The minutes of the 2010 meeting have passed review and can now be downloaded by clicking on the link below.
Minutes of the 2010 US Chess Trust Meeting
The meeting was held on August 05, 2010, in Irvine, CA. Chairman Harold Winston opened the meeting at 1:05 PM and listed the Officers and Trustees who were in attendance.
Present in person were Treasurer Jim Eade, Secretary Myron Lieberman, VP for Chess in Education Tim Redman, VP for Scholastic Chess Sunil Weeramantry, Chairman Harold Winston, and Managing Director Barbara DeMaro. Chairman Emeritus Harold Dondis, Leroy Dubeck, Mark Fins, and President Shane Samole were connected by telephone conference call. Mitchell Denker, Steve Doyle, Joe Ippolito, and Beatriz Marinello were not present.
Others present for at least part of the meeting included but were not limited to: Scholastic Council co-chairs Stephen Shutt and Mike Nietman, College Chess Committee Chairman Jim Stallings, USCF Executive Director Bill Hall, USCF Executive Board member Bill Goichberg, USCF Publications Director Daniel Lucas, Chess Trust Secretary’s Assistant Rachel Lieberman, Dewain Barber, Eric Enriquez, Russell Harwood, Matt Lodge, and Clemente Rendon.
Chairman Harold Winston then itemized four items that were not on the distributed agenda that would be added to the agenda. They were: Amending the charter to allow 14 Trustees, the Harold Dondis Award, E-mail through the Website, and the Denker Tournament.
Harold Winston moved and Jim Eade seconded the acceptance of the minutes of the 2009 meeting.
CT10-001 – Winston – We approve the minutes of the 2009 meeting as prepared by Myron Lieberman. PASSED unanimously.
Harold Winston gave the Chairman’s Report. He noted that with the help of Harold Dondis, Jim Eade, and Shane Samole, he conducted negotiations with Rex Sinquefield and his attorneys to implement the move of the Chess Hall of Fame and Sidney Samole Museum to St. Louis. Drafts of the two agreements were signed in March, 2010. Harold Winston noted that Rex Sinquefield’s best estimate for the opening of the Hall of Fame in St. Louis would be June, 2011 (Please note that subsequently the Grand Opening was scheduled for September 8, 2011.). Another major thing that happened is that through the work of College Chess Committee chair Jim Stallings and Mike Hoffpauir of the Virginia Chess Federation, we were able to get sponsorship from Booz Allen Hamilton for the Final Four of College Chess to the extent of $10,000. The Denker tournament was quite successful. Dewain Barber set up excellent opening and closing ceremonies. Ursula Foster’s son, Clifford Lester, spoke at the close about Ursula Foster’s experiences hiding from the Nazis in Holland during World War II. Barbara DeMaro deserves the credit for keeping up the relationship with Ursula Foster’s sons and arranged for Clifford Lester’s appearance at the closing ceremony. Clifford Lester was very appreciative for being there and Harold Winston expects that the Ursula Foster prize will be continued. Mitchell Denker added some brilliancy prizes. Mitchell Denker and Dewain Barber collaborated in adding an upset prize. Harold Winston noted that he spoke at the opening and closing ceremonies and that Barbara DeMaro spoke at the close. New Trustee Beatriz Marinello was on her way back from Brazil and had not yet arrived at Irvine. Harold Winston repeated to Rex Sinquefield his desire and the desire of other Trustees for Rex to become a Trustee. He secured Rex Sinquefield’s agreement to join the Trust. We simply have to amend the charter to increase the allowable number of Trustees to fourteen. Harold Winston announced that Diane Savereide would be present to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Herman Steiner was expected to be represented by his two sons and Jackson Showalter by his Great Granddaughter for their induction into the Hall of Fame. Harold Winston commended the Editor of “Chess Life” (Daniel Lucas) for publishing a synopsis of the Chess Trust report to the Delegates in “Chess Life”. He concluded the Chairman’s Report by expressing appreciation for the cooperation of all of the Trustees throughout the year.
Shane Samole gave the President’s report. He considered it to be a great honor for him and his family over the past decade to be managing the Chess Hall of Fame and Sidney Samole Museum. He thinks the opportunity that we have partnering with Rex Sinquefield for the future is “just incredible”. He worked closely with Harold Winston to get the artifacts to Rex and now everything has been moved to St. Louis where the artifacts are being sorted. He noted that Rex has the A team of major league players involved in putting the museum together in St. Louis and that it would be a world class operation and one of the great things to see in this country. He said that he was excited to be a part of it and he was excited to continue to be a part of it going forward into the future.
Harold Winston moved a vote of thanks for Shane and his family. There were three seconds heard.
CT10-002 – Winston – The Trust gives a vote of thanks to Shane and his family for all of their work on the museum over the years that it was in Miami. PASSED by acclamation.
Jim Eade moved a vote of thanks to Al Lawrence for his work in the transfer from Miami to St. Louis. Shane Samole pointed out that Al Lawrence spent countless hours going between Miami and St. Louis and was involved in the packing of every box. He indicated that it could not be done without Al’s help. Harold Winston also acknowledged Al Lawrence’s help in getting the plaques for the new inductees and seconded the motion.
CT10-003 – Eade – The Trust gives a vote of thanks to Al Lawrence for his work in the transfer of the museum from Miami to St. Louis. PASSED unanimously.
Jim Eade moved a vote of thanks to Harold Winston for his ongoing work in the transition.
CT10-004 – Eade – The Trust gives a vote of thanks to Harold Winston for his ongoing work in making the transfer possible. PASSED unanimously.
Managing Director Barbara DeMaro then gave her report. Many thanks to Barbara DeMaro for providing her report in machine readable form.
The following is from that report:
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The application I submitted for the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) was again approved. (see attached list of charities that the Trust is included with). We are listed right alongside of American Cancer and Red Cross. We’re fortunate that this approval continues year after year, bringing in on average more than $20K each year.
The FSECC Florida State Employees Campaign application was once again approved. (these are additional means outside of our donor database to increase revenue)
I have continued to promote ads in Chess Life, program booklets, flyers and in our annual letter for members and others to make provisions in their Wills to the Trust. It takes years to build these relationships and we have recently started to see results. This past year we have received 2 more legacy donors. I have been working with the lawyers in completing the necessary paperwork to receive the payouts. (Weglarski & Whatley)
I spoke at the Denker closing ceremonies and introduced Clifford Lester to present the Ursula Foster award who along with his brother Rick have continued for the past 5 years to fund a $1,000 donation in memory of their mother. I asked everyone there to get one friend or family member to donate to the Trust, any amount. I also spoke before the first round of the tournament about the Trust, what programs we fund, encouraged members and friends to set up legacies to the Trust, or fund scholarships in memory of a loved one and asked them to continue to say Yes to Chess.
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