|
MINUTES OF MACA BOARD MEETING – 10/13/2013
President N. Smolensky called the October Board Meeting to order at 12:35 PM at New England Sports Academy in Westwood. Ten people were in attendance: President Nathan Smolensky, Vice-President John Sadoff, Treasurer Robert Messenger, Clerk Nicholas Sterling, and Directors Stephen Dann (arrived 12:57 PM) , Ken Belt (arrived 1:23 PM), George Mirijanian, Robert E. King, Marc Turgeon, and Walter Driscoll (arrived 12:38 PM).
Minutes of the September Board Meeting were distributed by N. Sterling, and one change requested. * * MOTION made by G. Mirijanian and seconded by R. Messenger to approve the September Board Meeting Minutes; with 2 abstentions, the MOTION passed. * *
Treasurer’s report was read by R. Messenger:
(a) (i) (1) Net income of the General Fund this period: $552.23. (2) Net income of the General Fund year-to-date: $425.06. (ii) (1) Special Fund income this period: $154.46, with $149.88 dividends. (2) Special Fund income year-to-date: $220.07, with $207.05 dividends. (iii) (1) Special Fund expenses this period: $703.80. (2) Special Fund expenses year-to-date: $2153.11. (iv) (1) Special Fund net income this period: $549.34 net loss. (2) Special Fund net income year-to-date: $1933.04 net loss. (v) (1) September 2013 Changes in Fund Balances this period: $2.89. (2) ) September 2013 Changes in Fund Balances year-to-date: $1507.98 net loss. (vi) Total Assets as of September 2013: $67394.81. (vii) Reserve for Chess Horizons: $2325.00. (viii) Unearned Tournament Revenue: $564.00.
(b) G. Mirijanian inquired about the change in monthly premium for the Insurance from previous months. R. Messenger said this was due to MACA’s having selected a different carrier.
Membership: R. Messenger read the 10/12/13 Membership numbers as follows: Adults: 244 (+5); Junior 497 (=); Life 213 (=); Affiliate 8 (=); Complimentary 4 (=);
D. Library 6 (=); D. Subscriber 27 (=); Exchange 16 (=); Library 2 (=); Prison 283 (+1); Subscriber 21 (=). Total change in Membership and Subscribers: +6. It was noted that some Memberships are being renewed prematurely because Members are unaware that their Memberships were extended because of the delayed publication of CH.
Tournament: (a) R. Messenger reported: (i) The 1st Spiegel Cup Qualifier was held on 9/15/13 and drew in 65 players, a drop from 85 players from last year. The total profit was $247.25, a drop from $508.91 from last year. A possible reason for the drop may be that the tournament was held earlier in the year, and there may not have been sufficient time for some schools to get teams together. (ii) The 80th Greater Boston Open was held on 10/6/13 and made a profit of $411.44, an increase from $259.56 from last year. (iii) The Pillsbury Memorial will be held on 12/15/13 in Marlboro. (iv) The MA G/60 Championship will be held on 4/27/14 in Marlboro. (v) The MA Open will be held on 5/24-5/26/14 (Memorial Day weekend) in Marlboro.
(b) N. Sterling reported: (i) The NESA September G/30 was held on 9/28/13, and had only four Rated players. (ii) The NESA October G/30 did somewhat better, with eight Rated players. $41 was raised for the One-Fund benefit. N. Sterling had contacted Cheryle Bruce of USCF prior to the tournament, and had gotten an online TLA listed.
Chess Horizons: (a) R. Messenger reported that new games need to be added to the upcoming issue of CH. (b) M. Turgeon asked whether NESA Chess activities could be advertised. N. Sterling pointed out that he has an ad for Waltham Chess Club included in exchange for publishing articles and Chess News. (c) G. Mirijanian said that the back page should be given fuller content, such as a full-page ad.
Scholastic: (a) The 2nd Qualifier will be held on 10/27/13, and the 3rd Qualifier will be held on 12/8/13.
(b) (i) * * MOTION (1013-1) made by S. Dann and seconded by
M. Turgeon to recommend that any MACA-related event be listed in the upcoming issue of Chess Horizons within January to June, with a one-line mention. The intent is to provide a written heads-up of upcoming events. Both R. Messenger and G. Mirijanian spoke in disfavor of the Board’s attempting to manage the procedure of the Editor.
N. Smolensky said that such an action would set a precedent for the relationship between the Board and the Editor. R. King said that Board input should be expected for approving or disapproving proposals of the content of CH. (ii) * * The VOTE was taken; with four votes in favor versus six against, the MOTION was defeated. * *
(c) (i) * * MOTION (1013-2) made by G. Mirijanian and seconded by
R. Messenger to thank Siddharth Arun for serving as Chief Assistant Director at the 1st Qualifier on 9/15/13. The VOTE was taken; the MOTION passed unanimously. * *
(ii) G. Mirijanian spoke emphatically about the need for more assistants to help at the MACA tournaments. It was agreed that the Scholastic Committee would have to take this up, and that volunteers would need to take up the slack (S. Dann).
Education: N. Sterling reminded the Board that an Education Committee was scheduled for directly after the conclusion of the Board Meeting.
Elections Commission: The Chair and the Commissioners of the Election Commission must be named by the Board of Directors prior to November 1 before an election the following spring, according to the Bylaws.
(a) (i) * * MOTION (1013-3a) made by M. Turgeon to appoint Walter Driscoll as Chair of the Elections Commission. (ii) * * MOTION (1013-3b) made by
G. Mirijanian and seconded by N. Smolensky to CLOSE NOMINATIONS. The VOTE was taken; with seven votes in favor versus two against and one abstention, the MOTION passed. (iii) The VOTE was taken on the original Motion; with eight votes in favor versus one against and one abstention, the MOTION passed. After further discussion, however, W. Driscoll declined the Chair position, and the process taken thereto was rendered void. * *
(b) * * MOTION (1013-4) made by N. Smolensky to appoint Stephen Dann as Chair of the Elections Commission. The VOTE was taken; with eight votes in favor versus one against and one abstention, the MOTION passed. S. Dann accepted his position. * *
(c) * * A SECRET BALLOT VOTE was taken out of five nominated candidates for the remaining two Commission appointments: George Mirijanian, Walter Driscoll, Donna Alarie, Richard Kinne, Dan Racine. The VOTES were tabulated by Clerk N. Sterling as Teller: with five votes for Walter Driscoll and four votes for George Mirijanian versus three votes apiece for each of the other three candidates, Walter Driscoll and George Mirijanian were declared to be the two remaining Election Commissioners. Both accepted their positions. * *
Bylaws: * * MOTION (1013-5) made by N. Smolensky and seconded by G. Mirijanian to place a non-binding referendum on the election ballot asking whether there is support for a motion to allow online voting in future elections, with the wording of said referendum to be finalized by February 2014. The VOTE was taken; the MOTION passed unanimously. * *
Old Business: none
New Business: (a) It was agreed that selection of USCF Delegates will be placed on the agenda for the November Meeting. (b) The Board was reminded that proposals for Bylaws changes require a 10-day notice before the next Board Meeting.
President N. Smolensky adjourned the October Board Meeting at 3:28 PM. The date, time, and place of the November Board Meeting were set at Sunday 11/3/13, at 6:00 PM, at New England Sports Academy in Westwood.
Respectfully submitted,
Nicholas Sterling, Clerk
|