Who is attending the AGM ?

[Fred McKim]

I won't be present at the AGM and have a proxy to give to someone (Governor or regular member) for both the outgoing and incoming meeting.

Maybe those who are planning to attend could announce it here and all of us who can only send can be hooked up (with like thinkers) ahead of time.

[Christopher Mallon]

I will be attending as an outgoing and incoming governor (my last year under the 5-year CFC President deal, I think).

[Paul Leblanc]

I will be attending. I have asked Lyle Craver to explain proxies to me in case others from BC want me to cast their votes. I'll share his response when received.

[Bob Armstrong]

I will be attending both outgoing and incoming AGM's.

Bob

[Bob Gillanders]

Bob A., maybe you could explain the proxy rules?

I remember the Montreal AGM 2 years ago. There was much confusion regarding the proxy rules. We seem to have some very strange rules in effect. Well, at least I found them strange! :confused:

[Christopher Mallon]

There are lots of funny rules. No one person can hold more than 10% of the vote, no non-governor can have more than one proxy vote.

The (for any particular reason?) secret ballots for elections have lead to proxy abuse - example in 2004 David Cohen ended up with fewer votes than we know he should have. It probably didn't make a difference in that case but it has happened other times too.

In fact one year my proxy was used to nominate someone for a position when my proxy specifically stated not to support or vote for them for ANY position.

[Fred McKim]

From memory and browsing the handbook yesterday:

The Governor can send a proxy with the name of an individual or instructions as to the sort of person they would like to have holding the proxy (quite often this is another governor, but could be any member). It is possible to have a second or third choice listed, or seven a category; for example I could say "anyone from the Maritimes" and the Secretary would try to accomodate my wish. If it's not possible to give one of these to anyone appropriate, it will be considered a proxy to "The Secretary" (see next paragraph).

The Governor can also send a proxy to "The Secretary". These are handled differently. According to the handbook they are given out to those members at the meeting without a vote (from a regular proxy). If there any not handed out, they are kept by the secretary and are used in voting, when the proxy holder has specific instructions.

The proxy holder must follow any voting wishes on the proxy form, but is free to vote their own way, when there are no specific instructions, and otherwise act as a governor (if they are a regular member holding a proxy).

A member can only hold 10% of the total votes (including all proxies)available. If they have more than this number, they can distribute these to others, as they see fit.

Any proxies still held by the secretary are used only where the governor has indicated their voting preference. In all other instances, no vote is possible from these proxies.

I would anticipate that we might have as many as 40 Governors + Proxies this year, so I would anticipate that any Governor could hold 2 or maybe 3 proxies.

My last AGM was in 2006, so there may have been some refinements since then.

[Fred McKim]

Chris:

Non-Governors can, I think, hold more than one proxy. You are looking at paragraph two of the rules, where it states they can only hold one proxy made out to "The Secretary". To me this implies they could have two or three proxies made out to themselves. Conversely governors could hold more than one proxy made out to "The Secretary". That's how I read the rules.

I think the Secretary should make a note of proxies at registration, that indicate a voting preference and recall those before the election and perform the vote, in order to ensure the proxy wishes.

[Paul Leblanc]

Lyle's response to me was that I could hold proxies but could only use them for up to 10% of the total vote on any motion. If I had more than that number and had specific direction from the proxy donors on how to vote, I could redistribute some of them to another member at the meeting.

[Fred McKim]

The handbook pretty clearly says that if you have too many proxies you must distribute the excess, first to alternates on the proxy and then at your discretion.

[Bob Gillanders]

As I understand it, nobody can hold more than 10% of the votes.

But as an example, what if:

Governors in attendance = 15
Proxies = 12
Total votes = 27.

What is 10%? 10% of 27 = 2.7 Do we round up to 3 or not.

Assuming for the moment we don't round up, so use 2.

As a governor, do I count my own vote as 1 of the 2.
So, I only get 1 proxy? :(
As a non governor, can I vote 2 proxies? :confused:


I think we should answer the questions before July 12th!!!:)

[Bob Armstrong]

Hi Bob G:

I just sent your post to Maurice Smith, who dealt with these exact questions last year when he chaired the AGM. I can't remember what he ruled though. It may be in the 2009 AGM minutes ( I haven't looked ).

I asked if Maurice would post a reply so all will know.

Bob A

[Fred McKim]

You can't hold proxies totalling more than 10% of the total vote. If the total vote is 28 you can hold two proxies (plus your own, if you're a governor)...

[Bob Armstrong]

Hi Fred:

I have now looked at the Edmonton 2009 AGM minutes. I don't know if Maurice's ruling last year agrees with you ( Last year I thought it was what you said, but when Maurice ruled, I deferred to his experience, and didn't question his ruling - as I recollect, I started with 2 proxies last year ( von Keitz and Craft ), and had to give one of them to someone else ):

Governors Present - 8
Proxies Filed - 16
Proxies allowed to be held by governors - 1 ( + their own vote; I believe Maurice interpreted it as any governor having a maximum of 2 votes, since 10% of 25 votes = 2.5 votes, and it must be rounded down to 2 )
Proxies allowed to Non-Governors - 1
Proxies held by Secretary - 5 ( because no one else at the meeting could hold any more proxies ).

I think Maurice will have to clear all this up, and confirm whether I'm interpreting the minutes correctly.

Here are the Minutes:

1. Registration of Proxies

Governors holding Proxies
David Steer- Micah Hughey
Michael Barron-Ilia Bluvshtein
Phil Haley-Les Bunning
Eric Van Dusen-Halldor Palsson
Maurice Smith-Lynn Stringer
Bob Armstrong-Michael Von Keitz
Hal Bond-Patrick McDonald
Ken Einarsson-Lyle Craver

Members holding one proxy

Francois Nadeau-Ellen Nadeau
Bill Doubleday-Herb Langer
Hugh Brodie-Richard Keep

Gerry Litchfield acting as secretary of proxies only voting when explicitly instructed:

Nava Starr
Stijn De Kerpel
Gary Gladstone
Chris Mallon
Ken Craft
Egidijus Zeromskis

Total Votes are 25.

Here is the Proxy section from the CFC Handbook:

RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE CHESS FEDERATION OF CANADA

ARTICLE ONE



PROXIES

21. Any Governor who is unable to be personally present at a meeting of the Assembly may appoint any person to act as his proxy.

Proxies made out to "The Secretary" will be distributed to CFC Members, present at the meeting, who do not have a vote. Preference will be given to members of the same province as the proxy giver. Non-Governors may not receive more than one proxy by this method. Remaining proxies of this type will not be used.

No person shall act as proxy for more than 10% of all possible votes. Any Governor receiving more than the maximum allowed must distribute the excess, first to any alternate designees by the proxy giver and then at his own discretion.



Bob

[Fred McKim]

Section 2.22 - I think the 10% rule was misinterpreted by the chair, and this is why the Secretary ended up holding so many proxies.

If Maurice is acting as chair this year, I think this needs to be cleared up ahead of time.

[Maurice Smith]

There are two ways to interpret thr proxy rule. First, the intent was to not allow a person to be able to vote more than 10 percent of the total votes.
I think that is something that most people would think as reasonable. So if there is a total of 27 votes and a person has two proxies plus his own vote, he has three votes which is more than 10 percent.

However, if you take the ruling literally, it states: "No person shall ACT AS PROXY for more than 10 percent of all possible votes. So that means if there are 27 votes and someone has two proxies, the person is not ACTING AS PROXY for more than 10 percent of the total votes. So under that ruling the person is allowed two proxies.

I get the feeling that most Governors would prefer this rule since it allows more proxies to be used. So therefore between 20 and 29 you may have two proxies, between 30 and 39 three proxies and so on. I don't think there will be many {if any} complaints doing it this way. So unless there is a strong wave of protest, that is what we shall do. Thanks for bringing it up, it is always good to know the rules beforehand.

Maurice Smith

[Bob Armstrong]

Hi Maurice:

Very clearly set out - and I think the vast majority of governors will agree with the interpretation of the Handbook you are intending to follow this year.

So governors attending now know what to expect when the total governors present, and proxies, are registered and totalled at the start of the meeting. As the number of proxies a governor agrees to hold goes up, so does the risk he may have to hand some of them off.

Thanks for clarifying in advance.

Bob

[Pierre Dénommée]

I will be there unless I have a scheduling conflict. I will post a message as soon as I am sure.

[Michael von Keitz]

I will be there, and I am willing to hold proxies if approached.

[Bob Gillanders]

CHESS FEDERATION OF CANADA
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Westin Harbour Castle Hotel, Queen's Quay, Toronto
Room - Dockside 8 - Basement
Monday July 12th & Tuesday July 13th
10:00am - 4:00pm

If you're going to be at the Canadian Open, why not drop in on the annual general meeting. I see the notice is prominently displayed on CFC website.

This is the one time during the year that governors from across the country get together, face to face, to deal with the challenges of promoting chess in Canada. This meeting is open to all CFC members. You do not need to be a governor. If you have questions, comments, suggestions, or just a complaint. We want to hear from you. Who knows, maybe you'll even volunteer to help.

I will be there, and hopefully I will meet a few governors for the first time. Geography is a challenge. For those governors unable to attend, please make use of your proxy vote. Assign your proxy to someone you trust, and remember to give whatever instructions you wish.

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Assign your proxy to someone you trust, and remember to give whatever instructions you wish.

I think, there were several Bob's A. motions scheduled for voting at the AGM?

When will the next GLs due?

[Christopher Mallon]

Doesn't the final GL with notice of the AGM have a deadline to be submitted? Either 10 or 14 days before the AGM? I forget exactly.

[Kerry Liles]

Doesn't the final GL with notice of the AGM have a deadline to be submitted? Either 10 or 14 days before the AGM? I forget exactly.

And most likely the GL with the budget vote needs to be out too, but none of that has happened either has it? We have all these people living and dying by the 'rules' and nobody actually doing much of anything.

[Fred McKim]

The time and location has been posted as required.

I have scanned the handbook section for a few minutes and I think in theory Governors could be responsible for sending their own proxy and there is no obligation for an agenda to be circulated by the secretary.

The only exception to this is Amendments to the by-laws or changes to do with FIDE. This requires 14 days notice in the governors hands.

I could be wrong, this scednario would likely be a first.....

I do know that Lyle is preparing it, so I'd expect to see it early next week. We may not see the result of the budget vote, though.

[Hugh Brodie]

I will be attending.