Monday, April 23, 2007

USCF Censures Executive Board Member

Sam Sloan has once again been censured. This time for violating federal employment laws as well as violating the code of conduct for an executive board member. Mr. Sloan is up for reelection to a board position. Currently there is no proceedure for the executive board to remove a member whose actions open the USCF up to potential liability claims. Only the delegates may vote to remove a member. Even then said member may not be removed within four months of the ends of their term.
Until the election the USCF must carry around the risk of a lawsuit that may come from inflamatory remarks uttered by Mr. Sloan via newsgroups. This is why it is so important that the voting public in the USCF be made aware of who they are voting for should they vote for Mr. Sloan. Who is Sam Sloan?
That is a question that should be researched for the next several months.When selecting a leader one must assess their decision making ability and rationality. One should assess if that leaders core values reflect your own values. Does a canidates "vision" match those that are your own? You don't get the leadership you deserve, you get the leadership you expect.
Could the USCF do more? Sure they could. Why is it that Chess Life online does not have a section for actions taken by the Executive Board? If such a section existed there would be much more transparency and the members of the USCF could better determine if the conduct of it's elected officials met their personal standards.The members would also know more about the health of the organization. Has it been reported anywhere that Mr. Sloan was censured by the board for his actions? Does the membership of the USCF know this?
Mr. Sloans actions are not unlike that of a malignancy. One small cell in an organism that refuses to follow order and continues to propogate it's own adgenda, develops into a fatal cancer. More and more of the resources of the organism must be used to fight and defend itself from an internal invader so it fails to grown and eventually dies.
Perhaps what exists with the USCF is a symptom of an organization that has grown far beyond what it's own bylaws ever anticipated? Perhaps the structure of the USCF is in part what is crippling? Organizations are like living organisms. They must grow in order to continue to live. Growth must be controlled and follow a plan. Uncontrolled growth in an organism is "cancer". Unorganized growth in an organization is "chaos" and is just as destructive. Without a clear plan and real leadership, growth will become chaos.
My question now is this:
Why are we not discussing Mr. Sloans actions in the light of day? Why is there a silence on this? There may be more cancers in the USCF but if we permit one to thrive we miss the others thinking they are only a symptom of the first.
Rob Mitchell