Charlotte, NC 7-1-19: When Debs Pedigo was
elected (or appointed) President of the NCCA
8 months ago, he
boasted that major changes would soon take place in
order to get the organization back on track. He was
quick to deny that he would be controlled by self
appointed NCCA Legal
Advisor A. Wilder Wadford nor anyone else
in his quest to make things better. He promised that the
NCCA Website would be revamped and made
easier to access information as well as publish
up-to-date info. However, nothing could be further from
the truth. When one observes the NCCA website,
http://www.ncchess.org/ - the first thing you
will notice at the top of the page is an advertisement (in
weird Asian style script) about an important Rapid
& Blitz tournament which "will" take place
on May 4-5 in Cary,
N.C.?? I mean, seriously folks, why can't he hire
some low level website manager to regularly update the
page? It really wouldn't cost that much to do. Besides,
the NCCA treasury has the money. I see it as
perpetual negligence. In addition, the categories which
are listed still contain information which has been out
of date for "years." Example: Under "Chess
Clubs," Tiger Chess (Charlotte)
has not been active since 2011?? And, who knows
whether the info is accurate for all of the other clubs
listed? Yet, because of President Pedigo's
policy of following the diktat of WW, the Charlotte
Chess Club, which is the oldest club in North
Carolina, (and probably the entire
Southeast) is NOT listed. The membership
list, (of which there are 3
choices to access requiring other obscure programs to
open?) is replete with errors indicating that
members who expired a year ago are "current?" The "Rating
List" reflects old ratings from months ago. The "Administration"
page includes the names, Email addresses and
phone numbers of the new officers except for the phone
number of the Vice President of Scholastics
Grant Oen, who refuses to publish his? Nor is he
very good at answering E-mails. The officers
should be accessible; not hide themselves from their
responsibilities or the concerns of the members. If his
work load is already too great, he shouldn't have
accepted the position and must politely step aside to
allow a person who "cares" to take his place. The very
reason that I am still at odds with the NCCA has
everything to do with unreasonably high entry fees
for scholastic events, minuscule payback, excessive
windfall profits, and ridiculously incomplete or non
existing accounting. For 2
years running, during the last administration, the NCCA
conducted the State Scholastic Championship
which in our estimation grossed over $50,000 each!? Yet, no
reflection of those profits was ever observed on any
legal accounting statement. Furthermore, according to
their last Annual Report, the treasury
only shows $9,000+
in the bank account?? (Uh, where did all of the money
go? Certainly not on creative projects funded by the NCCA)
If President Pedigo had accomplished the things that he personally told me he would, there would be a new constitution (not articles of incorporation) in place of the archaic, cut and pasted mandate which guarantees perpetual control to the "prevailing party" (via ridiculous proxies) and nothing to the members or other inspired individuals who might wish to become involved. The only real value of the NCCA website is the list of "Upcoming Events" which, of course, excludes info about Charlotte Chess Club. Otherwise, the NCCA website is an embarrassment just as it was when Pedigo took over. After 8 months in office, I respectfully give a grade of "D-" to Debs Pedigo. At least what's left in the bank account is safe. NM Leland Fuerstman |