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MINUTES OF MACA BOARD MEETING – 11/22/09
President M. Reilly called the November Board Meeting to order at 2:20 PM at the Papa Gino’s in Natick. Nine people were in attendance: President Maryanne Reilly, Vice-President Kenneth Ballou, Treasurer Robert Messenger, Clerk Nicholas Sterling, and Directors George Mirijanian, Brian Lafferty (departed 3:55 PM), Brian Mottershead, Stephen Dann, and Robert E. King.
Agenda of the November Board Meeting were distributed by President M. Reilly.
Minutes of the October Board Meeting were distributed by N. Sterling. G. Mirijanian requested that it be clarified in (a) of the LMCF report that B. Lafferty “has purchased” 200 chess sets and boards “on behalf of MACA”; the Clerk has inserted this phrase into the October Minutes. * * Motion (1109-1) made by B. Messenger and seconded by
K. Ballou; the September Minutes were unanimously approved. * *
Editor Search: G. Mirijanian reported: (a) Max Sewell has been selected as the Interim Chess Horizons Editor. Mr. Sewell has agreed to accept $12/page as his Editor’s fee. In order to keep the expenses of publishing Chess Horizons under budget, however, MACA must cut back the number of pages, perhaps as low as 16. The deadline for submissions is December 1, 2009, and the magazine will go to print in mid-December. (b) No progress has yet been made on finding a permanent Editor; one person has expressed interest, but he is uncertain of his competence for the position.
M. Reilly stepped out at 2:48 PM, and Vice-President K. Ballou presided over the Meeting until 2:53 when M. Reilly returned.
Elections: (a) (i) K. Ballou reported that MACA is obligated by the Bylaws to form an Elections Commission, consisting of three Commissioners, one acting as Chair, none of whom may be candidates for any Executive Office. (ii) M. Reilly mentioned that both
A. Relyea and B. Wiegand would be interested in serving, but that A. Relyea definitely, B. Wiegand perhaps, cannot attend the MA Open, at which the ballots are brought in and counted; hence provisions must be made to ensure the safe delivery of the ballots to the MA Open. (iii) * * MOTION (1109-2) made by B. Messenger and seconded by
B. Lafferty to appoint G. Mirijanian, B. Wiegand (with her permission), and A. Relyea as Elections Commissioners; Motion passed (G. Mirijanian abstained). * *
(b) B. Mottershead, supported by R. E. King, served NOTICE that he will introduce a BYLAWS AMENDMENT at the December Board Meeting to allow for balloting to be conducted electronically instead of by paper mail.
(c) K. Ballou served NOTICE that he will introduce a BYLAWS AMENDMENT at the December Board Meeting to fix the deadline for Nominations on February 15.
Treasurer’s report was read by B. Messenger. Net gain for the General Fund as of 10/31/09: $310.19; the gain may be attributed to the successful running of two Tournaments. Net profit from the Fall Foliage Chess Festival: $593.50. Net profit from the Greater Boston Open: $274.71. * * Motion (1109-3) made by B. Lafferty and seconded by M. Reilly; the Treasurer’s report was unanimously accepted as read. * *
Membership: B. Messenger read the Membership numbers as follows: Adults 202; Family 39; Junior 367; Life 219; Affiliate 1; Complimentary 6; Exchange 17; Library 5; Prison 237; Subscriber 58. * * Motion (1109-4) made by B. Lafferty and seconded by M. Reilly; the Membership report was unanimously accepted as read. * *
Tournaments: K. Ballou reported: (a) The Greater Boston Open was very successful, with 70 players attending; including 28 in the Under 2000 Section; as a result two additional prizes felicitously were added in that section. (b) The MA Open and G/60 must now be planned. The MA Open will most likely remain in Boxboro; a hotel in Sturbridge was suggested as an alternative, but it is unlikely to have available space on Memorial Day weekend (B. Lafferty). (c) The rent will be raised at the Natick Senior Center, because the discount that was in place while the Metrowest Chess Club kept its own building monitor has been removed now that the building has its own monitor. The new rent is $35/hr, or $420 for a 6-hour event. Despite this rent hike, both MACA and Metrowest ought to remain at the Senior Center for the time being, as that is the best deal around (B. Messenger).
Public Relations: G. Mirijanian reported that MACA has access to an enormous collection (1000+) of chess books from a decedent long-time player. To make the most of this thousand-dollar opportunity, he proposes a Book Auction to be held at the MA Open. B. Messenger said that arrangements must be made to reserve a large enough space to display the books, to include notice in the TLA, and to secure the appropriate permitting from the City of Boxboro (at a $15 fee – K. Ballou). It may be sufficient to provide online notice.
Scholastics: M. Reilly reported: (a) The 2nd Spiegel Cup Qualifier, held at BB&N School in Cambridge on 11/21/09, was very successful. (b) Confirmed dates and sites for future events are: (i) the 3rd Spiegel Cup Qualifier at the Hudson Metro Boys & Girls Club on 12/6/09; (ii) the Hurvitz Cup State Team Championship at the Sage School in Foxboro on 3/7/10. (c) Tentative dates and sites for future events are: (i) the 4th Spiegel Cup Qualifier at the Hilton Garden Inn in Waltham on 1/10/10; (ii) the Holiday Team Challenge at either the Woburn Hilton or Weston Junior High School on 1/24/10; (iii) the Spiegel Cup and Gus Gosselin Grade Championships combined at Weston Junior High School on 3/28/10.
LMCF: B. Lafferty reported: (a) 2/3 of the inventory has been transferred to M. Reilly.
(b) 10 sets are slated for either Doherty School or Andover. (c) 28 sets are slated for the Needham School System (M. Reilly). (d) 12 sets are slated for Glover Elementary School (M. Reilly on behalf of B. Wiegand). (e) 12 sets are slated for Fitchburg, 6 to Crocker Elementary School and 6 to McKay Elementary School (G. Mirijanian).
Education: (a) S. Dann reported: (i) B. Wiegand made contact with Glover Elementary School [Clerk’s note: see LMCF above], with great success. (ii) The Committee continues, with the help of Google Chrome, to identify libraries that want chess programs; many have expressed interest, but so far none have applied for grants.
(b) S. Dann distributed a letter from 1975 that may be used by B. Wiegand and others as a template for making first contact with schools, clubs, and libraries. (c) N. Sterling reported that he has accepted a new teaching position at New England Sports Academy in Westwood, and will be teaching chess. He hopes to find other chess instructors to join him there. The CEO also welcomes scholastic tournaments.
Prison: none
Old Business: (i) B. Messenger requested consent on behalf of the Dues and Membership Restructuring Committee to place Chess Horizons online, for now on a publicly accessible site, to be later shifted to a Members-Only protected site. A notice would be sent to Members that they would need to request continuing to receive the hard-copy magazine or else would cease to receive it. If that occurred, a possible Dues structure could be: $12/Adult, $6/Junior, $12/Subscriber, $6/Library; with Juniors not be expected to get the hard-copy magazine except by request. (ii) M. Reilly agreed with the proposal, but cautioned that no information about Junior or Scholastic players may be placed online without permission from their parents. (iii) * * MOTION (1109-5) made by
B. Messenger and seconded by K. Ballou forthwith to publish Chess Horizons online on a publicly accessible site; Motion passed. * *
New Business: (a) (i) * * ADVANCE MOTION (1109-6a) made by R.E. King to appoint himself Publications Coordinator (or Chair), seconded by K. Ballou.
(ii) An AMENDMENT by B. Messenger to appoint
G. Mirijanian Chair of the Publications Committee formed with the charter of overseeing Chess Horizons, with a FRIENDLY AMENDMENT from B. Mottershead to appoint
R.E. King as one of the other Members and vest G. Mirijanian with authority to choose other Members, was withdrawn in face of opposition from R.E. King.
(iii) * * MOTION (1109-6b) made by B. Mottershead and seconded by K. Ballou to DIVIDE THE QUESTION into MOTIONS for the formation of the Publications Committee and the Election of a Chair; with five votes in favor versus one votes against and one abstention, the Motion passed. * *
(iv) * * MOTION (1109-6c) made by B. Messenger and seconded by K. Ballou to create a Publications Committee to oversee Chess Horizons; Motion passed unanimously. * *
(v) * * MOTION (1109-6d) made by R. E. King and seconded by B. Messenger to hold the Election of the Publications Committee Chair by SECRET BALLOT; with five votes in favor versus one votes against and one abstention, the Motion passed. * *
(vi) NOMINATIONS were accepted for the Election of the Publications Committee Chair as George Mirijanian and Robert E. King. Each was invited to give a speech on his behalf, and did so.
(vii) The Election was conducted by SECRET BALLOT; the results were tabulated by the Clerk: three Votes Robert E. King; three Votes George Mirijanian; two Abstentions. The outcome was declared a TIE.
(viii) In lieu of a re-vote, G. Mirijanian opted to WITHDRAW his candidacy, making Robert E. King the Publications Committee Chair by default.
(ix) * * MOTION (1109-6e) made by B. Mottershead and seconded by M. Reilly to appoint G. Mirijanian to the Publications Committee; Motion passed with three abstentions. * * G. Mirijanian clarified that the Editorial Search Committee remains separate from the Publications Committee.
(b) (i) * * ADVANCE MOTION (1109-7a) made by K. Ballou. The MOTION was AMENDED by unanimous consent to read as follows: “MOVED, to amend section 4.7 of the bylaws by adding the following sentence: "Any Executive Board member who attends no regular and special meeting of the Executive Board for a period of one hundred twenty (120) days from the start of the member's term shall be deemed to have declined the office, and the office shall be deemed vacant."”
(ii) * * MOTION (1109-7b) made by S. Dann and seconded by B. Messenger to postpone voting on MOTION (1109-7a) (S. Dann’s rationale, supported by R.E. King, was to give time to conduct research on other non-profit organizations to find out how they handle policy about non-attendant Board Members). The VOTE was taken on MOTION 1109-7b; with five votes in favor versus three votes against, the Motion passed. * *
(c) (i) * * ADVANCE MOTION (1109-8a) made by R.E. King: “To amend the by-laws of MACA: To reset the quorum to six (6) for regular board meetings.”
(ii) * * MOTION (1109-8b) made by B. Mottershead to postpone voting on MOTION (1109-8a). The VOTE was taken on MOTION 1109-8b; the Motion passed unanimously. * *
(d) * * MOTION (1109-9) made by M. Reilly and seconded by
K. Ballou to call a Special Meeting on Sunday, 12/6/09 at the Hudson Metro Boys & Girls Club, site of the 3rd Spiegel Cup Qualifier. Among other subjects will be taken up
K. Ballou’s BYLAWS AMENDMENT to fix the deadline for Election Nominations at February 15. The VOTE was taken; the Motion passed unanimously. * *
President M. Reilly adjourned the November Board Meeting at 5:11 PM. The date, time, and place for the December Board Meeting is Sunday, 12/13/09, 2:00 PM at the Papa Gino’s in Natick.
Respectfully submitted,
Nicholas Sterling, Clerk
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