Home Page 
Chess Life Online 2009 USCF Sued by Board Member; Personnel Budget Cut 20%
Chess Life Online 2009 USCF Sued by Board Member; Personnel Budget Cut 20% | USCF Sued by Board Member; Personnel Budget Cut 20% |
|
|
| By Bill Hall | |
| June 3, 2009 | |
|
In August of last year, the USCF was sued by current Executive Board Member
Susan Polgar for $25 million (later reduced to $10 million). This and other suits related to her conduct and the conduct of her husband and fellow Executive Board Member Paul Truong, have
caused the USCF to incur enormous legal fees over the last 10 months and has
made the budget process for next fiscal year extremely difficult. As a result, the USCF has had to make some difficult cuts, including a reduction to personnel costs of 20% for an undetermined period. Personally, for me, it was a very difficult task to return to the office and share this with the employees after the last Executive Board meeting. Naturally, morale in the office was impacted; however, I must communicate to the membership the pride I felt in watching how the staff ultimately handled the situation. The staff met and offered solutions for implementation. Even though this was personally very difficult for each of them, they rallied together, took ownership of what we faced, and bought into a plan. I want the membership to know that you have a dedicated staff in the headquarters that now is making significant personal sacrifices to continue to provide you with the membership services that you deserve. Until further notice and effective immediately, the USCF headquarters will be operating on a four day work week, with the offices closed on each Friday. I hope that this is in effect for as brief a period as possible. Bill Hall USCF Executive Director |