Our federation is not healthy

This is my Candidate Statement for the June 2007 Chess Life

The current state of our federation is not healthy! The USCF lost money again! Many sponsors do not want to deal with us. Many supporters are tired of our internal political destruction. Some board members have repeatedly violated the code of ethics, standards of conduct, as well as the members’ trust. There is no end to this destruction in sight unless we demand big positive changes by putting the most capable people in place.

I would like to rebuild the USCF into a strong, successful and respectable organization. This is why I decided to run in this election. Here are some of the past major problems that need to be corrected in order for the USCF to prosper:

• Too many bad financial and business decisions
• Too many decisions made for political reasons instead of the best interests of US chess and the USCF
• Too much frivolous spending without long-term vision
• Too little effort to raise much-needed revenues to ensure the good health of this federation
• Too little focus on positive chess marketing and promotion
• Too little focus on many membership categories such as adult, scholastic, collegiate, correspondence, and military chess
• Too little effort to retain our memberships, especially the scholastic members
• Too little integrity, honesty, credibility and professionalism by some board members
• Too little accountability of our board members
• Too little respect for our members, affiliates, partners, supporters and sponsors
• Too little willingness to keep the USCF up with the times

Here are some of my areas of focus for the USCF if I’m elected:

• Restore respectability, integrity, credibility and professionalism to the USCF
• Reestablish a sound and balanced budget
• Develop strong cooperation and support for adult, scholastic, collegiate, correspondence, military and internet chess
• Establish a strong professional marketing and PR system
• End the petty and destructive politics

I highly recommend three other candidates who can work with me to help turn the USCF into a strong and viable organization:

• Paul Truong: He’s by far the most successful person in chess marketing, promotion, public relations, and management. Paul can bring something to this federation that no one could in the past. We badly need his expertise.

• Mikhail Korenman: He has a strong record in promoting and organizing chess events. He’s a member of the USCF Scholastic Council. He’s well respected by many people, including former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev and many others.

• Randy Bauer: He has had tremendous success as the budget director of the state of Iowa, dealing with a multibillion dollar budget. We need his financial expertise.

I cannot fix the USCF alone. Please join Paul, Mikhail, Randy and me in this mission to reform the USCF. The future of the USCF is in our hands. We cannot continue the status quo. It is not working. It is sinking this federation. I will continue to discuss many more important issues in detail at www.susanpolgar.blogspot.com.

Thanks for your support!