CCC Still Censured By the NCCA After 10 Years!?
An Expergated History of the NCCA
By NM Leland Fuerstman
A few weeks ago, I
emailed newly elected NCCA President Debs
Pedigo requesting that CCC upcoming events
and club info be included on the NCCA website. {I was not
attempting to have my Life Membership reinstated}.
The following is his response in "blue",
interspersed with my own comments. - {If you wanna read this all in one
sitting, I recommend that you pack your lunch and line
up a few beers! LOL}"NM Leland Fuerstman: Your
exclusion from tournament and club listings was
imposed by earlier boards based upon your
behavior... {my behavior?? Dude,
I'm the friendliest guy you'll ever meet. I am always
well dressed, clean and presentable. I greet everyone
with respect and love and I treat EVERYONE
equally, regardless of race, color, creed, educational
level, station in life, bank account size, or political
affiliation. And, I rarely, if ever, get into disputes
during tournament play. So, my "behavior" is
perfectly fine. {But,
occasionally, as a Sr. TD, I am required to deal
with other people's bad behavior!} "and attacks {equating "politely asking a
question" with an "attack"} on board
members and others in the chess community..."
{Other than being the webmaster of a chess website and a
successful tournament chess player, I am also an
expository chess journalist. And, as such, I publicly
compliment everyone for their chess successes on our
website. In addition, some concerned members
occasionally contact me about improprieties which should
be questioned. And, I have personally observed
situations which needed explanation, as well. First, I
would attempt to privately inquire through phone call or
email. After receiving no response, I would compose
messages which were posted on the CCC Message Board.
I always made certain that I would only ask
questions and NOT ACCUSE anyone of
anything. I made it clear that the person involved had every
opportunity to respond in kind, which in almost
every case, they neglected to do. I was basing
my opinion on accurate and verified information. Every
question which I asked was pertinent and legitimate.
But, there was one problem. Most guilty people
simply don't like to be talked about in public!
Instead of addressing the issues, they often resort to
attacking the messenger -- Look, this is America.
And, in America we have a deal called "freedom
of speech!" I have a right to my opinion just like
every other citizen. And, neither I, nor anyone else
should be censured for expressing it. Besides, just for
everyone's information, the original dispute occurred
over 10 years
ago!!? Please bear in mind that NM Leland Fuerstman
was not cited for any violation of USCF rules nor
civil law. Subsequently, in protest of the
corruption and negligence of the administration at
that time, I gave up my life membership and told
them to take me off their list! Because I used the term,
"renounce my membership," WW
promptly equated that with renouncing my citizenship to
the USA!? LOL After martial law had been
imposed upon the members, eight months later,
he composed a diatribe about NMLF in order to
appease and protect his guilty past-president client.
Please bear in mind that a trial attorney generally
defends guilty people. He will lie, cheat, cry or do
whatever is necessary to obfuscate the facts and seek an
acquittal. Needless to say, most of what WW
stated was inaccurate and completely unsubstantiated
conjecture which I still dispute to this day. It was
just his biased opinion. {He
had a right to compose it; I had a right to dispute
it!} USCF personnel agreed! The
fact is, no formal document was EVER composed by
any succeeding administration of the NCCA which
censured me from anything save for WW's
initial hateful diatribe which imposed a "2 year period before I could
request reinstatement!!" Again,
that was 10 years
ago. Unfortunately, the next 5
administrations, due to their neglect to archive
anything, were encouraged to enforce my "punishment"
only through word of mouth, and have continued to
censure NMLF from rejoining nor posting our
information to this day?! No documents exist which
indicate that they should. How draconian! How
childish. How exclusive and arbitrary to single out one
individual who was, in effect, complaining about high
entry fees for scholastic events, poor returns,
excessive profits and NO ACCOUNTING!? That was my
crime. So much for noble causes...
Unfortunately,
they have collectively neglected the NCCA
archives, which included historical information,
periodicals, news clippings, contributions from members
through the years, all previously kept for the sake of
posterity providing evidence of our history for future
members. But, none of the succeeding administrations
kept accurate records. Much less posted the official
accounting of giant money making events organized by the
NCCA. Worse, two prominent chess pundits
complained to me that they had submitted informative
articles and archival material which were NEVER
processed nor published. According to one contributor
who was snubbed, " a whole bunch of good
work, for nothing."} "Having
tournaments and a club listing is a privilege not
a right that is automatically extended..." Yeah,
a privilege which is bestowed upon some organizers who
are not now, nor have they ever been members of the
NCCA, but are freely allowed to post their info?
But, not NMLF?! Pleeease? One set of rules for
everyone else including NON-members, and one set
of rules for NMLF who was a past president!
How disrespectful? How disgraceful? How childish? How
ridiculous?! "Although some
on the board had hoped you had chosen to be less
confrontational by reframing (sic) from attack postings
on your message board your resent emails have made
us feel that may not be the case..."First
of all, the Charlotte Chess
Club Message
Board has been shut down and deactivated
for over a YEAR!
In fact, the last message which I posted on January 8, 2018, made
reference to another scholastic tournament promoter who
is not even a member of the NCCA. Furthermore, I
have NEVER "attacked" any of the current
officers of the NCCA on our message board,
including Debs Pedigo.
The
reality of the situation is, Pedigo approached
me a few months ago and told me that he was running for
President of the NCCA! So, I congratulated him
and asked whether he would see to it that the CCC's
"Upcoming tournaments" and other club information will
be included just like all of the other clubs. (the CCC
was established over 45
years ago!!) His response was that if I would "refrain"
from publicly endorsing him on
our website, he would attempt to do so?!"
I also asked about the accounting of previously
conducted tournaments and whether they intended to
publish a financial statement? He answered with, "they said they would publish
a financial statement before the election." (whomever "they" are...) He
also requested that I not even post anything
on our website until the "election" was over. So,
I yielded and according to his request, nothing was posted.
--However, the week after the election, I approached him
at the CCC and asked whether he had addressed
our issue yet? And, why had the financial statement NOT
been posted as he said it would? His answer was that "...he had more important things to
take care of first??" {He also wrote me an E-mail which
stressed that "...with
regard to financial disclosure, the
association isn't required to disclose
any financial information publicly..." Gosh, that's a bit different from
what he had originally told me} What
business could be more logical and simple than to allow
the club of which he is a member to post
our info on the NCCA website? Furthermore, after
I realized that he was just parroting what he was told
by the "puppet master," I proceeded to write a PRIVATE E-mail
which I addressed to all current NCCA officers.
Because all of them are relatively new to NC
chess politics, in order to better educate them
about the past, I included an old message which
was published some 5
years ago, but it was certainly not posted on
our website, nor anywhere else for the chess
public to view. From that, Pedigo deduced that I "might"
write something like that in the future?!? How
paranoid? {Sorta like, I think
that you might try to hurt me in the future, so I'm
gonna shoot you before you do... the good old
preemptive strike! How ridiculous.} "Currently you are
under indefinite suspension from having
tournaments and club listed, imposed by earlier
board..." Oh
really?! Then, would you be kind enough to provide me
with a copy of the original official document
which states such a thing. It simply doesn't exist. "The current board
has decided not to change that policy at this
time..." That
would give people the impression that each officer
actually cast an executive VOTE
on the matter. -- but, the results of how each officer
voted, like everything else, are secret.
Well,
after I received his response, I promptly called newly
elected Vice President Dr. Walter
High on the phone! I asked him whether he voted
'for' or 'against' allowing the CCC's info to
be published on the NCCA website? I thought
that I had developed a good relationship with Dr.
High over the years and never recall publishing
anything but good reports about him. But, he seemed to
be somewhat startled by the sound of my voice and
answered by saying that he is "directing
my inquiry back to Debs Pedigo."
Then, I asked, can't you simply tell me whether you
voted yes or no? To which he responded, "this is what I was instructed
to do!" Wow!
Who programmed him? It
was like a bad "B" rated spy movie!? The
guy sounded like he was scared to death! What
ever happened to free thought and the democratic
system of representation? Apparently, he had
been sequestered not to communicate with "public
chess enemy #1" NMLF? --In a perfect
world, the officers would gather facts surrounding the
issue and discuss them thoroughly before openly voting
and disclosing the results. This is not a federal
agency? It's a shabbily run chess company that
represents a tiny number of people and has done very
little to support our chess players over the past 10 years {save organize 2
scholastic tournaments a couple of years ago which
grossed over 50
thousand dollars each! Yet, no
accounting of those events was ever provided to
anyone}. No oversight whatsoever. No
transparency. Only secrecy and cronyism. -- Next,
because his phone number is not listed, I
promptly sent an email to Scholastic VP
Grant Oen asking the same question. Again, I
have interacted with Grant on a few occasions
and thought that we had a perfectly friendly
relationship. But, so far, I have received no
response. I also attempted to ask the
Sec/Treas. Wayne Spon the same question, but the
email link they have posted went to past Sec/Tres.
from 2 administrations ago, Sarah Walsh? {But, I already know his answer
since he is one of WW's
hometown appointees} --- Look people.
There is absolutely nothing sacred about the NCCA.
Last year, as a result of a ridiculous policy change
which required everyone to pay their membership fee on
January 1, the membership fell to approximately
40 paid members; the
lowest in history?? Twenty eight less than the CCC!
There are 2,211
members of the United States Chess
Federation living in North Carolina.
And, the NCCA represented less than 40 of them... pitiful.
"We fully recognize
the right to free speech within guidelines of
non-defamation. The board also recognizes its
right to not extend NCCA privileges if we feel
they are not warranted. Debs Pedigo NCCA President" Now I
ask you, people. Who is
digging up the bones of the past here?
Again, the CCC Message Board was
disabled over a YEAR ago!
Furthermore, the current crop of active "newbies" have
absolutely no clue of what we're talking about.
The
NCCA has been described by one long time
chess pundit as a "private
business which continues to be ruled by the iron
hand of an overbearing, back woods attorney with
a clipboard who demands that his 3 sycophants do
his bidding." For you
newbies, he was alluding to past elections
where WW would pervade the hallways prior to
the elections with a clipboard in hand introducing
himself to players in a mesmerizing and
intimidating fashion as Attorney for the NCCA
WW. Then he asks, if they are not
coming to the meeting, would they sign their name so
he could use their vote for his candidates?! {a dubious proxy system for
voting which he, himself, without approval,
wrote into the Articles of Incorporation a few
years earlier}. Some members took
umbrage to that. Yet,
the older guard unanimously agree that esteemed
attorney WW had already "appointed" the
candidates who apparently pledged their allegiance
to him and faithfully followed his diktat.
Generally, obsequious personalities who never
question HIS authority and passively yield to his
"recommendations" without questioning his true
motivation. In effect, Debs Pedigo has
perpetuated the problem that he was elected to
alleviate. He has become a traitor to his own
chess club. He has betrayed me, and he has
betrayed his fellow members. I really don't think
he knew what he was getting into when he decided
to enter NCCA politics.
An effective leader must have thick skin. He must endure the criticism of others without over-reacting too quickly. He should not be so easily offended when his opponents allude to his inexperience and ignorance of the past. He should be receptive to those who approach him with "complaints" and "concerns" and not put them off with a statement like, "this is not the time or place to talk about that." {So, the following day, why doesn't he simply call them on the phone and talk about their concerns?} And, he should reach across the aisle and attempt to bring people together in order to work for the same good causes instead of striving to keep them apart. -- So, Debs Pedigo's first official order of business as President of the NCCA was to continue to censure NMLF and the Charlotte Chess Club. {some wonder whether an actual vote was even taken...}
I
believe that I first joined the USCF way back in
1970! Then, in 1984, right
about the time that I achieved the Title of National
Master, I was a candidate in an election to
become the President of the North Carolina
Chess Association. There were
approximately 125
members of the NCCA in the playing room voting.
Every single person in the room
voted for me!! - elected
by acclamation; No abstentions! At
that point in my life, I could fairly claim to be the
most popular chess figure in the state of North
Carolina! My administration, which included Robert
Singletary and Ken Baxter was without a
doubt the MOST efficient in NCCA
history! A well oiled machine where everyone had a job
responsibility and accomplished his tasks in a timely
fashion. With the help of my wife, I published the "Carolina
Gambit Magazine" every two months.
It was the most comprehensive magazine this state has
ever seen. It took weeks to compose and compile, publish
and distribute. {then, I had
to turn around and do it all over again, for FREE} In
order to save money for the organization, my wife and I
would sit on the floor for hours sorting zip code
addresses for bulk mail purposes. I organized major
events for the NCCA which were always grandly
successful, ie. the 1985 NC Championship - low
entry fee, giant turnout, prize fund sponsors and great
cash prize payback. CPA Ken Baxter was the
accountant for the event. We paid out 98% of the
EF's. I didn't make one red cent. {Needless to say, my lovely ex-wife
was not very happy about that...}
Regardless, the overall environment in the entire state
was an up-beat friendly one. Everyone was happy, and
things readily got done. Jealousy had not yet rared it's
ugly head.
Up
to this point, NCCA Legal Advisor A. Wilder
Wadford and I were good friends. We had long phone
conversations, met at chess tournaments in the early 70's, socialized, took
vacations and successfully solved the problems of all
state chess affairs. I gave him free entry and hotel
rooms to my Charlotte tournaments as he did
likewise in Asheville. Then, there was a period
of time when we ceased communication. Sometimes,
"familiarity breeds contempt." For one foolish reason or
another we became at odds with each other. Possibly due
to personal issues which shall not be elaborated upon
here. One pundit described us as "2 egomaniacal moose who have
locked horns and won't budge an inch!" In
fact, after a number of years of not seeing nor speaking
to each other, I actually ran into him recently at a
tournament here in Charlotte where he greeted me with a
smile and asked me if I "wanted back in!!?" {He actually looked pretty good for
a man his age; ...I'm older!..} When I
responded with, "we still have
a few issues which need to be discussed and
resolved" he seemed to get angry. A brief
verbal skirmish ensued which ended in stalemate.
The
NCCA became less and less effective - competent
officers were hard to find. Finally, in 2000, an
unscrupulous President decided that it was
perfectly acceptable to eat lavish and expensive steak
& lobster dinners on his personal NCCA
expense account! to the degree that the treasury was all
but wiped out! So, NCCA Legal Adviser WW
stepped in and appointed my old friend NM Neal
Harris to take the reins. When Neal took
over, the balance of the treasury was less than $50?! But, he proceeded
to get the organization back on it's feet and humming
after a fashion. As time went on, he sold memberships
and promoted events for the NCCA which generated
profit. As I recall, he served 3
consecutive terms without any major shakeups nor
interference. Actually, a simple thing to do... when you
publicly asked President Harris a
question, he promptly answered it! -- {Wow! What a novel idea!}
After
Harris departed, came 5
successive administrations comprised of inexperienced
and unqualified wannabes, all basically recruited and
appointed by WW. One organized a scholastic
event which generated a significant amount of
controversy after some members questioned the poor
payback and excessive profits. That past-president
refused to provide any official documentation and
continued to deny his guilt. {he
ended up hiring WW to defend him from those asking
questions*}. A couple of them bent
the rules in order to personally profit from events they
assigned to their own "chess company!" {which is not such a terrible
thing, but that's not the way the rules were written
- fact is, there were absolutely no "by-laws"
whatsoever, for years and years} Another
president changed NCCA policies which had been
in place for over 70
years without the approval of the members which directly
caused the membership to decline to the lowest numbers in
history. Because, WW changed the
constitution (or Articles of Incorporation) taking away
a member's right to vote except in elections! One
president was involved in the organization and promotion
of 2 major scholastic events which grossed over
$50K each but never
made any financial disclosures nor reports. And still
other presidents and vice presidents basically did
little to nothing during their tenure. Not to
mention the litany of temporary officers who observed
what was really going on and promptly quit...
The only thing those presidents had in common were
incompetence, negligence and the refusal or inability to
do anything really positive for the North Carolina
chess community.
Now,
here's the good part. --- As I have already stated to Debs
Pedigo, I am NOT his enemy. Debs
joined the Charlotte Chess Club
in January of 2013. I believe he's about
my age (39!). I
would describe him as a well-kempt, quiet and reserved
Southern gentleman with a friendly attitude. A man of
means, he owned a group of successful retail stores
which he recently sold when he retired. I sincerely
believe him to be an honest person who truly
has a desire to improve the state of affairs of the NCCA.
However, I also fear that he may have been unduly
influenced by recommendations of an advisor with a rusty
chip on his shoulder. Let's just hope that, in his zeal,
Debs doesn't attempt to collect NCCA membership
fees from Charlotte Chess Club
members?! {Wouldn't that be
"taxation without representation!?" Besides, though
our math suggests significantly more, the last
figure I heard for the balance of the NCCA treasury
was over $40,000!
One hundred NCCA annual fees add up
to $1,000?!
Who needs it? They should long ago have included
annual membership into the entry fee of the N.C.
Championship and other events. Besides, they don't
do anything meaningful with the money, anyway. Their
entire system is convoluted, unaccounted for and
completely non-transparent.}
If
Debs were to step back a bit, and look at the big
picture, maybe he will change his mind. I am willing to
tear down the wall and bury the hatchet. I have already
offered my assistance to help rewrite the constitution
and by-laws which, so far, he has not accepted.
Furthermore, there are a number of other qualified
"administrative types" in this state who could be of
great value to the organization under the right
circumstances. Finally, if I were to receive a formal
public apology, I may even be encouraged to return
and help the cause. After all, who else possesses my
incomparable clerical skills and witty journalistic
insights?!
Regardless
of my well know sentiments, let's hope this new
administration does a better job then their predecessors
while bearing in mind that "the grandest intention does
not equal the slightest deed."
I
remain,
NM Leland Fuerstman
www.charlottechess.com