ECF AGM 2021: Report from Silver Members representative John Reyes
I have had the honour to be your ECF silver members’ rep for 5 years now. The role of direct members’ reps in my view is to represent their members (that means you!) in Council and hold the Board to account, not to nominate or campaign for their own friends. Clearly, some other recently elected direct members' reps have a different view. In these circumstances, I feel it's necessary for me to send my own message to you.
As your representative, I want to hear your views as to how to cast your votes, so please let me know your thoughts. You'll see that Tim and I have very different views, which is why (unusually) we're writing separately to you, but please reply to both of us together, we don't need separate replies, we both want to hear your views.
At the AGM on 16 October there will be two contested elections for Chief Executive and Chair of Governance, between the incumbents (Mike Truran and Robert Stern) and challengers (Malcolm Pein and Chris Fegan). Malcolm Pein has also tabled three motions about use of money which is now in the BCF Permanent Invested Fund (“PIF”) and in a BCF subsidiary, the Chess Centre Ltd. As your representative, I want to hear your views as to how to cast your votes, so please let me know your thoughts.
I think the ECF led by Mike Truran have done a great job over the last few years to improve things for English chess, and have successfully got us through the Covid crisis under impossible circumstances. I am happy to further support those who steered us through this time and so I would suggest the incumbent CEO and Governance Chairman should be re-elected. But it is down to you on how you tell me to vote.
I am surprised that Robert Stern, with his governance experience, is even facing a challenge. Reading the report of the NEDs and Governance Committee alongside Chris Fegan's election address, I get the impression that the NEDs have criticised Chris Fegan's behaviour, and he has responded by attacking all six of the NEDs and Governance Committee. Everything I have seen reinforces my support for Robert Stern.
Malcolm Pein's address says that the ECF needs a change of direction from the strategy currently agreed by Council. If I understand right, he wants the ECF to do more itself, using funds which are now in the PIF and Chess Centre. He wants to stop any of this money going across to the Chess Trust.
Malcolm's only firm proposal is for regional development officers, paid by the ECF to somehow assist clubs and leagues. Myself I don't see that is needed. It's the people who run the clubs and leagues who do the work, and they can talk to each other for free to share ideas (that’s what we do in Manchester anyway).
On where the money is held, I like the Chess Trust. It's an independent charity, not controlled by anyone on the ECF, with the CEO and Finance Director of the ECF (whoever they are) just two of many trustees. As a charity it gets tax advantages. As an independent body, it only pays out money if it's given good reasons. So, there are safeguards against unwise spending.
Council has been told before about problems in tax and trust law from moving funds from the PIF and Chess Centre directly to the ECF. I don't believe that these problems have magically disappeared, but it seems we may have to wait until the AGM to really get the facts. As things stand, I'm all for tidying up the PIF and Chess Centre, but only if it doesn't involve a big tax bill and if the money goes across to the Chess Trust, as the BCF Council has already agreed.
Please let me know your views on all these issues. You can be sure I will listen to them. You can read the AGM papers at
https://www.englishchess.org.uk/about/e ... and-board/
John Reyes, Silver Members’ Rep, 29 September 2021
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Tim wall email is
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ECF AGM 2021: Report from Silver Members representative Tim Wall
29 September, 2021
Dear ECF Silver Members,
There is still a lot of work to do to get English chess back on its feet after a year and a half dominated by the Coronavirus pandemic. It is good to see most clubs and leagues restarting over-the-board chess, and now some congresses, but sad to see the full-scale British Championships in Torquay postponed for a second successive year.
At the October 16 AGM, the Council will decide the future direction of the ECF, as a contested election will take place for the post of Chief Executive between Mike Truran, the incumbent, and Malcolm Pein, the current International Director.
In addition, there is a contested election for the post of Chair of the Governance Committee between the incumbent, Robert Stern, and Chris Fegan, the outgoing Director of Women’s Chess.
On a very positive note, it is excellent to see two highly qualified new female candidates standing in the elections – Aga Milewska for Director of Women’s Chess, and Shohreh Bayat, as Director of Events. Both are unopposed, as is Director of Junior Chess and Education Alex Holowczak.
The election addresses for all the candidates have been published, along with various reports to Council. They can be read here:
https://www.englishchess.org.uk/about/e ... and-board/
Policy debate on the way forward
I believe it is very positive for ECF democracy that there are contested elections, particularly when the debate focuses on the way forward for English chess and sticks to policies, rather than personalities.
Essentially, the main difference between Mike Truran’s and Malcolm Pein’s visions is that Mike believes in a more hands-off, ‘enabling’ approach for the ECF, while Malcolm wishes to see a more pro-active approach, including much more focus on fundraising from sponsors and recognition for chess from government.
My personal view is that the last 18 months have shown the clear need for a more pro-active approach from the ECF. We need to:
1) Reach out to bring more new players, particularly young people and women and girls, into chess;
2) Rebuild grassroots chess clubs and organisations after the pandemic;
3) Raise more funding for chess from sponsors and government; and
4) Restore England’s position as one of the leading chess nations by providing more opportunities for our young players to excel, through new initiatives such as the Northumbria Masters and other international tournaments and congresses.
For these reasons, I am recommending support for Malcolm, as his manifesto (
https://developingenglishchess.com/) spells out how these objectives can be sensibly achieved.
Meanwhile, Mike Truran’s record in office in his key responsibility as CEO of fundraising – zero sponsorship raised, and no progress in getting chess officially recognised by government – unfortunately speaks volumes.
Malcolm has underlined his campaign’s priorities by putting forward three motions to council, making it clear that he favours tidying up the ECF’s finances in a way that gives Council and the Board control of how its funds are spent, and also that getting government recognition would be a top priority. Tellingly, Mike Truran has said he cannot support these motions.
It also seems as though other AGM business will be dominated by the contested elections.
In a normal year, you would expect reports from the Governance Committee and Non-Executive Directors to the AGM to be non-partisan and independent, but this does not seem to have been the case this year. Instead, unfortunately, both reports have been extremely partisan, launching an apparently coordinated series of personal attacks on Chris Fegan, the outgoing Director for Women’s Chess.
I can only conclude that it is not a coincidence that these attacks are occurring at a time when Chris has questioned the effectiveness of ECF governance systems and is standing for Chair of the Governance Committee. To my mind, this partisan use of AGM reports to denigrate the good work of a director over the last three years is wholly inappropriate and should be repudiated by Council.
An opportunity for positive change
Overall, I believe that this AGM represents an opportunity for the ECF to change for the future in a positive direction, while building on the work of its many hard-working volunteers. Electing a new CEO does not mean a rejection of past work and past progress (including the sterling work by Mike Truran in building up the 4NCL and its congresses), but it does signal a more pro-active vision that will benefit English chess as a whole.
Please do write to me and my fellow Silver members rep, John Reyes, expressing your views on the AGM and the future direction of the ECF. While John and I may have different opinions on some issues, we both take our responsibility very seriously to listen to your views and to properly represent the thousands of ECF Silver members.
Tim Wall
[email protected]
John Reyes email
[email protected]