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Or even better is when things are passed and not resinded...but simply ignored. Case in point is the CYCC this year where entry fees were to start at $225...another is the combining of sections when there are insufficient numbers.
I agree with Ken that this motion (which was passed at the annual meeting) will be changed before taking force. But you know, Les is a wise bird...he probably expects this and hence that is why he put $5 hoping to get $3 or $2 or even $1...afterall they are all significantly better than the 50 cents being collected at the present time :)
Here is what happened to the 7 grassroots restructuring motions ( that got ruled out of order Monday, and then subsequently got tabled to the Tuesday meeting ):
Motion # 1 – Moved – Barry Thorvardson; Seconded – Cesary Posylek: Item 1 set out below is acceptable.
“ 1. Core Roles: CFC will continue its role re FIDE, international and national events, a national rating system, and a website with membership info, ratings, membership sales, tournament announcements, chess club lists, and news submitted by members (highlights of recent tournament, etc.). Maintenance of these functions will be the responsibility of the Executive Director.”
Commentary - Ruled out of order again by the Chair, Maurice Smith, on the grounds that it was just a general statement of the way things are. The motion was somewhat trying to counter the plan for outsourcing the ratings and website. This ruling was not such a disaster, since the Request for Proposals Restructuring Committee of the CFC rejected all outsourcing bids presented to them, and so there were no motions/recommendations from them to outsource.
Motion # 2 – Moved – Michael Barron; Seconded – Barry Thorvardson: Item 2 set out below is acceptable.
“ 2. CFC Revenue: CFC revenues to come from memberships, rating fees, investments and donations. With the reduced scope of operation, costs for the organization should be less, and it may be possible to reduce annual membership fees and/or rating fees. “
Commentary - Ruled out of order by the Chair, Maurice Smith, as being a generalized statement of the way things are. The problem was that the main thrust of the motion was the second part indicating a reduction of the annual membership fee if finances allowed. But there was movement on this front as a motion was passed that in part, reduced the annual adult membership fee to $ 30 from $ 36 ( though it raised the rating fee from $ 3/player/event to $ 5 ). So we did get some movement on this particular issue.
Motion # 3 – Moved – Barry Thorvardson; Seconded – Chris Mallon: Item 3 set out below is acceptable.
“ 3. CFC Membership: CFC to eliminate tournament memberships – if you want to play in a CFC tournament, you must purchase an annual membership. To encourage individuals to become members, first time CFC members will be given a 40% fee reduction for their first year. “
Commentary - This motion got divided into two separate motions, since one part deals with tournament memberships, and the other with annual membership fees. But both got passed - but remember this was only a straw vote, and so still now needs a regular motion to implement this " opinion " of the governors.
Motion # 4 – Moved – Michael Barron; Seconded – Mark Dutton: Item 4 set out below is acceptable.
“ 4. Chess Canada: CFC will terminate the magazine contract with TKS immediately (with the May 2008 issue being the last issue of the magazine). “
Commentary - passed - again it was only a straw vote. But later there was a binding motion put forward that : " to replace the print magazine with an on-line magazine " ( though the definition of what will be meant by an " online magazine " was left elastic - it likely will not be the print magazine on a website - still too expensive ) - this motion will go into the GL# 1 to be processed in the normal snail mail fashion.
Motion # 5 – Moved – Michael Barron; Seconded – Gary Gladstone: Item 5 set out below is acceptable.
“ 5. Retail Business: Sell off the inventory of the retail business; it will be closed entirely. An alternative but small source of revenue could be established through a commission arrangement with other retailers, such as CMA or Amazon. “
Commentary - this motion was brought to the Assembly for discussion. But as the discussion ensued, concerns were raised that if the motion passed, it would negatively affect our bargaining position with potential buyers of the business. So the chair, Smith, reconsidered and again ruled this motion out of order due to ongoing negotiations. Again however, there was movement on this front, as a motion was brought " to sell the book inventory " ( at a discount " going out of the book business " basis ). This motion again was sent to GL # 1 to be dealt with in the normal manner. Some people are holding out to still sell equipment and software; some want out totally , but with a commission arrangement of some kind with someone like CMA - this is still swimming around as it has been for 1 1/2 years, and now there is still no firm decision of the governors on this.
Motion # 6 – Moved – Michael Barron; Seconded – Barry Thorvardson: Item 6 set out below is acceptable.
“ 6. CFC Condominium Office: The current CFC office would be placed for sale. The office would then be run out of either a small rental space or a home office. “
Commentary - Ruled out of order by the Chair, Smith, as being initimately intwined with the sale of the retail business - as long as we do business, we need space - and since the Retail Business motion was out of order, so was this one. Again however, the motion caused movement - a motion was passed that 1/2 of the building be leased. This is because some won't consider selling until they know what the carrying costs still are if the building can generate some revenue to help cover them. Then we will know if keeping/leasing is a viable option. I think there will be problems leasing ( a glut of available space apparently, and so the rental rate to get tenants will have to be low ). I think the building will still prove too expensive ( we cannot afford any expenses that can be eliminated ), and with a softening real estate market, the building will go down in value if we continue to hold it over the next few years
Motion # 7 – Moved – Michael Barron; Seconded – Nava Starr: Item 7 set out below is acceptable.
“ 7. CFC Staffing: In light of the reduced business activities of the CFC office (no retail sales and no print magazine), the Executive Committee would undertake a review of the Executive Director and Assistant positions and would recommend appropriate staffing changes if required. This could be from going to part-time, up to complete eliminating of the paid staff, and performing all CFC activities by volunteers. “
Commentary - Ruled out of order by the Chair, Smith, as being too general in nature. Again, not a disaster, as the Executive will be forced to evaluate staffing after restructuring - we just wanted to make it mandatory that they do it for sure.
So the grassroots campaign has had an influence on events, despite the fact that only 2 of the 7 motions ended up getting passed. It framed the debate on restructuring, and its ideas were brought home to all the governors, the Executive, and the RFP Restructuring Committee, as well as all the CFC general membership. I guess we could claim divided success :) - and now we must look at whether we should now bring some binding motions to implement the grassroots ideas that are still not yet implemented.
I just see the continuing trend of decisions being made about junior chess mostly by those who are not directly involved. The decisions are often short-sighted, ignore obvious flaws, and are not part of any overall strategy.
This particular one looks like a cash grab which won't work but will get many people annoyed in the meantime. As you know there are many ways to "milk" the parents of juniors, but this is not one that will work.
Even with adult chess we more half-measures. The whole point of boosting the rating fee was to try to eliminate the membership fee. For most TD's ensuring that someone is currently a properly paid-up member and then collecting/submitting membership fees is a royal nuisance. So instead of getting rid of that nuisance, all that happens is the number changes, but the TD now gets an added expense.
So, after these changes, if implemented, TD's of adult events will be annoyed and might see a decline in their attendance, and TD's of junior-only events will go elsewhere.
Well you know what happened when they moved the rating fee from $2 to $3. Ratings income stayed virtually the same. So all they did was alienate a bunch of players. Of course membership fees increased $3 at the same time.
The CFC is still living under the illusion that its rating system is worth a lot of money. The reality is that nowadays you can get several ratings for free and for most it is just as good as a "national rating". Today anybody with a PC can start a rating system. You must take this into account when you decide that rating a single tournament is worth 5$ per player.
I have a PC. I am unemployed. I am seriously considering asking the CFC to out-source ratings to me. And there will be a big discount for online submission. P.S. I am still pissed.
I think they could have convinced people at $5 per player if they had removed or virtually removed membership fees ($5 a year perhaps, or even $1). As it is though...
What is the point of even discussing this? From the tiny amount of info available, it seems the changes to the fees might well be an incorrect motion (I hate to use the term "out of order") so this may all be moot.
On a related note, the CFC news webpage STILL links to the adware/malware sites in .ru - THAT should be fixed ASAP or at least the pages should be crippled in the meantime).
Do we really have to wait for GL#1 for an official description of what happened at the AGM? I think I am an incoming governor for the CFC, but have received nothing...
the more things change, the more they stay the same.
So I'm thinking Les Bunning may have been behind this, since he's all over the Grey Board supporting it now... and he would fit the description Larry gave of "someone who should know better"...
So I'm thinking Les Bunning may have been behind this, since he's all over the Grey Board supporting it now... and he would fit the description Larry gave of "someone who should know better"...
You're the treasurer. Why haven't you made a proposal to replace the money that would be lost if the increase doesn't go through. Do you, in your capacity of treasurer, have a money tree you can shake to make the books balance?
I suppose we might as well prepare ourselves for a year of a treasurer who buys a red pen and simply writes numbers.
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