section 2 ( Definition) with the following:

  Section 2. Definition. Any current member residing in the USA who is an adult, economy adult, senior, sustaining, or life member is a Voting Member. For a regular or special election, the membership must be current through the last day of the month in which balloting is to begin.

  Economy Adult members may request a ballot by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to the current USCF office address before the 15th day of the month prior to the month in which balloting is to begin.

  Sponsor�s rationale: Voting is a membership privilege that should be granted to all members willing to pay adult rates, regardless of age. Members who are paying rates substantially below the regular adult rate should not be entitled to vote. Trial members should not be entitled to vote. This eligibility process would be much simpler to administer.

  ADM 03-33 ( Mike Nolan NE): Modify the Bylaws to delete all references to the Family Membership.

  Sponsor�s rationale: The Economy Adult Membership provides equivalent benefits for adults.

  ADM 03-34 ( Mike Nolan, NE; Stan Booz, PA): The purpose of this motion shall be to establish an audit committee consisting of three persons whose purpose is to advise the Executive Board ( EB) on matters dealing with Internal control and the Annual Audit.

  And, the Delegates shall appoint two committee members from among the delegates and alternate delegates who are knowledgable and where possible, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or a Certified Management Accountant (CMA).

  And, the EB shall appoint one member from the Executive Board, normally the Vice President for Finance.

  And, the duties of the Committee shall be:

  1. To advise the EB on the appointment of the External Auditors, the audit fee, the provision of any non-audit services by the External Auditors and any questions of resignation or dismissal of the External Auditors.
  2. To discuss, if necessary, with the External Auditors before the audit commences the nature and scope of the audit.
  3. To discuss problems and reservations arising from interim and final audits and any matters the External Auditors may wish to discuss (in the absence of management, where necessary.)
  4. To consider and advise the EB on the establishment of the internal audit service and Head of Internal Audit, if any.
  5. To review the internal audit plan, to consider major findings of internal audit investigations and management�s response and to promote coordination between the Internal and External Auditors and to advise the EB accordingly.
  6. To keep under review the effectiveness of internal control systems and, in particular, review the External Auditors� Management Letter, the Internal Audit Annual Report and management responses and to advise the EB accordingly.
  7. To monitor the performance and effectiveness of external and internal audit.
  8. To consider, if necessary, the draft of the Audited Financial statements.
  9. To monitor annually or more frequently, if necessary, the implementation of approved recommendations arising from internal audit reports, external audit reports and management letters and to advise the EB accordingly.
  10. To oversee arrangements made by the Executive Board for the internal audit service and the External Auditors to examine the agency-wide financial statements.
  11. To advise the Executive Director, as requested.
  12. To report, as appropriate, to the Executive Board.

  XII. PRESENTATION OF CERTIFICATES OF GOVERNANCE

  XIII. INSTALLATION OF NEW BOARD MEMBERS

  XIV. ADJOURNMENT

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