10-21-09 NCCA Replete with Deception, Neglect and Secrecy by NM Leland Fuerstman On September 26, 2009, it was announced on their  website that a "Special Meeting" of the NCCA Officers was supposedly held  somewhere  whereby, among other orders of business, President Victor Beaman "announced his resignation." It further goes on to state that President Beaman "presided over the meeting" where all of the officers and others were "present?!" The published report, which is still posted on the NCCA website, states as follows: "All the Directors participated, namely: Victor Beaman, Gary Newsom, Jessica Martin, Gerben Hoekstra and Randy Wheeless, each having waived notice of the date of this meeting. NCCA attorney "W. W." also participated in the meeting in an advisory capacity. All of the Directors took part in the meeting and the following proceedings were had..." However, it has been brought to my attention that in fact, no such "meeting" may actually have ever taken  place at all and that probably no one other than the NCCA Attorney participated in the drafting of the minutes?! Because, according to re-confirmed CCC sources, Victor Beaman stated that he "was not present at that meeting" and therefore certainly "did not preside over it" as is erroneously stated?! Furthermore, it was learned that both VP Gary Newsom and VP Jessica Martin were involved in their own separate endeavors with scholastic events on 9-26-09 which took place in different cities?! Therefore, one could easily deduce that the others mentioned were not present at a meeting either. When Victor Beaman was questioned, he stated that he had "only received a couple of E-mails..." When Beaman was asked whether the other officers had actually attended the meeting, he said "well, 'they' will probably just lie about it..!?" End of quote (It seems as though past President Beaman had become somewhat disillusioned by certain characteristics exhibited by his previous cohorts. Dubious leadership skills notwithstanding, being the religious, ethical and honest person that he is, it is my opinion that Victor Beaman is telling the truth) This raises a number of serious questions. First, are the officers of the NCCA actually performing their duties in a competent and professional manner? Based on what was reported, members were left with the impression that a responsible group of benevolent volunteers allotted the time to go to great effort to travel long distances in order to "all" sit down at a conference table and make important decisions - which is absolutely not true. The fact is, according to Beaman who lamented to having been "kept out of the loop" during his tenure, since elected they have had few, if any, meetings where all of the officers were present. Furthermore, the officers have documented little or nothing and have basically neglected to accomplish the routine responsibilities at hand. A few examples are: (1) the NCCA website "Recent Results" no longer exists. That link was suspiciously removed just after the recent NC Class Championship. There is no prompt reporting of any event which includes any more than a brief blurb with the names of the winners and a printout of the results. (A more complete description of the event might include personal information about the winners, their hometown, their photo(s), the amount of money they won, the number of "grand prix" points they won and their current standing, games that can be viewed, anecdotes or quotes by the players, and breakdown of the percentage of payback by the organizer - At least 75% should be the standard. The "editor" is responsible for  making sure events are properly reported) (2) the upcoming events or "Tournaments" link leads  you to a long list of predominantly "scholastic" events?! Certain officers of the organization seem to be concentrating more of their time and effort promoting their personal Scholastic chess organizations than the adult chess business of the NCCA? Where are all of those "adult" events about which one of their spokesmen so proudly bragged? - And, of the 2 or 3 adult events which are available, why would they be planned for the same day?! Some have noticed that on a number of occasions after the Asheboro Open tournament (which is 75 miles away from Charlotte) had already been posted on the NCCA website, Charlotte tournaments were subsequently posted for the very same day; ignoring all courteous "clearinghouse" policies. (It is my understanding that the officers did in fact discuss the "clearinghouse" situation and decided it was a "non-issue?" - Others surmise they realized there might be some work associated with it and they just simply chose to avoid it!) (3) their determination to allow their illegally elected Vice President of Scholastics to keep her position (That was one of the other orders of business which was "voted upon" during the supposed "meeting") (4) their neglect to allow North Carolina promoters to bid on the NC Championship. It is my understanding that many months ago past President Jeffrey Mason  Jones made an official bid to the NCCA to conduct the event in the Triad area and guarantee a return of 87% in cash prizes! Unfortunately, he was advised that a "gentleman's agreement" had already been made with American Chess Promotions, and they intended to honor it?! (Gentleman's agreements seem the be the order of the day for this non-profit organization... what ever happened to legal contracts, signed relationship agreements and proper documentation? And, just how many other gentleman's agreements have been made and for how many years in the future, and by whom? A North Carolina promoter who guaranteed 87% when it was easy to calculate that American Chess Promotions would only return 60% certainly should have been considered.) (5) their neglect to properly promote the upcoming NC Championship. (Re-adjusting the prize fund to at least guarantee the 1st Place prizes in each section would be good for starters, however, the fact that it is "open," the high entry fee and poor payback coupled with the knowledge of the organizer's healthy cut will probably prevent many logical minded chessplayers from participating anyway. By the way, who is their Chief TD and will he have any "full time" Assistants?) (6) their persistent determination to prevent the books and records from being audited or even observed by any outsider. (Again, secrecy continues to permeate their ranks. An official audit has not been made in years and is certainly due. Additionally, the NCCA treasury was last reported to have over $20,000 in their account; surely enough to pay for an accountants fee... anyway, if they truly have nothing to hide, what's the problem?!) (7) the "Grand Prix" system was obviously far too complicated, never properly maintained, poorly promoted and certainly needs to be revised. Worse, there seems to be a significant amount of confusion among the contenders. (The system which I originally revised favored the most active players, not the highest rated ones) Finally, please bear in mind that I am a journalist. All  statements or quotes which are listed above in black print come from competent CCC sources and have been verified as accurate. My personal comments and opinions are written in blue. Now, if what has been reported to me is not true, then I sincerely apologize for the error. On the other hand, if what I have stated here is true, it is difficult for me to believe that each person implicated has not read the "minutes" which are published on the NCCA website. And, so far, not one of them has come forward and admitted that they did not physically attend that meeting themselves -- except for Victor Beaman... (and I find that to be reprehensible. A truly honest person would have quickly set the record straight... but so far, not one of them has peeped a sound?) This also causes me, and others to wonder whether a previous meeting a few months ago designed to analyze the questionable finances of the NC Scholastic Championship, exonerate Randy Wheeless and chastise NM Leland Fuerstman and Promoter Tom Hales ever actually took place either? Considering the gravity of a meeting where the President would resign and by-laws were to be changed, it is difficult to understand how such a meeting could have conceivably taken place over the phone, through the US mail or by E-mails... But, unfortunately for all involved, that is not what was reported in the "Official Minutes." Instead, a glamorous picture was painted with rhetoric which was designed to praise the officers for going to a lot of trouble of doing something which they actually did not do? (And, if that's not deception, I don't know what is...) I admire Victor Beaman for telling the truth... In my opinion, the remaining NCCA officers should follow suit, each do the honorable thing and resign. While I am no longer a member of the NCCA, I am a past President who cares very much about the future of the organization. I remain, NM Leland Fuerstman President, CCC