As per Article IV §2 of the TCA bylaws, the following Advance Motions (ADMs) were received for the 2020 TCA Membership Annual Meeting to be held on Sunday, September 6, 2020 at 8:30 AM Central Daylight Time (US and Canada) both in person at the Southwest Open and in a Zoom online meeting. If the Southwest Open is cancelled, the meeting will be held online only. All motions have been listed in the order in which they were received by the Texas Knights Editor.
Motion I
I move we go back to paper ballot and eliminate online voting.
Comments: First off, this will not affect or require any more than electronic voting. Then it is the system that is currently on the bylaws. This system has failed two election years in a row. We can insure that every current member gets a ballot that counts. There are still senior chess players who are not computer literate and by participating in TCA events have officially become members. We are failing to address their needs. As I’m discovering, these same individuals are participating in TCA events but not enjoying the advantages of membership. Others have issues with having emails and Facebook. They have had identities stolen through doing things via internet and no longer have the taste for this practice. Either way, we are alienating players and members. One is too much. Not even US Chess uses electronic voting.
Eddie Rios, Sponsor
Filed by Eddie Rios on Monday, July 6, 2020 @ 3:56 PM CDT
Motion II
Whenever TCA makes announcements or passes out info of any kind electronically that it be done in both Spanish and English.
Comments: High population of Hispanics in most of our major cities. Some players don’t have English language skills. Remember, we cater to all chess players in Texas, this is mainly for open players, but we also have English as a Second Language (ESL) players.
Eddie Rios, Sponsor
Filed by Eddie Rios on Monday, July 6, 2020 @ 3:56 PM CDT
Motion III
“Five-minute limit for all speakers. The Chair shall appoint a speakers-timekeeper. This advance motion becomes effective January 1, 2021.”
Comments: Avoids filibusters. We had two filibusters at the 2019 annual TCA Membership Meeting (90 minutes and 45 minutes). Some members were working the tournament floor and could not wait all day to comment and vote on advance motions. It is a shame something like this is needed in the Bylaws. But it is.
Franc Guadalupe and Jim Hollingsworth, Co-sponsors
Filed by Jim Hollingsworth on Tuesday, August 4, 2020 @ 12:53 PM CDT
Motion IV
“No financial report shall be required from any organizer hosting any TCA sanctioned event, as well as any individual who works for any organizer.”
Comments: (none)
Eddie Rios and Jim Hollingsworth, Co-sponsors
Filed by Jim Hollingsworth on Tuesday, August 4, 2020 @ 12:53 PM CDT
Motion V
“The Officers for this Organization shall be: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and the ten Region Directors (who are appointed by the President). This advance motion becomes effective January 1, 2021.”
Comments: At the 2019 meeting TCA shifted to only four officers. This was a mistake because ten region directors were demoted to advisor status.
Eddie Rios and Jim Hollingsworth, Co-sponsors
Filed by Jim Hollingsworth on Tuesday, August 4, 2020 @ 12:53 PM CDT
Motion VI
“Texas Knights printed version shall replace Texas Knights online version as soon as a qualified Editor can be found. This advance motion is effective January 1, 2021.”
Comments: Bring it back!
Franc Guadalupe and Jim Hollingsworth, Co-sponsors
Filed by Jim Hollingsworth on Tuesday, August 4, 2020 @ 12:53 PM CDT
Motion VII
“TCA recommends and encourages the use of US Chess approved move recording devices. All decisions on whether to allow those devices are up to the Organizer. This advance motion becomes effective January 1, 2021.”
Comments: (none)
Bob Curtis and Jim Hollingsworth, Co-sponsors
Filed by Jim Hollingsworth on Tuesday, August 4, 2020 @ 12:53 PM CDT
Motion VIII
“TCA will follow the lead of US Chess, another 501(c)(3) organization, which allows candidate statements, photos, questions and answers, etc., as long as everyone is respectful of others, on social media, the TCA website, and in Texas Knights. This advance motion becomes effective January 1, 2021.”
Comments. TCA members have a right to know all election details. This will achieve that goal. They also have a right to know as quickly as possible. Jeff French, former Texas Knights Editor, published upcoming election details in the March-April 2017 and March April 2018 editions of Texas Knights. This included how to apply for an office, deadlines, how the elections would be conducted, dates, etc. Our current Texas Knights is not adequate for getting the word out quickly. Further, everything published on the TCA Facebook page is automatically posted on the TCA website. Texas Knights still plays an important elections role, but the TCA Facebook page is the key for getting the word out quickly.
Filed by Jim Hollingsworth on Tuesday, August 4, 2020 @ 12:53 PM CDT
Motion IX
Every scholastic player who participates in the Texas State Scholastic Championship will automatically become a junior TCA member. Any other membership should be at the players own cost. Junior members have no voting rights nor a printed Texas Knights subscription.
Comments. This helps fundraising because higher membership numbers are attractive to sponsors. This would require a list of total players who participated in the event from the organizer. Hard copy will do, the Secretary will keep the master copy. Second, this will encourage organizers to bid on smaller TCA scholastic events without suffering extra costs by paying for new players’ memberships.
Eddie Rios and Jim Hollingsworth, Co-sponsors.
Filed by Jim Hollingsworth on Tuesday, August 4, 2020 @ 12:53 PM CDT
Motion X
“A Membership Dues Committee will make annual recommendations (in May) to the TCA Officers for approval/disapproval within thirty days. Membership dues approvals shall be posted on the TCA website to allow for public comment for thirty days. If the TCA Officers make no changes, the new dues become automatic at the end of that period. This advance motion becomes effective January 1, 2021.”
Comments. The current system is too slow to respond to cost issues, such as printed Texas Knights.
Jim Hollingsworth, Sponsor
Filed by Jim Hollingsworth on Tuesday, August 4, 2020 @ 12:53 PM CDT
Motion XI
“TCA Chess Clubs have ten-points preference for all bids.”
Comments: TCA policy is the Club Sponsor must have current TCA membership at the time of signup. The individual membership may expire, but the club membership is valid an entire year for only $10. If approved this Bylaw will result in increased memberships.
Eddie Rios and Jim Hollingsworth, Co-sponsors
Filed by Jim Hollingsworth on Tuesday, August 4, 2020 @ 12:53 PM CDT
Motion XII
A Stipends Committee shall be formed to evaluate all stipend requests. The Stipends Committee
will determine the criteria and requirements. Limit for all stipends shall be $500 and most
should be less. The Stipends Committee shall forward its recommendations to the full Board for
consideration and final approval. All awarded stipends shall be included in the quarterly finance
reports.
Comments: (none)
Eddie Rios and Jim Hollingsworth, Co-sponsors
Filed by Jim Hollingsworth on Tuesday, August 4, 2020 @ 12:53 PM CDT
Motion XIII
Reinstated.
Section 3.
Elections.
A. Election of the officers of the Association, as well as tournament bids on official TCA events,
shall be by mail ballot.
B. A ballot shall be prepared by the Secretary, or a designee of the Secretary, listing the
nomination for each officer post. Sufficient copies of the ballot shall be published in order that
each voting member in good standing may vote. The Secretary may mail a copy of the ballot
to each voting member in good standing, or have a copy of the ballot included with the
July/August issue of Texas Knights. A preaddressed envelope shall be included with the ballot.
C. The President shall appoint a special committee to tally the votes. This committee shall be
made up of at least one Board member and one voting member. The ballots shall be opened
and tallied during a public meeting during the Southwest Open. The nominee having a
plurality shall be declared the winner of each office. The committee chairperson will present
the election results to the President prior to or during the first part of the Annual Meeting.
The committee chairperson will announce the election results at the appropriate time during
the Annual Meeting.
Comments: (none)
Eddie Rios, Franc Guadalupe and Jim Hollingworth, Co-sponsors
Filed by Jim Hollingsworth on Tuesday, August 4, 2020 @ 12:53 PM CDT
Motion XIV
All bidders will include a signed contract between the bidder and TCA. The contract will
specify the bidder has pecuniary responsibility for submitting payment-in-full to TCA within 90
days. After 90 days of nonpayment or short-payment, copies of the contract and winning bid
will be submitted to the ethics committee for adjudication, possible sanctions and collections
referral.
Comments: The above is necessary because some bidders are not fulfilling their agreements.
Eddie Rios, Franc Guadalupe and Jim Hollingworth, Co-sponsors
Filed by Jim Hollingsworth on Tuesday, August 4, 2020 @ 12:53 PM CDT
