MINUTES OF MACA BOARD MEETING – 3/24/2013

President R. King called the March Board Meeting to order at 6:02 PM at the Papa Gino’s in Natick.  Nine people were in attendance: President Robert King, Vice-President Steven Frymer (arrived 6:25 PM), Treasurer Robert Messenger, Clerk Nicholas Sterling, and Directors Richard Kinne, George Mirijanian, Stephen Dann (arrived 6:05 PM), Kenneth Belt (arrived 7:35 PM), and Marc Turgeon.

Minutes of the February Board Meeting were distributed by N. Sterling.  * * MOTION made by G. Mirijanian and seconded by R. Messenger to approve the February Board Meeting Minutes; with 5 votes in favor vs. 1 abstention, the MOTION passed. * *

President: (a) R. King reported: (i) The title of the so-called “2013 Boston Open” to be held on 5/11/13 will be changed to “Beantown Open” so that its name does not too closely match MACA’s “Greater Boston Open.”  The flyer will still list a request to donate to LMCF with the headline "A portion of each entry will be donated to MACA's Living Memorial Chess Fund Charity." (ii) R. King has continued to research investment opportunities so as to be able to find a use for the ca. $40000 currently left uninvested; he has come across the stock Southern Copper Corporation (SCCO) and would like MACA to invest in it through the brokerage firm Scottrade.

Treasurer’s report was read by R. Messenger:

  (a) (i) (1) Net income of the General Fund this period as of 2/28/13: $590.97 net loss. (2) Net income of the General Fund year-to-date as of 2/28/13: $1388.76. (ii) (1) Special Fund income this period as of 2/28/13: $9.55, with $2.60 dividends. (2) Year-to-date Special Fund income: $629.45, with $307.28 dividends. (iii) (1) Special Fund expenses this period: $82.75.  (2) Year-to-date Special Fund expenses: $4240.30.

(iv) (1) Special Fund net income this period: $73.20 net loss. (2) Year-to-date Special Fund net income: $3610.85 net loss. (v) February 2013 Changes in Fund Balances: $664.17 net loss. (vi) Total Assets as of February 2013: $61860.72. (vii) Reserve for Chess Horizons Expenses: $7625.00.

Tournament: (a) R. Messenger reported: (i) The MA G/60 Championship will be held on 4/21 in Marlboro.   Postcards have been mailed. (ii) The MA Open will be held on 5/25-5/27/13 (Memorial Day weekend) in Marlboro.  The contract is set.  (iii) The NE Open will be held on Labor Day weekend; the site is uncertain between the Four Points Sheraton in Leominster (for which only the Junior Ballroom is available on Saturday) and the Best Western in Marlboro.  (b) N. Sterling reported: (i) The NESA March G/20 was held on 3/11 and 3/18 in Westwood and drew in 23 players (a near record attendance at NESA); N. Sterling passed around the postcard that had been created at NESA, and there was talk that it could be posted to a mailing list.  (ii) The NESA April G/30 will be held on Saturday 4/6 in Westwood.

Membership: R. Messenger read the 3/21/13 Membership numbers as follows: Adults: 193 (+8); Junior 426 (+21); Life 214 (-1); Affiliate 3 (=); Complimentary 1 (=);

D. Library 6 (=); D. Subscriber 18 (+1); Exchange 16 (=); Prison 272 (+1); Subscriber 10 (+1).  Total change in Membership and Subscribers: +31.

Scholastic: S. Frymer and R. Messenger reported: (a) The Gus Gosselin Grade Championship (the seventh such event) drew in 115 players and raised a profit of $1205.45.  The Best Western turned out to be a good site (especially after the Woburn site had raised its rent).  A Grade 8-12 section had been added and drew in 5 high-school kids.  There is talk of adding a separate K section next year if enough players can be found.  (b) The Hurvitz Cup Team Championship (the eighth such event) will be held on 4/28/13 in Boxboro.  The planned T-shirts will not be offered for sale.

Publications:  (a) (i) R. Messenger reported that Chess Horizons is not yet published.  Unfortunately some material that had been submitted has now become obsolete.

(ii) D. Kinne expressed readiness to start receiving material for a Summer Edition and to advertise this fact to the public readership. (b) (i) * * MOTION (313-1a) made by

M. Turgeon and seconded by R. King to make Doc Kinne the new Editor of Chess Horizons, responsible for publishing a Summer Edition of Chess Horizons and continuing with future Editions of Chess Horizons with proper notification to interested parties. (ii) * * AMENDMENT (313-1b) made by S. Frymer and seconded by

G. Mirijanian to remove all the words of Motion 313-1a starting with “responsible.”  The VOTE was taken on the AMENDMENT; with 5 votes in favor versus 2 against and 1 abstention, the AMENDMENT passed. * * (iii) The VOTE was taken on the AMENDED MOTION; with 7 votes in favor versus 1 abstention, the MOTION passed. * *

Election:  (a) (i) The ballots must be printed out by the end of April at the earliest; to promote the MA Open, the flyer has to be included with the ballot early enough to allow players to reserve their hotel rooms before the deadline (G. Mirijanian).  (ii) W. Driscoll has been out of contact for a few months.  S. Dann and G. Mirijanian have to contact him by phone (as suggested by D. Kinne), since several e-mail attempts by S. Dann have gone unanswered; and they must consider realigning the Elections Commission.

(iii) Except for R. King’s, no Candidate’s Statements have been collected.

(b) * * MOTION (313-2) made by S. Dann and seconded by M. Turgeon to promote

G. Mirijanian to Interim Chair of the Elections Commission.  (He will prepare the ballot as he has done in years past.) The VOTE was taken; with 5 votes in favor versus 1 against and 2 abstentions, the MOTION passed. * *

(a) (i) * * ADVANCE MOTION (313-3) made by R. Messenger and seconded by

G. Mirijanian, with an AMENDMENT: “Moved that up to $500 in travel/overnight expenses be approved for MACA’s National Girls Tournament representative, who will be the winner of a match between Michelle Chen and Carissa Yip to be organized by the MACA Scholastic Committee.”  (This is planned for April.) The VOTE was taken on the AMENDED MOTION; with 7 votes in favor versus 1 against, the MOTION passed. * *

(b) (i) An ADVANCE MOTION by R. King to purchase 250 shares of SCCO stock went by without a Second. (ii) An ADVANCE MOTION made by R. King to join Scottrade was WITHDRAWN.  (iii) An ADVANCE MOTION by R. King to remove S. Dann from the Elections Commission went by without a Second.

(c) * * ADVANCE MOTION (313-4) made by S. Frymer and seconded by S. Dann: “Moved that the LMCF Coordinator be authorized to purchase demonstration boards for potential grants.”  G. Mirijanian will offer suggestions as to what type to buy, on a per need basis.  The VOTE was taken; with 8 votes in favor versus 1 abstention, the MOTION passed. * *

New Business:           (a) S. Dann and G. Mirijanian announced that the book collection donated by Paul Howard will be auctioned at the MA Open.

                                    (b) G. Mirijanian brought in an advertisement for a Chess Camp organized by USA Chess Camp for Active Learning Services.  N. Sterling will contact them to learn more about what they plan to do and to introduce MACA to them.

                                    (c) G. Mirijanian proposed that MACA advertise the Scholastic events in the periodical Bay State Parents.  To do this, however, the events must be scheduled earlier in the year to give the ad sufficient lead time.

President R. King adjourned the March Board Meeting at 7:50 PM.  The date, time, and place of the April Board Meeting are Sunday 4/14/13, at 6:00 PM, at the Papa Gino’s in Natick.

                                                                        Respectfully submitted,

                                                                        Nicholas Sterling, Clerk