20-08-2013, 09:22 PM
I am honoured to have been asked to stand for the post of President of Chess Scotland. It will clearly be beneficial to the chess community that we have a contested election, regardless of the result as this will strengthen the post. In the future I would like to see all the posts contested.
The President has to listen to the concerns of the members. I also want to seek clarification of the roles and duties of not only the President, but of moderators for example. These clarifications in my view have to be decided by the council as instructed by the Annual General Meeting.
I do believe that the lack of communication between office bearers and members has led to the current situation in Chess Scotland. There has to be a change in attitude from everyone concerned in order for chess to move forward in this country. There has been a lack of transparency within the all directors and other office bearers such as the moderators for example. These clarifications in my view have to be decided by the council as instructed by the Annual General Meeting.
I do believe that the lack of communication between office bearers and members has led to the current situation in Chess Scotland. There has to be a change in attitude from everyone concerned in order for chess to move forward in this country. There has been a lack of transparency within the current workings of Chess Scotland, in which I aim to address.
Every bit of work, every debate, and the manner in which we conduct these debates reflects on the whole chess community and it is most important that they are conducted in a proper and courteous manner. We will only move forward by conducting our business this way.
The breakdown in communications is I think the major reason that we have the situation we have today.
Yes there will be difficult challenges ahead for CS, for example the replacing of the government grant. I am not afraid of making difficult decisions nor should the council as it will remain the main decision making body of the organisation. The promotion of chess at all levels is most important and I pledge that CS and its president will continue to do this. It is great that our country is hosting the Glorney tournaments next year as well as the Commonwealth Championships. I would like to see Chess Scotland stage a major disability event in the future. This would demonstrate the inclusiveness of Chess and that CS would get great credit by staging such a tournament.
In the manner of future funding, we have to look at how we aim to replace the grant. Maybe this should have been done many years ago when it became clear that the grant was going to end. With hindsight this proved to be an error but now we can look forward. I am proposing that we employ a professional fund raiser paid on a commission basis only. This can work and I have seen it work. One major benefit would be that having a professional fund raiser would allow our directors more time to concentrate This is vital to their own remits without having to spend valuable time having to find sponsorships for their projects.
I want to go back to the issue of communication.
I do pledge to make CS more transparent and therefore more open. As president I will listen to everyone from members and directors.
I will now come to the Standards Comittee (SC).
The SC has will also have to be more transparent along with the rest of CS. I want to see current directors and officials barred from holding positions within the standards committee. This is vital to protect the integrity of the committee. It will not be seen as such until this change is made. When the committee was formed in 2009, I opposed the appointment of directors to the SC. I still do now and will do until changes are made. It is the duty of the SC to collect all of the evidence in a case.
Like Chess Scotland, The SC must be open to scrutiny if the whole organisation is to become more transparent
I want to say a few words about the forum. Specifically, I am very disappointed by negative comments, and in particular personal attacks by the usual suspects. Do contributors realise how their postings will reflect on the whole of Chess Scotland? If I was a neutral looking at the CS forum for first time, I would be horrified by the vitriol shown in some of these postings.
I would like to see some sort of licensing agreement before being allowed to register. Just like when you install new software on your computer, you have to read the agreement before being allowed to continue installation. I would propose that the rules and regulations in the forum be turned into such a license agreement. And that each member has to sign them before being allowed to post.
I also propose that council gives the moderators a clear set of guidance rules which details punishments for any transgressors. I think that this would help the moderators. They are there to moderate not act as censors of posting, but they need rules and guidelines to help them. Criticism is important in debates and to democracy. Constructive criticism is good but abuse is damaging to us all.
I also wish to make clear that I have total respect for all those who are standing for election today and I wish everyone well in the future
The President has to listen to the concerns of the members. I also want to seek clarification of the roles and duties of not only the President, but of moderators for example. These clarifications in my view have to be decided by the council as instructed by the Annual General Meeting.
I do believe that the lack of communication between office bearers and members has led to the current situation in Chess Scotland. There has to be a change in attitude from everyone concerned in order for chess to move forward in this country. There has been a lack of transparency within the all directors and other office bearers such as the moderators for example. These clarifications in my view have to be decided by the council as instructed by the Annual General Meeting.
I do believe that the lack of communication between office bearers and members has led to the current situation in Chess Scotland. There has to be a change in attitude from everyone concerned in order for chess to move forward in this country. There has been a lack of transparency within the current workings of Chess Scotland, in which I aim to address.
Every bit of work, every debate, and the manner in which we conduct these debates reflects on the whole chess community and it is most important that they are conducted in a proper and courteous manner. We will only move forward by conducting our business this way.
The breakdown in communications is I think the major reason that we have the situation we have today.
Yes there will be difficult challenges ahead for CS, for example the replacing of the government grant. I am not afraid of making difficult decisions nor should the council as it will remain the main decision making body of the organisation. The promotion of chess at all levels is most important and I pledge that CS and its president will continue to do this. It is great that our country is hosting the Glorney tournaments next year as well as the Commonwealth Championships. I would like to see Chess Scotland stage a major disability event in the future. This would demonstrate the inclusiveness of Chess and that CS would get great credit by staging such a tournament.
In the manner of future funding, we have to look at how we aim to replace the grant. Maybe this should have been done many years ago when it became clear that the grant was going to end. With hindsight this proved to be an error but now we can look forward. I am proposing that we employ a professional fund raiser paid on a commission basis only. This can work and I have seen it work. One major benefit would be that having a professional fund raiser would allow our directors more time to concentrate This is vital to their own remits without having to spend valuable time having to find sponsorships for their projects.
I want to go back to the issue of communication.
I do pledge to make CS more transparent and therefore more open. As president I will listen to everyone from members and directors.
I will now come to the Standards Comittee (SC).
The SC has will also have to be more transparent along with the rest of CS. I want to see current directors and officials barred from holding positions within the standards committee. This is vital to protect the integrity of the committee. It will not be seen as such until this change is made. When the committee was formed in 2009, I opposed the appointment of directors to the SC. I still do now and will do until changes are made. It is the duty of the SC to collect all of the evidence in a case.
Like Chess Scotland, The SC must be open to scrutiny if the whole organisation is to become more transparent
I want to say a few words about the forum. Specifically, I am very disappointed by negative comments, and in particular personal attacks by the usual suspects. Do contributors realise how their postings will reflect on the whole of Chess Scotland? If I was a neutral looking at the CS forum for first time, I would be horrified by the vitriol shown in some of these postings.
I would like to see some sort of licensing agreement before being allowed to register. Just like when you install new software on your computer, you have to read the agreement before being allowed to continue installation. I would propose that the rules and regulations in the forum be turned into such a license agreement. And that each member has to sign them before being allowed to post.
I also propose that council gives the moderators a clear set of guidance rules which details punishments for any transgressors. I think that this would help the moderators. They are there to moderate not act as censors of posting, but they need rules and guidelines to help them. Criticism is important in debates and to democracy. Constructive criticism is good but abuse is damaging to us all.
I also wish to make clear that I have total respect for all those who are standing for election today and I wish everyone well in the future