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Dark Knight / Le Chevalier Noir
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Michael Von Keitz has been selected as the winner of the just completed RFP for the Executive Director of the CFC. This contract is for a two year duration, commencing May 1, 2013.
Mr Von Keitz of Kirkland Lake, ON, has a BSc and MSc in Mathematics, and has served as both President of the Chess Federation of Canada and the Ontario Chess Federation.
- The CFC President resigns due to reason(s) unknown.
- Almost immediately the CFC advertises for applicants to be the (new) Executive Director.
- The now former CFC President tenders an application.
- The bids are scrutinized by the very same people he served with on the Executive a couple of weeks before.
Do I have this right?
I am very sorry to see Gerry Litchfield go. I consider the job he did to be nothing short of tremendous. Considering how often the CFC shoots itself in the foot it is a wonder that he managed to hold things together.
"Tom is a well known racist, and like most of them he won't admit it, possibly even to himself." - Ed Seedhouse, October 4, 2020.
Well Tom, a man's gotta eat right? The volunteer position of CFC President is a thankless job since you don't get paid for it and there's no reward for doing a good job, only scrutiny if they do a mediocre job, kind of like a lose-lose situation. I think MVK is a solid candidate for the position with his math background and his recent tenure as the CFC President of which I heard nothing but good things about. Was there favoritism involved? I dunno, but I'd rather hire someone that I've witnessed who's good at his job than an unknown whose only impression I have are a couple of 45 minutes interviews.
- The CFC President resigns due to reason(s) unknown.
- Almost immediately the CFC advertises for applicants to be the (new) Executive Director.
- The now former CFC President tenders an application.
- The bids are scrutinized by the very same people he served with on the Executive a couple of weeks before.
Do I have this right?
I am very sorry to see Gerry Litchfield go. I consider the job he did to be nothing short of tremendous. Considering how often the CFC shoots itself in the foot it is a wonder that he managed to hold things together.
Add to that:
- it isn't clear that Gerry applied for the 'new' position; in fact, since he was doing it as a side line of his real job, it is quite possible that he would not have been able to carry on in any case. I don't know any of that for sure.
- even IF Gerry applied, it isn't clear the arrangement would continue to work and that would result in deja vu all over again in a few months.
Obviously MVK had to resign the volunteer position to be able to even apply for the ED position... maybe he is planning to combine that ED position with freelance chess journalist etc (see his recent articles for ChessBase?)
Good on him. At least he is a known applicant for the job and clearly capable. Gerry did a fantastic job and deserves the thanks of all members of the chess community, but a new era has begun.
I think the Federation needs a policy which provides for a cooling off period between when someone is serving on the executive and when s/he is retained as an employee or contractor.
- The CFC President resigns due to reason(s) unknown.
- Almost immediately the CFC advertises for applicants to be the (new) Executive Director.
- The now former CFC President tenders an application.
- The bids are scrutinized by the very same people he served with on the Executive a couple of weeks before.
Do I have this right?
I am very sorry to see Gerry Litchfield go. I consider the job he did to be nothing short of tremendous. Considering how often the CFC shoots itself in the foot it is a wonder that he managed to hold things together.
Tom.
I have been a CFC Governor for 35 years. I don't think I've ever witnessed in that time the time spent and selfless effort put in by Michael. To the best of my knowledge this came as a sacrifice, and he eventually resigned, effective Mar 1, to pursue paid employment.
The contract with Outpost (the company Gerry is employed by) expires on May 1. Michael applied along with 4 others. He was ruled eligible to apply by the President and a selection committee chose him as the winning candidate. Three of the five members of that committee were non-Executive. His performance as all-achieving President and volunteer certainly helped put him to the top of the class.
Nobody likes to say good-bye to an existing contractor, and we thank Gerry for his years of service and wish him all the best.
Which of the two bids was the lowest? I don't see anything mentioned on that point.
I thought that the winning bid was the lowest though there are scenarios where another bid might have been lower under certain conditions. All bids were in the same ball park though one was a bit higher than the others. Any of the five candidates appeared to be qualified.
Well Tom, a man's gotta eat right? The volunteer position of CFC President is a thankless job since you don't get paid for it and there's no reward for doing a good job, only scrutiny if they do a mediocre job, kind of like a lose-lose situation. I think MVK is a solid candidate for the position with his math background and his recent tenure as the CFC President of which I heard nothing but good things about. Was there favoritism involved? I dunno, but I'd rather hire someone that I've witnessed who's good at his job than an unknown whose only impression I have are a couple of 45 minutes interviews.
That pretty much sums up my opinion as a member of committee. We were asked to determine which of the candidates was the most competent for the job, and Michael was the unanimous choice. He made an incredible job as a CFC president and has great skills for the job. Should he have been allowed to apply? I don't know and it wasn't up to the governors. But one thing is sure, he will do a good job.
Regarding the cost, Michael offered a great value/cost ratio. One bid would have saved some costs (as Vlad pointed out) but involved some risk, and Michael's being a great candidate for the job, the members of the committee decided not to look further. I imagine Michael's salary is not a secret, as it will be in the budget, but I'd rather not give any details for now. As Fred said, the applicants proposed salaries that were pretty much similar to last year's salary.
As Vlad said, though, all 5 candidates were highly qualified.
I had the priviledge of being a non-executive member of the E.D. Selection Committee. We had 5 very competent bidders. Our decision was based on the knowledge, skills and experience of the candidates. There is no doubt that the best candidate was selected and he will serve the CFC well.
I too wish Gerry well and thank him for his exemplary service and dedication to the CFC.
As a governor who only dealt with Gerry from time to time, I must say that I felt he did a very good job. I also hope he does very well in future - he is an honest, hard-working individual.
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