Bob Armstrong
03-01-2010, 03:30 PM
I have been having some discussions with various people about the current status of the CFC ( is it drifting currently? ), and whether there needs to be any more restructuring of the organization to get it back on track. One issue has been the outsourcing of the CFC's office functions to EKG, who provide to CFC Gerry Litchfield, as filling the E.D. position. I myself never favoured the outsourcing contract by former president David Lavin, as I've posted recently. This is no criticism of EKG nor of Gerry. It is a question of what is the best administrative design for CFC to help it meet its corporate objectives.
Here are some of my thoughts on these issues:
# 1. The Governors - The CFC is the governors. I am totally supportive of the governor structure as it is. I did try at the July 2009 AGM to cut the number of provincial representative governors in half, but that motion failed. I can live with that. I have 2 motions now before the governors to remove past presidents of more than 5 years ( thus eliminating the Life Governor situation), and to make them governors-at-large without vote for 10 years. I also have filed a motion to impose an activity criteria on governors, or they can be removed if they do not participate. I see the governors as making all major decisions: financial, policy and administrative. I think this system works.
# 2.The Executive - The executive run the day-to-day operations on behalf of the governors, and so their decision-making power is actually quite limited, and administrative.
#3. Budget – the executive will, in consultation with the ED, create a budget, to be presented to the governors one month prior to the start of the fiscal year, which is by March 31. Maurice is now trying to see if he can meet this deadline. Foundation funds will not be used for ongoing CFC operations. It will only be accessed for major projects approved by the Governors. The ED would be a major person to consult with on financial planning. Maurice is now dealing with Gerry on the 2010-11 budget ( they meet tomorrow, as I understand it ).
# 4. Executive Director - I prefer that the CFC not renew the outsourcing contract with EKG, and hire Gerry, if available, or some other good person, as an ED " employee " again. The ED. may be the public face of the CFC, but he is supervised by the executive as an employee, and does not have any policy/administrative powers of his own. The executive determine what information is made available to an ED. An appeal by the ED is possible to the Governors. It has been a bit of a struggle between the executive/president and the Governors as to whether the President can terminate the ED when that was an “ employee “ position. There is precedent that this has been done by the president on his own authority, without governor authorization, and there may be a pro bono legal opinion that this is an administrative operational decision within the scope of the president. I disagree with this – other staff, the President can hire and fire – but he can’t terminate the ED – that is a “ major “ administrative decision for the governors.
#5. AGM - I chair a subcommittee that hopes to make the AGM interactive by audio, and perhaps even interactive by video. All governors from across the country will be able to attend the AGM from their home computer.
#6. New CFC Website – This capital project will have to be funded out of the building sale trust funds being held by the Chess Foundation of Canada, such final decision to be made by the Governors.
Added by later editing at the request of Governor Egis Zeromskis:
# 7. Provincial Affiliates - The CFC is a true federation. The provinces are allocated a certain number of seats in the CFC Assembly of Governors, based on membership totals in the provinces/territories. The CFC Handbook makes clear that they are elected by the CFC members in the Province ( in Ontario, the CFC member elects only the governors for his/her region ), not appointed by the Provincial Affiliate. However, as far as I can tell, once elected the CFC Governor becomes independent - he is a true representative. He has total discretion about how he votes and what he does. The Provincial Affiliate cannot direct their governors how to vote, or what to do. Please point me to any source references that may counter this opinion.
However, I fear that the above fact has led the Provincial Affiliates to wash their hands of their CFC governors once elected. The provinces as far as I know do not try to influence the governors on CFC votes; they do not hold any meetings of their CFC governors to plan strategy at the CFC. In fact, even in the election process, they seem to be falling down. We have a less than 50% voting participation rate on CFC motions. Governors are failing to do their job of governing. And only the Provincial Affiliate, through their CFC members, can affect this situation. The Provincial Affiliates are not beating the bushes to find the best CFC members of their province to stand for nomination. And the CFC members in the province have to take responsibility when they elect deadwood governors to represent them. I feel the provincial affiliates need to put this on the agenda of their next provincial affiliate meeting, and discuss how they can do better.
# 8. Membership - CFC is not really a true " member " organization. It barely makes the definition. There is a very truncated role only for CFC members. They only have one official power - to elect the CFC Governors for their province ( and in Ontario, they elect only the governors for their region ). Other than that they have no direct voice in the running to the CFC. This is enshrined in section 14 of Bylaw # 1 in the CFC Handbook:
LIMITATION OF RIGHTS
14. No individual Member shall have any right to be heard on any matter pertaining to the affairs of the Federation, or his individual membership. Should any individual member be aggrieved by any matter arising in the conduct of the affairs of the Federation, his remedy shall be to bring the matter before his provincial organization, and if there be no Provincial Organization in the Province in which he resides, he may bring the matter to the attention of a Governor representing such Province. Any complaints or suggestions of any individual Member shall be sufficiently dealt with by the Federation Secretary, if he shall reply to such individual Member quoting this By-law.
So membership is more about the benefits of CFC membership: the national rating; the monthly Canadian Chess News Newsletter; and the supporting of chess in Canada through the CFC. Bob Gillanders, former governor, former CFC Treasurer, and former CFC E.D. was the drafter, I think, of the current CFC Website exposition on the membership page of these benefits:
What benefits do I get as a member of the C.F.C.?
When you become a member of the CFC, you join a fraternity of chess players, enthusiasts, teachers, and organizers from across Canada devoted to promoting chess. The CFC represents Canada to the world as a member of FIDE, the international chess body. The CFC sends teams to the Chess Olympiad, World Youth Chess Championship, and other major international events. The CFC holds national championships (including the Canadian Open, Canadian Youth Chess Championship, Canadian Closed, Canadian Women’s Championship) to showcase Canadian talent. The CFC website keeps players informed on is what happening including tournament listings, tournament reports and news items, listings of local chess clubs, and so much more. Your membership dues support all these activities to help ensure chess prospers in Canada. As a member, you are welcomed at CFC events across Canada, including national tournaments, weekend swisses, and local club tournaments.
Other benefits of membership include:
A national CFC chess rating,
Subscription to the monthly Canadian Chess News, an electronic newsletter,
And discount prices at the CFC online store.
There has never been any groundswell of member dissatisfaction with the current membership situation ( though there has been some complaint by some that there is insufficient value for the amount of the yearly membership fee - with which I strongly disagree - chess is cheap in comparison to other hobbies and belonging to governing organizations - it is currently $ 36 for the CFC portion of new membership fees collected - the provinces add on their membership fees and the CFC collects it for them when it sells its membership).
In my experience as an active member, before becoming governor, and as an organizer at the grassroots of CFC members, I found my local governors most cooprerative in advising me of CFC matters, bringing motions on my behalf, etc. Admittedly, few organizations are structured this way, and so change could be sought to give members a greater role, if the membership really wanted such a role, based on comparisons with other major organizations. But so far, the status quo has been generally accepted.
I'd be pleased to hear any comments on some of these fundamental CFC ideas.
Bob
Here are some of my thoughts on these issues:
# 1. The Governors - The CFC is the governors. I am totally supportive of the governor structure as it is. I did try at the July 2009 AGM to cut the number of provincial representative governors in half, but that motion failed. I can live with that. I have 2 motions now before the governors to remove past presidents of more than 5 years ( thus eliminating the Life Governor situation), and to make them governors-at-large without vote for 10 years. I also have filed a motion to impose an activity criteria on governors, or they can be removed if they do not participate. I see the governors as making all major decisions: financial, policy and administrative. I think this system works.
# 2.The Executive - The executive run the day-to-day operations on behalf of the governors, and so their decision-making power is actually quite limited, and administrative.
#3. Budget – the executive will, in consultation with the ED, create a budget, to be presented to the governors one month prior to the start of the fiscal year, which is by March 31. Maurice is now trying to see if he can meet this deadline. Foundation funds will not be used for ongoing CFC operations. It will only be accessed for major projects approved by the Governors. The ED would be a major person to consult with on financial planning. Maurice is now dealing with Gerry on the 2010-11 budget ( they meet tomorrow, as I understand it ).
# 4. Executive Director - I prefer that the CFC not renew the outsourcing contract with EKG, and hire Gerry, if available, or some other good person, as an ED " employee " again. The ED. may be the public face of the CFC, but he is supervised by the executive as an employee, and does not have any policy/administrative powers of his own. The executive determine what information is made available to an ED. An appeal by the ED is possible to the Governors. It has been a bit of a struggle between the executive/president and the Governors as to whether the President can terminate the ED when that was an “ employee “ position. There is precedent that this has been done by the president on his own authority, without governor authorization, and there may be a pro bono legal opinion that this is an administrative operational decision within the scope of the president. I disagree with this – other staff, the President can hire and fire – but he can’t terminate the ED – that is a “ major “ administrative decision for the governors.
#5. AGM - I chair a subcommittee that hopes to make the AGM interactive by audio, and perhaps even interactive by video. All governors from across the country will be able to attend the AGM from their home computer.
#6. New CFC Website – This capital project will have to be funded out of the building sale trust funds being held by the Chess Foundation of Canada, such final decision to be made by the Governors.
Added by later editing at the request of Governor Egis Zeromskis:
# 7. Provincial Affiliates - The CFC is a true federation. The provinces are allocated a certain number of seats in the CFC Assembly of Governors, based on membership totals in the provinces/territories. The CFC Handbook makes clear that they are elected by the CFC members in the Province ( in Ontario, the CFC member elects only the governors for his/her region ), not appointed by the Provincial Affiliate. However, as far as I can tell, once elected the CFC Governor becomes independent - he is a true representative. He has total discretion about how he votes and what he does. The Provincial Affiliate cannot direct their governors how to vote, or what to do. Please point me to any source references that may counter this opinion.
However, I fear that the above fact has led the Provincial Affiliates to wash their hands of their CFC governors once elected. The provinces as far as I know do not try to influence the governors on CFC votes; they do not hold any meetings of their CFC governors to plan strategy at the CFC. In fact, even in the election process, they seem to be falling down. We have a less than 50% voting participation rate on CFC motions. Governors are failing to do their job of governing. And only the Provincial Affiliate, through their CFC members, can affect this situation. The Provincial Affiliates are not beating the bushes to find the best CFC members of their province to stand for nomination. And the CFC members in the province have to take responsibility when they elect deadwood governors to represent them. I feel the provincial affiliates need to put this on the agenda of their next provincial affiliate meeting, and discuss how they can do better.
# 8. Membership - CFC is not really a true " member " organization. It barely makes the definition. There is a very truncated role only for CFC members. They only have one official power - to elect the CFC Governors for their province ( and in Ontario, they elect only the governors for their region ). Other than that they have no direct voice in the running to the CFC. This is enshrined in section 14 of Bylaw # 1 in the CFC Handbook:
LIMITATION OF RIGHTS
14. No individual Member shall have any right to be heard on any matter pertaining to the affairs of the Federation, or his individual membership. Should any individual member be aggrieved by any matter arising in the conduct of the affairs of the Federation, his remedy shall be to bring the matter before his provincial organization, and if there be no Provincial Organization in the Province in which he resides, he may bring the matter to the attention of a Governor representing such Province. Any complaints or suggestions of any individual Member shall be sufficiently dealt with by the Federation Secretary, if he shall reply to such individual Member quoting this By-law.
So membership is more about the benefits of CFC membership: the national rating; the monthly Canadian Chess News Newsletter; and the supporting of chess in Canada through the CFC. Bob Gillanders, former governor, former CFC Treasurer, and former CFC E.D. was the drafter, I think, of the current CFC Website exposition on the membership page of these benefits:
What benefits do I get as a member of the C.F.C.?
When you become a member of the CFC, you join a fraternity of chess players, enthusiasts, teachers, and organizers from across Canada devoted to promoting chess. The CFC represents Canada to the world as a member of FIDE, the international chess body. The CFC sends teams to the Chess Olympiad, World Youth Chess Championship, and other major international events. The CFC holds national championships (including the Canadian Open, Canadian Youth Chess Championship, Canadian Closed, Canadian Women’s Championship) to showcase Canadian talent. The CFC website keeps players informed on is what happening including tournament listings, tournament reports and news items, listings of local chess clubs, and so much more. Your membership dues support all these activities to help ensure chess prospers in Canada. As a member, you are welcomed at CFC events across Canada, including national tournaments, weekend swisses, and local club tournaments.
Other benefits of membership include:
A national CFC chess rating,
Subscription to the monthly Canadian Chess News, an electronic newsletter,
And discount prices at the CFC online store.
There has never been any groundswell of member dissatisfaction with the current membership situation ( though there has been some complaint by some that there is insufficient value for the amount of the yearly membership fee - with which I strongly disagree - chess is cheap in comparison to other hobbies and belonging to governing organizations - it is currently $ 36 for the CFC portion of new membership fees collected - the provinces add on their membership fees and the CFC collects it for them when it sells its membership).
In my experience as an active member, before becoming governor, and as an organizer at the grassroots of CFC members, I found my local governors most cooprerative in advising me of CFC matters, bringing motions on my behalf, etc. Admittedly, few organizations are structured this way, and so change could be sought to give members a greater role, if the membership really wanted such a role, based on comparisons with other major organizations. But so far, the status quo has been generally accepted.
I'd be pleased to hear any comments on some of these fundamental CFC ideas.
Bob