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I began my career in chess politics with a impulsive decision at the 2011 Canadian Closed at the tournament meeting prior to the start of the games. Hal Bond had asked for a volunteer to become the masters' representative for the CFC. At the time, I was a chess coach and I was a bit frustrated with some of the decisions being made in youth chess by the CFC. No one appeared to be interested in volunteering for the position and a clear thought came into my head. "If you don't volunteer then you have no right to criticize the actions of those who do." I put up my hand and became masters rep.
As masters representative discussion of a strategic plan for the CFC arose. I had an MBA in marketing and finance and had prepared a few plans and even participated in a huge project for the City of Windsor's strategic plan as part of my major paper along with several other MBA candidates. The strategic plan for the CFC was a major undertaking which wound up consuming many hundreds of hours of my time. I was happy with the final product. It was a good plan and it remains a good plan to this day. It could use some updates but that is a discussion for another day.
In May 2012, I was asked to attend some meetings with the FQE and FIDE in Quebec City. I drove to Guelph and met with CFC president Michael von Keitz. We left my car at Hal Bond's condo parking lot and proceeded to Ottawa where we picked up Gordon Ritchie. We then drove on to Montreal and Quebec city with some minor diversions along the way. We met with Richard Berube and Bernard Labadie and had a full conversation about the future of Chess in Canada and Quebec. That meeting where Gordon and Michael did the heavy lifting later led to the FQE-CFC agreement. We also met with Geoffrey Borg and a number of FIDE officers in formal and informal settings. There were some student demonstrations going on (peaceful ones) which filled the streets of Quebec City. We sat in a cafe and watched the protesters walk by and talked with the FIDE officials about the world of chess and the realities in Canada.
I had no thoughts of becoming the president of the CFC. The day I was asked to run by the current president, Michael von Keitz I had just said to one of my chess student's father that I was happy with the CFC leadership and thankful of the job that they were doing. We were in good hands. That day Michael von Keitz called me and said that he would be resigning and asked me to run for CFC president. The timing took me aback as I had returned home and had the conversation with the chess parent an hour earlier about the great job that Michael was doing. I did run and became president in 2013 at a June AGM.
There was no rest for the wicked as a burning issue was the new Not For Profit Act (NFP Act). A committee led by Gordon Ritchie and others mostly from Ottawa (perhaps Les Bunning also played a key role) had come up with a plan to restructure the CFC and its bylaws to comply with the new law. Their proposal, though reasonable given the law and looming deadlines was rejected by the governors. Given the fact that the CFC would need to dissolve if the transition was not accomplished in time the situation became urgent. I believe that the original proposal was rejected because there wasn't enough prior consultation with the voting members and they did not understand the reasons for urgency. There were many calls to hire lawyers and consultants to get the transition accomplished. Discussions with lawyers and consultants yielded figures of $50,000 to $100,000 as the cost of that approach. It seemed excessive to me.
The key to getting any plan accepted was to bring the governors on board and getting them to buy in every step of the way. We had a series of governors meetings that year which focused on different aspects of the transition and where we discussed every question related to the new bylaws and transition to the NFP act. Some people were frustrated with the progress and approached me about maybe engineering some kind of a coup with the help of FIDE. Some variation of that idea might have been needed in the future if we failed to get acceptance from the governors but I pointed out that the CFC funds would have to go to charity and any new organization would be starting with zero funds and that kind of talk subsided. To make a long story short, after an exhaustive and exhausting process we got a new constitution and bylaws approved (barely as we needed a two thirds majority) and the CFC lived on. That was even more exhausting than the strategic plan process. We have still not crossed all the t's and dotted the i's but we are still here.
As part of the Canadian Olympic Committee's own NFP transition the CFC was dropped as sporting federation (which up until that point I hadn't even known we were recognized as by the COC). They sent us emails that wound up in the CFC spam folder which suggested that we could enter a process which would allow us to be once again recognized by the COC as a national sporting federation for chess. Once I became aware of the email, I initiated the process. There were emails and discussions with members of the committee deciding whether we would be allowed recognition. We also had to fill out forms and discuss our governance and every aspect of organized chess in Canada and indeed the world. Some months later we learned somewhat by accident that we had been accepted. This was a significant milestone though it would only become clear a few years later when we were invited to participate in the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance Conference in Halifax in March of 2018.
In 2015 there was no Canadian Open because Windsor was not able to host it and there wasn't even a bid for the CYCC aside from the Windsor bid. While I was a helper in 2015, I was not the main person because of health issues of an elderly parent that kept me occupied a great deal with chemo and hospital visits. I did help as much as I could and it was a good thing as I learned from the mistakes of 2015 when in 2016 we found ourselves in a situation where there were no bids for CYCC, the Canadian Open and the bid for the NAYCC had fallen apart over inability to find a site that did not require a ruinous rent. Being very frustrated with what had happened in 2015 and not wanting the embarrassment of all three tournaments not taking place, I decided to organize them in Windsor at the last minute (putting a bid together in December some seven months before the pieces would start being pushed on the board). Instead of relying on a committee to visit the sites and risk some unprofessional discussions, I went by myself to the different possible venues, and the local tourism people. All three tournaments took place and were successful. I didn't The Canadian Open broke even financially with 130 players or so and the $5000 that the Windsor Essex Pelee Island tourism bureau kicked in. I had to say no to a lot of people to make that happen but it did happen.
The profits from the youth events became chess equipment, but the more important result was the knowledge that we could pull off the last minute organization of these three events in just six months and not lose money. The next year, 2017 was already covered in Sault Ste Marie and 2018 was to be organized by the FQE in historic Quebec City. By 2018 the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance conference meant that we were getting multiple communities interested in having chess tournaments in their communities and they were willing to invest to make that happen.
Aside from the COVID cancellations I believe that we are well positioned to be able to negotiate with multiple cities years in advance to get our major tournaments organized without having to twist organizers arms as has happened in the past.
I have been a good ambassador and salesman for chess in Canada. I am a very capable organizer and also a good team player when I am not in a leadership role on some project. I have a proven record of getting things done. I am not afraid of rolling up my sleeves and doing the work required when faced with overwhelming tasks. Begin the journey with a single step and break down the task into the steps that need to be taken to accomplish what you need to accomplish.
When I was approached by members of Mahmud's campaign and then by Mahmud himself I said that I would not step down as I would feel that I was abandoning the CFC in the midst of a crisis (the pandemic). You currently have a president who is doing a good job in the circumstances and one that is willing to expend the effort required to help grow and expand chess in Canada and confront any challenges that arise. It is up to the voting members to decide of course but I think my results and actions warrant one more year of trust with the position of president of the CFC.
As masters representative discussion of a strategic plan for the CFC arose. I had an MBA in marketing and finance and had prepared a few plans and even participated in a huge project for the City of Windsor's strategic plan as part of my major paper along with several other MBA candidates. The strategic plan for the CFC was a major undertaking which wound up consuming many hundreds of hours of my time. I was happy with the final product. It was a good plan and it remains a good plan to this day. It could use some updates but that is a discussion for another day.
In May 2012, I was asked to attend some meetings with the FQE and FIDE in Quebec City. I drove to Guelph and met with CFC president Michael von Keitz. We left my car at Hal Bond's condo parking lot and proceeded to Ottawa where we picked up Gordon Ritchie. We then drove on to Montreal and Quebec city with some minor diversions along the way. We met with Richard Berube and Bernard Labadie and had a full conversation about the future of Chess in Canada and Quebec. That meeting where Gordon and Michael did the heavy lifting later led to the FQE-CFC agreement. We also met with Geoffrey Borg and a number of FIDE officers in formal and informal settings. There were some student demonstrations going on (peaceful ones) which filled the streets of Quebec City. We sat in a cafe and watched the protesters walk by and talked with the FIDE officials about the world of chess and the realities in Canada.
I had no thoughts of becoming the president of the CFC. The day I was asked to run by the current president, Michael von Keitz I had just said to one of my chess student's father that I was happy with the CFC leadership and thankful of the job that they were doing. We were in good hands. That day Michael von Keitz called me and said that he would be resigning and asked me to run for CFC president. The timing took me aback as I had returned home and had the conversation with the chess parent an hour earlier about the great job that Michael was doing. I did run and became president in 2013 at a June AGM.
There was no rest for the wicked as a burning issue was the new Not For Profit Act (NFP Act). A committee led by Gordon Ritchie and others mostly from Ottawa (perhaps Les Bunning also played a key role) had come up with a plan to restructure the CFC and its bylaws to comply with the new law. Their proposal, though reasonable given the law and looming deadlines was rejected by the governors. Given the fact that the CFC would need to dissolve if the transition was not accomplished in time the situation became urgent. I believe that the original proposal was rejected because there wasn't enough prior consultation with the voting members and they did not understand the reasons for urgency. There were many calls to hire lawyers and consultants to get the transition accomplished. Discussions with lawyers and consultants yielded figures of $50,000 to $100,000 as the cost of that approach. It seemed excessive to me.
The key to getting any plan accepted was to bring the governors on board and getting them to buy in every step of the way. We had a series of governors meetings that year which focused on different aspects of the transition and where we discussed every question related to the new bylaws and transition to the NFP act. Some people were frustrated with the progress and approached me about maybe engineering some kind of a coup with the help of FIDE. Some variation of that idea might have been needed in the future if we failed to get acceptance from the governors but I pointed out that the CFC funds would have to go to charity and any new organization would be starting with zero funds and that kind of talk subsided. To make a long story short, after an exhaustive and exhausting process we got a new constitution and bylaws approved (barely as we needed a two thirds majority) and the CFC lived on. That was even more exhausting than the strategic plan process. We have still not crossed all the t's and dotted the i's but we are still here.
As part of the Canadian Olympic Committee's own NFP transition the CFC was dropped as sporting federation (which up until that point I hadn't even known we were recognized as by the COC). They sent us emails that wound up in the CFC spam folder which suggested that we could enter a process which would allow us to be once again recognized by the COC as a national sporting federation for chess. Once I became aware of the email, I initiated the process. There were emails and discussions with members of the committee deciding whether we would be allowed recognition. We also had to fill out forms and discuss our governance and every aspect of organized chess in Canada and indeed the world. Some months later we learned somewhat by accident that we had been accepted. This was a significant milestone though it would only become clear a few years later when we were invited to participate in the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance Conference in Halifax in March of 2018.
In 2015 there was no Canadian Open because Windsor was not able to host it and there wasn't even a bid for the CYCC aside from the Windsor bid. While I was a helper in 2015, I was not the main person because of health issues of an elderly parent that kept me occupied a great deal with chemo and hospital visits. I did help as much as I could and it was a good thing as I learned from the mistakes of 2015 when in 2016 we found ourselves in a situation where there were no bids for CYCC, the Canadian Open and the bid for the NAYCC had fallen apart over inability to find a site that did not require a ruinous rent. Being very frustrated with what had happened in 2015 and not wanting the embarrassment of all three tournaments not taking place, I decided to organize them in Windsor at the last minute (putting a bid together in December some seven months before the pieces would start being pushed on the board). Instead of relying on a committee to visit the sites and risk some unprofessional discussions, I went by myself to the different possible venues, and the local tourism people. All three tournaments took place and were successful. I didn't The Canadian Open broke even financially with 130 players or so and the $5000 that the Windsor Essex Pelee Island tourism bureau kicked in. I had to say no to a lot of people to make that happen but it did happen.
The profits from the youth events became chess equipment, but the more important result was the knowledge that we could pull off the last minute organization of these three events in just six months and not lose money. The next year, 2017 was already covered in Sault Ste Marie and 2018 was to be organized by the FQE in historic Quebec City. By 2018 the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance conference meant that we were getting multiple communities interested in having chess tournaments in their communities and they were willing to invest to make that happen.
Aside from the COVID cancellations I believe that we are well positioned to be able to negotiate with multiple cities years in advance to get our major tournaments organized without having to twist organizers arms as has happened in the past.
I have been a good ambassador and salesman for chess in Canada. I am a very capable organizer and also a good team player when I am not in a leadership role on some project. I have a proven record of getting things done. I am not afraid of rolling up my sleeves and doing the work required when faced with overwhelming tasks. Begin the journey with a single step and break down the task into the steps that need to be taken to accomplish what you need to accomplish.
When I was approached by members of Mahmud's campaign and then by Mahmud himself I said that I would not step down as I would feel that I was abandoning the CFC in the midst of a crisis (the pandemic). You currently have a president who is doing a good job in the circumstances and one that is willing to expend the effort required to help grow and expand chess in Canada and confront any challenges that arise. It is up to the voting members to decide of course but I think my results and actions warrant one more year of trust with the position of president of the CFC.
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