Nominations for CFC Secretary

[Danny Goldenberg]

Dear CFC voting members,

I am writing here (as you all aware, regular CFC members do not have the access to write on CFC forum) to show my interest for the position indicated in the subject.

If there are voting members, who thinks that I might be an interesting candidate to participate in the fair elections, I will be thankful for nominating and supporting my candidature.

I was staying far from chess politics in Canada until this year, but seeing that regardless to the federation (CFC or FQE and others) it is always the same people who "run the show", I decided that it was a good time for change.

Lets share information, lets be more transparent, lets stop favoritism!

I strongly believe that with my personal and professional qualities, I will be able to bring fresh air to the room.

Sincerely,

International Arbiter / FIDE Master
Danny Goldenberg

P.S. For the ones who do not know me personally, here is a very brief resume of my qualifications:

Studied Political Sciences @ Concordia University (achievement: Winner of the President Award - CSU Club 2006-2007, being elected the best President among 350+ undergraduate clubs in Concordia).
Professional experience: working in Finances, with significant experience in corporate communication, escalations, resolutions, and audits...
Playing chess since 1984 (achievements: youth champion in different countries including CFC U20 champion / FIDE Master since 1998 / Arbiter since 1998 becoming International Arbiter in 2017, being one of the most active arbiters during the latest pre-covid years / Chess coach since 1995).
Perfectly bilingual and fluent in several other languages.

[Neil Frarey]

Dear CFC voting members,

I am writing here (as you all aware, regular CFC members do not have the access to write on CFC forum) to show my interest for the position indicated in the subject.

CFC regular members pay for this? They are the ones that carry the load! And they are muzzled!

Not allowed to have their own voice on THEIR OWN forum?

LOL! Seriously?

Sorry Danny, I didn't know things over at the Chess Federation of Canada are this bad ...sigh.

Good luck!

[Hugh Brodie]

I am copying Danny's post to an appropriate thread in the CFC discussion group, and note that nominations end at 6 pm Tuesday August 24.

[Pargat Perrer]

CFC regular members pay for this? They are the ones that carry the load! And they are muzzled!

Not allowed to have their own voice on THEIR OWN forum?

LOL! Seriously?

Sorry Danny, I didn't know things over at the Chess Federation of Canada are this bad ...sigh.

Good luck!

CFC Secretary???

Hmmm.... I wonder what his typing speed is?

Ok, a cheap joke, but perhaps it should be explained (by Danny or anyone else) what the CFC Secretary does, and how such a person can "bring fresh air to the room"?

[Neil Frarey]

CFC Secretary???

Hmmm.... I wonder what his typing speed is?

Ok, a cheap joke, but perhaps it should be explained (by Danny or anyone else) what the CFC Secretary does, and how such a person can "bring fresh air to the room"?

One person can make a difference ... depends on the person and it depends on the difference.

Unfortunately the CFC has been corrupted from the top down for decades ... painful to watch just how much the Chess Federation of Canada kisses FIDE's ass.

[Don Parakin]

(as you all aware, regular CFC members do not have the access to write on CFC forum)

Correcting some misinformation: CFC members do have read and write access on the CFC Forums, just not on the forums created specifically for the Annual General Meeting (AGM). For these, regular members have read access only. Just like any parliament anywhere, the public is not entitled to "offer" their opinions from the public galleries but, for transparency, are allowed to watch the proceedings. For comments from regular members, a thread has been started in the chat forum. All are encouraged to join. Links to the outgoing, incoming, and comments are on the chess.ca home page.

[Frank Dixon]

Kingston City Council allows city residents to apply for a Delegation privilege, to address Council meetings and meetings of major Committees, concerning agenda items. Generally agendas are available five days before the Council meetings, which are usually held every two weeks (once per month in July and August). Usually this Delegation privilege must be arranged in advance, although floor votes by Councillors, early in the meeting, can add additional Delegations upon a motion from a Councillor (this requires a two-thirds supporting vote to pass, to get it onto the agenda). As well, the City's major Committees, such as Planning, allow residents to comment on agenda items for up to five minutes per item. These inputs can be arranged in advance, or, less formally, during the public debate portion. So much for the assertion that 'just like any parliament anywhere, the public is not entitled to "offer" their opinions from the public galleries', in the above post by Don.

The City of Toronto also has similar privileges, in a more structured manner, as it is a much larger city than Kingston. As a Kingston resident, I have been a visitor to Toronto City Hall, sat in on some Committee meetings there, and was allowed to address the meeting on a couple of occasions, just by requesting to do so.

I agree with Neil that CFC business, starting with election of Executive officers, needs to be open to the general membership. The USCF does it this way. Currently, too much power is in the hands of too few people, and this has damaged the growth of Canadian chess.

I believe that Danny is a strong candidate for this Secretary position, having worked with him as a Deputy Arbiter when he was Chief Arbiter at the 2013 Canadian Open in Ottawa. He did an excellent job in that role. Danny has a wide and deep range of chess experience to offer, he has an outgoing and friendly personality, he is a hard worker, and is truly passionate about chess, no doubt about that.

Respectfully submitted,
Frank Dixon
NTD, Kingston

[Danny Goldenberg]

Correcting some misinformation: CFC members do have read and write access on the CFC Forums, just not on the forums created specifically for the Annual General Meeting (AGM). For these, regular members have read access only. Just like any parliament anywhere, the public is not entitled to "offer" their opinions from the public galleries but, for transparency, are allowed to watch the proceedings. For comments from regular members, a thread has been started in the chat forum. All are encouraged to join. Links to the outgoing, incoming, and comments are on the chess.ca home page.

Thank you very much for this correction. Indeed, I was supposed to specify, that regular members are not allowed to post in the sections reserved to the "not so regular members".

Jokes apart (and I liked the cheap one about the typing speed, in one of the previous replies), the actual problem, in a democratic country, is that the potential candidate, must have friends within the existing voting members, to ask someone to nominate the candidature. It is kind of "weird" that one has to ask for favors prior to the election and therefore, placing himself (or herself) in a position where the favor can be asked back...

Slightly reminds me our current global politics, where the term "sincere politician" sounds more like an insult than a joke...

What did I mean by "fresh air" and why did I only see myself applying for the secretary position? Obviously, not for the money. LOL

In the previous decades, talented people were denied information (whether it was for players not getting invites to tournaments, or information about what to be organized and whom to contact, or for arbiters not knowing where to apply and what steps to take, chess education programs, etc.) and the knowledge was (and unfortunately still is) shared among the same people that I simply do not need to name, as we all see the same names: in the federation, in the "official" coaching stuff, in the arbiters going internationally.

Secretary, seems to be the position with the less power needed (I think my ego can live without being all powerful and in charge of everything) and my main intent is to get inside the room, open the windows, and start sharing information. I got a job to cover my needs and what I want is to break the old system and make information available.

I definitely will not say that ALL CFC is corrupt, and I do not need to. There are people working to promote chess according to their vision and I can only wish everyone good luck.

Since, my candidature was not nominated, I will end the discussion here.

Time for changes is not yet NOW.

Sincerely,

International Arbiter / FIDE Master
Danny Goldenberg

P.S. I specifically posted the initial letter on Chess Talk, as I wanted the public to see that I am not going to ask anyone for favors. See you next elections!

[Nikolay Noritsyn]

Thank you very much for this correction. Indeed, I was supposed to specify, that regular members are not allowed to post in the sections reserved to the "not so regular members".

Jokes apart (and I liked the cheap one about the typing speed, in one of the previous replies), the actual problem, in a democratic country, is that the potential candidate, must have friends within the existing voting members, to ask someone to nominate the candidature. It is kind of "weird" that one has to ask for favors prior to the election and therefore, placing himself (or herself) in a position where the favor can be asked back...

Slightly reminds me our current global politics, where the term "sincere politician" sounds more like an insult than a joke...

What did I mean by "fresh air" and why did I only see myself applying for the secretary position? Obviously, not for the money. LOL

In the previous decades, talented people were denied information (whether it was for players not getting invites to tournaments, or information about what to be organized and whom to contact, or for arbiters not knowing where to apply and what steps to take, chess education programs, etc.) and the knowledge was (and unfortunately still is) shared among the same people that I simply do not need to name, as we all see the same names: in the federation, in the "official" coaching stuff, in the arbiters going internationally.

Secretary, seems to be the position with the less power needed (I think my ego can live without being all powerful and in charge of everything) and my main intent is to get inside the room, open the windows, and start sharing information. I got a job to cover my needs and what I want is to break the old system and make information available.

I definitely will not say that ALL CFC is corrupt, and I do not need to. There are people working to promote chess according to their vision and I can only wish everyone good luck.

Since, my candidature was not nominated, I will end the discussion here.

Time for changes is not yet NOW.

Sincerely,

International Arbiter / FIDE Master
Danny Goldenberg

P.S. I specifically posted the initial letter on Chess Talk, as I wanted the public to see that I am not going to ask anyone for favors. See you next elections!

Hello Danny,

As far as I understand, you do not need someone to nominate you, a declaration that you want to run for a position is enough. However, as a voting member I can nominate you if you would like. I fail to see how this would be a favour, its just a formality. Why not? It would be fun actually, with no alternatives and nothing to discuss this meeting.

I am not a fan of certain things in the CFC, and I raised my objections in earlier meetings. It is not clear to me what it is you object to, if would be great if you could be more specific, mentioning names and events with your opinions. This would probably help the voting members better understand why you are a better choice than the current secretary.

Also, the secretary is responsible for running the forums during the meetings with administrative positions. There are two Director at Large positions that would simply put one 'on the team'. CFC had (has?) a "public relations coordinator" for many years, ie someone who informed the public about events. The current FIDE representative has been quite active with that recent months.

Best Regards,
Nikolay

[Don Parakin]

In the forum thread that anyone can post to (LINK), the intro post says "It is also open to anyone who wishes to run for a CFC Director or Officer or Committee Member position, but want to post prior to the meeting or are not a Voting Member". No favours required.

[Vlad Drkulec]

Fred McKim reposted the original post so you are running for secretary Danny.

[Bob Armstrong]

Good Luck Danny........you will be a good addition to the team.

Bob Armstrong, Former Voting Member (At that time, Governor) & CFC Public Relations Coordinator

[J.-R. Boutin]

Very good idea my friend. I support you. Where I can vote for you? Good Luck Danny!

[Hugh Brodie]

Very good idea my friend. I support you. Where I can vote for you? Good Luck Danny!

You have to be a CFC Voting Member ("Governor" was the old term) to vote.