ࡱ> MOL@ >jbjb R8l0008$2PPfffEEE,9 Y"p0EAEEE=ffP===ERf0f=D@@E==C6"04p|"="=Chess Club Advisors Report 10/26/07 Sometimes its true that listening to reports can take up a lot of your time. Its also true that reports can sometimes be very long and boring. Although there were almost always other variables that influenced my decision, it was largely because of these facts that I chose not to read my full report at many of this clubs past meetings. Instead, I would simply submit it for the record or only read portions of it that I felt were the most important and needed emphasis. However, despite the fact that this news is going to disappoint some of you, today is going to be different. Today Im going to read my entire report to you. No, its not because Ive suddenly transformed myself into a sadistic jerk that gets a kick out of punishing audiences. And no, its not because Im an egotistic know-it-all that feeds on the unaware and less fortunate by hogging the spotlight. The main reason that Ive decided to read my report today is because believe it or not, I care very deeply about the future of this chess club. One of my primary goals has been to guide this club in a direction where it will eventually become self-sustaining. However, this isnt something thats going to happen overnight. Its going to take a lot of time and effort. The club will likely need to surmount many hurdles before becoming self-sustaining. Speaking in terms of time and effort, I think that I can safely say that Ive contributed more to this clubs achievements than anyone else. You may not realize it, but it took quite a bit of effort just to bring this club into existence. As a matter of fact, it may come as a surprise to some of you and I certainly dont mean to brag, but without me, this club probably wouldnt exist at all. My purpose for telling you this is not to gain recognition or thanks, my purpose is simply to help you understand that things just dont happen around here. Theres usually quite a bit of preparation involved beforehand. Consequently, it follows that if someone volunteers to do something for the club and they do it well, they shouldnt be criticized for it. Ive been told by several people that I do too much for the club. However, my view is that since there is so much that a young club needs, its really impossible for anyone to do too much for it. Although this needed to be said, its not necessary to dwell on it, so Im just going to move on to the next subject. cont. page 2 Upon the conclusion of the Chess Clubs last meeting on October 12th, it became apparent to me that the club was in dire need of help in parliamentary procedure. Since parliamentary procedure is not taught in either the primary or the secondary schools of this country, it can be said that this is not an unexpected circumstance. Consequently, it is both wise and appropriate that the club has chosen to receive some focused training on it today. Its important for the Chess Club to understand the kind of ill effects that a poorly planned, poorly conducted meeting can have. For instance, Im sure that weve all been to meetings that seemed to drag on endlessly. As a matter of fact, didnt our last full membership meeting on the 12th of this month drag on a little bit at the end of it? Yes, of course it did. Once the suitability of resolution #2 in the advisors report was brought into question, there was complete confusion as to what to do about it. Greg thought the resolution should be postponed but had difficulty wording a motion due to the fact that the question on the floor had encompassed all four of the advisors recommended resolutions. My advice was to amend the main motion that encompassed all four resolutions. Nathan misapplied my advice to amend the main motion and offered a motion to amend Resolution #2 instead. After elaborating on my advice further, Nathans motion was replaced with Davids motion to amend the main motion. However, the wording of that motion was incomplete and awkward. Consequently, it seemed that a motion to amend the amended motion was in order. Kuran tried briefly to word that recommended motion but was interrupted by the group when it became obvious that his valiant but feeble attempt was not working. It was at this point that the meeting seemed to deteriorate into a free-for-all discussion with everyone talking at once. Then somehow the discussion drifted and then completely morphed into a discussion about why the format of the sign-in sheet needed to be changed. Someone tried to make a motion on that idea, but I pointed out that we still had another motion on the floor. I then suggested a withdrawal of motions. Then the chair asked whether or not the makers of the motions to amend and the original main motion would withdraw their motions. They agreed and we were finally able to compose a motion to approve that excluded resolution #2. Since what I just recounted is only just a summary of our actions, it leaves out most of the errors in procedure that occurred. For instance, proper procedure dictates that members must wait to be recognized by the chair before speaking, that discussion can only occur if a motion has been made to decide a question, and that the chair restates all motions word for word. Im sure we can all agree that these things didnt happen. The ill effects of a meeting like this are not hard to figure out. First and foremost, the club looks foolish to any bystander that might initially have had a desire to join the club. Since we always seem to have difficulty obtaining a quorum, avoiding looking foolish might be a good start. Secondly, it makes it harder to carry out the clubs important business. Remaining ignorant of basic parliamentary procedure doesnt allow for smooth and efficient management of our business. Thirdly, members with tight schedules probably have difficulty working chess into their life and might not want to come back to a meeting that is often confusing and dragged out. This is not to say that I think our meetings are often confusing and dragged out. Quite the contrary, because of the fact that the president and I have made certain to have written reports for every meeting, weve been able to move through our meeting agendas rather quickly while at the same time allowing the membership to have a clear understanding of our positions before decisions are voted upon and implemented. As a result, I think that weve made a lot of progress towards our goals this semester and I dont think it will be long before we start to see some significant accomplishments as a result of these efforts. However, if we dont nip this stuff in the bud, its going to come back to haunt us. So whats the solution to this problem? Sure we need to improve our parliamentary skills thats a given. But thats not only going to take time, its probably not going to help us much in the very immediate future. So is there something else that we can do as a group to help us move forward despite our lack of skills? Well, as a matter of fact, yes there is. As a group we can formulate some new resolutions that will help make things simpler for us. For instance, we could pass a resolution that all of the advisors resolutions must be presented to the Executive Board first before being presented to the full membership. Will that resolution help? I think so. Would it have helped us with the problems we had at our last meeting? No! Why not? Well thats simple. The advisors report was presented to the Executive Board first before being presented to the full membership. So was resolution #2 called into question at that meeting? No, it wasnt. Could it have been? Yes, it could have been. Should it have been? Yes, it surely should have been but it wasnt. To be fair though, there was very little time to do it in that meeting because of the fact that it was so late in starting and because it occurred at just about the start of chess play. Consequently, the board was so distracted that it rushed the meeting to a conclusion. So its hard to assign blame there. (Hopefully, the Executive Board will be afforded more time and less distraction in the future.) However, assigning blame is not my purpose here. My purpose is to analyze the issues, assess the possibilities and make recommendations. In order to complete my analysis of our last meetings difficulties, I need to address the pros and cons of resolution #2 so that the club will be able to finally decide whether or not it merits passage. In order to address the cons, I should start by addressing the concerns about resolution #2 that I heard discussed at the meeting. The chief concern discussed was the idea that writing down our motions might make it so difficult to make motions that members will be much less inclined to do it. However, the problem with this assessment of the clubs inclinations is not whether or not its true; the problem with it is that it overlooks the obvious. In other words, is it necessarily a bad thing that members will be less inclined to make motions? Isnt it true that discussing motions and resolutions at our full membership meetings takes up a lot of our time? Isnt it also true that most of the complaints about the club have to do with our meetings taking too long? I dont think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out that the clubs meetings wont take as long if there are fewer motions being made. So instead of a drawback, the chief concern is in reality, a benefit! Therefore, a resolution such as #2 that hinders the creation of new motions from the floor looks like something to be embraced rather than a burden to be shunned. Another concern that was raised is that it might actually prevent needed motions from being made. However, this objection is so absurd that it seems more like a dodge than a genuine concern. Since the club is already taking on the responsibility of assessing the recommended resolutions generated from all of the reports that are being submitted, there doesnt seem to be any need for the creation of new main motions. This is not to say that our club wont on occasion have the need for a new main motion from the floor. It just means that new main motions arent likely to be necessary and that if they are, then resolution #2 wont prohibit them but instead merely hinder them. By the same token, if a new main motion from the floor is not exactly needed but instead simply desired, resolution #2 cannot stop it, only deter it a little. cont page 5 Because I cant think of any real objections to Resolution #2, I will end this analysis of it with the following list of ten more points in its favor. Additional Points in favor of Resolution #2: Writing down the words of a motion is usually a more exacting process than just blurting out verbally the first thing that comes to mind. Consequently, writing motions down beforehand will eliminate many errant motions. Since there should be fewer errant motions, fewer stumbling false starts, and fewer total motions altogether, then it follows that our meetings should be shorter, smoother and easier. Because the writing down of a motion requires a little more effort, it implies a more genuine commitment to it by its maker. A written down motion is always easier to contemplate than one that is only spoken. Consequently, this lessens the possibility that the club will pass a motion that is not well considered or a motion that may in fact be detrimental to the club. Because a written motion demands more consideration by the maker, it will not likely take up as much time during discussion of it. It helps to reinforce the principle that main motions are more carefully considered when they are only brought before the full membership after first being examined by a committee. However, because it doesnt make committee referrals compulsory, it still allows for case by case decisions on this option. It helps facilitate understanding of the difference between a main motion and all the other types of motions. The resolutions from reports that are being submitted have usually been given careful consideration beforehand and are not likely to take up as much time as a completely new resolution from the floor. Consequently, a written resolution from the floor that is written down is more in sync with this kind of procedure. Written down motions are much easier for the chairperson to deal with. Written down motions are much easier for the secretary to deal with. Since all of these points in favor of Resolution #2 are actually ways the club will benefit from its passage, its very hard to see why it should be rejected. Therefore, its passage is heartily recommended. However, since the membership had been a little uneasy with this resolution at the clubs last meeting, I have changed the wording slightly. The resolution now proposes that the idea of writing down main motions will be tried out at the clubs next main membership meeting. Then it will be decided at the end of that meeting whether or not the club wants to continue with the policy. cont. page 6 Since Resolution #2 was also discussed at our last meeting, it is placed under OLD BUSINESS in todays Agenda. Resolution #1 is placed under NEW BUSINESS. Further discussion on the merits of these resolutions may be discussed at those appropriate times if the membership moves to accept this report. Please note that voting to accept this report does not obligate the membership to vote in favor of these recommended resolutions. It only keeps them on the agenda to be openly discussed and voted upon. Recommendations: Official Chant RESOLUTION It is resolved that the Chess Club will require that all members will stand up and bow to Advisor Brian Spaeth and chant three times We love Brian every time the chairperson states All those in favor. This policy will be enforced at all future meetings. Rules #1 & #2 for a Main Motion RESOLUTION It is resolved that the wording of next weeks main motions be written down by the maker of the motion (or one of the motions advocates) and then restated by the chair for verification. If the main motion contains more than 15 words, the written motion must also be duplicated for distribution to the attending membership before it can be voted upon. These rules will only apply to the full membership meetings.     Page  PAGE 6  ()>A ({~!DG""##$$=&>&'')).+s+,,R,Y,----i/v///999::;;;;;;;ÿ5CJ5CJ 56CJ >*CJ>*CJCJ6CJCJH*CJ 6>*CJCJCJ 56>*CJ856@xCJ$ 5>*CJ(H ()  o p z{,-<=$a$ ()  o p z{,-<=8  ] !!""##}zwt49:qr9      #$hi_mtu ,=8  ] !!""##$$=&>&'')),,h/i/ & F #$$=&>&'')),,h/i/v/w/00>011R2G334j56677879999::;;;;ƾ~{xuroliifii3{|%  l      L      A      VWqr3&i/v/w/00>011R2G334j56677879999::;;;;; & F^ & F ;;;<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>0JmH0J j0JU jUCJCJCJ5CJ5CJ;;<<<>>>>>>>>     ;<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>$a$ & Fh^h/ =!"#$% i0@0 Normal_HmH sH tH 0@0  Heading 1$@&>*<A@< Default Paragraph Font<C< Body Text Indent h^h*B* Body TextCJ,, Header  !, @", Footer  !&)@1&  Page Number88R z z z z z z *748s  ;> &=i/;>!#%(#;>"$' !8@0(  B S  ?8 +616888888888888888888888888888888888888 +)  I< }(j^>1>BI/;r厠&S ]9<,n9<L oŚV^pj:<etaj}T,5 hh^h`OJQJo( ^`o(hH. ^`hH. pLp^p`LhH. @ @ ^@ `hH. ^`hH. L^`LhH. ^`hH. ^`hH. PLP^P`LhH.hh^h`>*.h^`OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJ^Jo(hHohp^p`OJQJo(hHh@ ^@ `OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJ^Jo(hHoh^`OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJ^Jo(hHohP^P`OJQJo(hH hh^h`OJQJo(h^`OJQJo(hHoh^`OJQJ^Jo(hHohpp^p`OJQJo(hHh@ @ ^@ `OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJ^Jo(hHoh^`OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJ^Jo(hHohPP^P`OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJo(hHoh^`OJQJ^Jo(hHohpp^p`OJQJo(hHh@ @ ^@ `OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJ^Jo(hHoh^`OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJ^Jo(hHohPP^P`OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJ^Jo(hHohpp^p`OJQJo(hHh@ @ ^@ `OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJ^Jo(hHoh^`OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJ^Jo(hHohPP^P`OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJ^Jo(hHohpp^p`OJQJo(hHh@ @ ^@ `OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJ^Jo(hHoh^`OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJ^Jo(hHohPP^P`OJQJo(hHh ^`o(hH.h^`OJQJ^Jo(hHohpp^p`OJQJo(hHh@ @ ^@ `OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJ^Jo(hHoh^`OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJ^Jo(hHohPP^P`OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJ^Jo(hHohpp^p`OJQJo(hHh@ @ ^@ `OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJ^Jo(hHoh^`OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJo(hHh^`OJQJ^Jo(hHohPP^P`OJQJo(hH &S+) j^>1I/;I< ,n]}L o^pet {J`                 f>                                            88@H H8P @GTimes New Roman5Symbol3 Arial? Courier New;Wingdings"1hkjkj2/.cr&0fq0dN986  2QHPExecutive Committee ReportOwnerMATC Oh+'0|  , 8 D P\dlt'Executive Committee Report.xecOwnerivwneNormalvMATClv2TCMicrosoft Word 10.0@@@Z֞=@Z֞=/. ՜.+,0 hp|  ' tcN9$ Executive Committee Report Title  !"#$%&'()+,-./0123456789:;=>?@ABCEFGHIJKNRoot Entry FAl=P1Table*"WordDocumentRSummaryInformation(<DocumentSummaryInformation8DCompObjXObjectPoolAl=Al= FMicrosoft Word DocumentNB6WWord.Document.8