5P. Report on Donation from Saskatchewan Chess Association (MOTION ENCLOSED!!!)

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Was there any string attached to the cheque (give us back when blah blah).
It reminds me Toronto Chess Building Fund (or similar) - it was transferred to the CFC Foundation, and still some people would like to get that back :/

Though, I would like to hear a story why the Association decided to close.

[Paul Leblanc]

No strings were attached although I made a suggestion at the AGM 2 years ago that the amount by which the web site is amortized every year be remitted to the Foundation. It went nowhere.
When I made the comment about clarity of authority to withdraw funds I was thinking of the Toronto case where there was no provision to reverse the donation.

[Fred McKim]

I wasn't on the CFC Executive when the Foundation received the huge fund from Toronto. However, I think it is safe to say chess is alive an well in Toronto. This is not the case in SK, and we may want to remember that "formally".

I think the Incoming Executive can investigate whether it is feasible to put some or all of the amortized web site amount back in the Foundation for safe keeping.

[Gordon Ritchie]

I have no problem with a notional earmark of $5,300 (not the larger amount in Chris's motion) for promotion of chess in Saskatchewan but would opposed putting it into a special, segregated fund. The foundation money should be kept as flexible as possible.
Gordon

[Ken Craft]

Gordon Ritchie makes eminent sense on this issue.

[Christopher Mallon]

I have no problem with a notional earmark of $5,300 (not the larger amount in Chris's motion) for promotion of chess in Saskatchewan but would opposed putting it into a special, segregated fund. The foundation money should be kept as flexible as possible.
Gordon

What is your reasoning in not putting all of the Saskatchewan money into the Foundation, but instead keeping $206.50 for general revenue?

[Lyle Craver]

I gather from this that the SK federation has effectively wound itself up. As such two things follow from this:
(1) we as an Assembly of Governors need to decide if we wish to elect a SK Governor (the prescribed method when there is no affiliate in a province) and
(2) decide on disposition of funds. I stand with the people who say "Foundation"

[Paul Leblanc]

Certainly, Gordon makes sense concerning flexibility of investment funds. In fact, I pool all resources and invest them together. I use my annual statement to identify how much of the pie belongs to each component.

[David Steer]

I last served on the Executive of the Saskatchewan Chess Association in 2009. This sum of money in question had been "floating around" the chess scene in Saskatchewan for quite some time - for at least several years prior to my involvement with Saskatchewan chess, which began around 2004. Interestingly, however, as an Executive we only became aware of this money after a previous Treasurer contacted the SCA Treasurer in (I believe) 2008. Prior to that, the 2008 Executive had no knowledge of it. This on its own speaks to the lack of organization in Saskatchewan chess circles - the left hand rarely knew what the right hand was doing. Given my discussions with the older members of the Saskatchewan chess community, this was par for the course - a member of two would get ambitious, attempt to organize and direct CFC tournaments, attempt to promote chess locally and provincially, form an Executive given enough political will, and so on. Inevitably the task would become too daunting and the shop would be closed. Years would pass until the next ambitious member appeared and started the process all over again. It should also be mentioned that the money was never officially on the books. We were told by the previous Treasurer that the money was being held in a separate SCA bank account, and there was talk about transferring the funds from the account of the previous Treasurer into an official SCA account, but for long as I was on the Executive the money remained in the "other" SCA account. Nevertheless, the members of the 2008 Executive debated the merits of using some of all of it for the purpose of promoting chess in Saskatchewan, but ultimately, given the sorry state of chess in the province, and given our own increasing pessimism/anomie towards all things related to Saskatchewan chess, it was decided that the money would best be kept in the treasury until a future Executive might have good use for it. The money remained untouched for as long as I served on the SCA Executive.

As I mentioned, this was in 2009. As far as I know, the SCA no longer exists. I believe the SCA lingered on in name only for a couple of years, but if there have been SCA elections elsewhere in the province since 2009 they have happened without my knowledge. I take it for granted that the previous SCA Treasurer decided, after years of waiting for the money to be used for Saskatchewan chess, to donate the money to the CFC. I believe this was an eminently reasonable course of action.

Of course, none of this paints a rosy picture of Saskatchewan chess. For years, I was "that member" that I spoke of earlier - the guy who got ambitious and spent innumerable hours attempting to revive the dead horse. When it no longer felt good to stop beating my head against the wall, however, I retreated from the scene. It goes without saying that I am no longer "that member." To be perfectly honest, I am currently a member of the CFC only because I feel a lingering obligation to chess in Saskatchewan - and a lingering sense of dissatisfaction with my failures as an organizer/promoter of the game. I am a CFC member, that is, only because as far as I know no one else is willing to serve as CFC Governor for the province, all Governors must be CFC members, and by serving as Governor I am at the very least able to keep a Saskatchewan presence at the CFC table. Biding the province's time until the next "that member" shows up.

I have no strong opinion on how this SK money should be used. I like to believe that there will come a time in which CFC chess flourishes in Saskatchewan, at which point the money might prove to be highly useful. It should also be mentioned that while CFC-related events no longer take place in the province, scholastic tournaments are run on a semi-regular basis. Perhaps the money might be used to further the interests of scholastic chess in Saskatchewan. I look forward to discussing these issues further with whomever is interested.

I wrote a letter to GM Spraggett on the topic of organizing chess under difficult circumstances last year. To my great surprise he printed my letter on his blog recently, along with his very sensible reply. Anyone who wants further insight into chess in Saskatchewan might gain from reading it.

Incidentally, if by some strange happenstance someone reading this knows of a Saskatchewan CFC member who is interested in serving as Saskatchewan governor, please let me know. The sooner I am able to hand the reins over to the next "that member," the better it will be for Saskatchewan chess.

[Fred McKim]

The following is the presented motion to be voted on.

Moved Mallon/LeBlanc: The CFC contribute $5506.50 to the Foundation for Fiscal 2012-2013.

There is time for amendments.