Reports from Direct Members' representatives

Debate directly related to English Chess Federation matters.
John Reyes
Posts: 672
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2009 10:51 pm
Location: Manchester

Re: Reports from Direct Members' representatives

Post by John Reyes » Mon May 03, 2021 6:48 pm

Has anyone received any emails from their direct Members as i have sent mine to the ECF office today to go out tomorrow
Any postings on here represent my personal views only and also Dyslexia as well

John Reyes
Posts: 672
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2009 10:51 pm
Location: Manchester

Re: Reports from Direct Members' representatives

Post by John Reyes » Tue May 04, 2021 12:20 pm

Here is my report

Hi All

Here is my report from the meeting and was happy to represent you at the ECF finance meeting on the 24th April 2021.

Before the meeting I received over 16 comments back from silver members. I voted on what the pool of members told me to and went with the majority. My fellow silver rep, Tim Wall and I approached our members separately due to us both holding some different viewpoints. See the ECF forums about this in (Reports from Direct Members' representatives - English Chess Forum (ecforum.org.uk))

There were over 43 people in the zoom meeting including my fellow silver rep, Tim Wall.

Finance Director report, membership fees and budget

Adam Ashton became the finance director and for his first report, I thought he great a great job. He used his skills and knowledge to be sensible with a plan until we return to normal chess.

He thanked all the members for their support and for keeping the ECF afloat by continuing to pay their membership fees. Alongside the chief executive, who shared thanks with the members, as without the membership support, the ECF, people in the office and other parts can’t keep going.

His option is to keep the membership fees as it was last year and for 2021/22 the Silver membership will be £27 for adults and £6 for junior (free for new players in their 1st year). The Director of Membership and gold rep Rob Wilmoth, have been busy behind the scenes and can see the awesome benefits you get with your fees include the GoMembership offers for adults and Chesskid for children (Membership partners and benefits – English Chess Federation)

I voted in favour to support the proposal as the finance director and the board are thinking of the future. We hope to have some over the board chess when the government said it is ok (things are in motion for over the board chess and watch this space) So far there is over 1033 Adult members who have paid up for this year which is over 50% from last year and 1281 junior members (just under 184 junior from last year)

On the Authority of Variation and Voting Register, those motions were passed:

Proposals from the Governance Committee on Directors tenure of office.

This was the longest part of the meeting

There were 3 proposals put forward to the meeting on how long a member of the board can stand for and there were three options;

(A) For a period longer than one three year term

(B) For a period of two consecutive three year term or longer

(C) For a period of three consecutive three year terms or longer

Out of the 16 people who messaged me, 11 were happy for me to vote on their behalf based on my views as discussed with them, 3 voted for option B and two for option 3.

One of the people in the meeting suggested two four years terms like fide, and my fellow rep felt the motion on directors’ terms was deliberately drafted to be unattractive, in his opinion. My views are at the end of the day, these are volunteers and there are some good active people on there like Alex Holowczak, Malcom Pein plus our president who would not be able to stand in 2021. Out of interest, I also looked at the 2012 AGM and out of the board, there was only one person who is still around. I liked the idea of the Director of women’s chess bringing in a Alternate Director to learn the ropes and when someone does decide to step down, succession planning will give us the potential to future proof the structure.

The votes were as follows and I will bracket on how I voted (https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-cont ... -Votes.pdf)

(A) For 31 Against 137 (I voted against)

(B) For 44 Against 111 (I voted against)

(C) For 66 Against 98 (I voted against)

I chose to vote this way because of the mood of the room, but I also wondered if we could afford to lose volunteers who are doing a great job in the chess world and the board.

Voting allocations of council members

Nigel Towers gave us a report of who would be intitled to votes at the council meeting with online games. The biggest beneficiary would be the ECF online events, but they would not be allowed any votes at the council meeting. Other events like Junior events, the 4NCL as well as other league and organisations, would benefit. I voted in favour of this and the result was For 125 and Against 35

County Championship 2021 and Team rating

There was only 20 minutes left in the meeting and there was three proposals put forward and there was not enough time to talk about it. After a straw poll, it was decided that there would be a meeting on the 8th May at 2pm to talk about this (if anyone has any views, contact your County or union rep to case your views)

Overall

I was happy with this meeting and I think when we can start to play OTB chess in the coming months, in line with government proposals. I have been very proud to be a silver member rep and hope to be re-elected for another term as I have always tried my best to support you and represent your views fairly and honestly.

Any Questions you can email me on [email protected]
Any postings on here represent my personal views only and also Dyslexia as well

John Reyes
Posts: 672
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2009 10:51 pm
Location: Manchester

Re: Reports from Direct Members' representatives

Post by John Reyes » Mon May 17, 2021 5:57 pm

did any other rep email the members?

i have not seen my other rep sent a report out and that is very sad from a silver member point of view as well
Any postings on here represent my personal views only and also Dyslexia as well

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