Board Notes: January 24, 2003 (a member update on organizational news from the American Go Association) Although the members of the Board did not officially assume office until the beginning of 2003, we have been very active since the Congress in August, 2002. Our initial, and most important, decision was to appoint Chris Kirschner as President-designate so outgoing President Roy Laird could work closely with him during the transition. We also informally appointed Ben Bernstein as Treasurer, and Roy immediately asked him to take over for Ulo Tamm at Ulo's request. The Board immediately began working on a new organizational structure, with Chris Kirschner and John Stephenson taking the lead in drafting alternatives. The structure now in place is designed to maximize opportunities for many more people to contribute to the improvement and growth of the AGA. Chris, with the assistance of the Board, also began recruiting people for the new organizational structure. The organizational chart can be viewed under "About the AGA" on the association's web site, www.usgo.org. With the process of recruiting talent still under way, we urge you to take a look to see where you would like to contribute time, energy, and expertise. Please feel free to contact Chris, Terry Assael, who is the Recruiting and Human Resources Coordinator, or your regional representative on the Board. See the end of this email for contact info. The Board held its first official meeting by conference call on January 2, 2003. Our primary order of business was to confirm CHRIS KIRSCHNER as President, BEN BERNSTEIN as Treasurer, and SUSAN WEIR as Secretary. We also voted to approve key appointments recommended by the President: CHRIS GARLOCK, Vice-President of Communications; KEITH ARNOLD, National Coordinator, Governance and Policies; PAUL MATHEWS, National Coordinator, Ratings; JEFF SHAEVEL, National Coordinator, Rankings; LEE ANN BOWIE, National Coordinator, Education; MICHAEL BROCKBANK, National Coordinator, Legal and Compliance; ROY LAIRD, National Coordinator, Website; and TERRY ASSAEL, National Coordinator, Recruiting and Human Resources. PAUL CELMER, National Coordinator of Chapter Management; JOHN GOON, National Coordinator, Community Outreach; JUDY DEBEL as Congress Liaison (a position vacated when Chris Kirschner was selected President. DUANE BURNS, will serve as National Coordinator, Tournament Regulation. He will oversee certification of tournament directors, and coordinate a team consisting of KEN KOESTER, JEFF SHAEVEL, and CHUCK ROBBINS, who will work on regulations for Internet tournaments, an updated Tournament Guide, and tournament coordination, respectively. The Board heartily welcomes these talented and energetic volunteers, and also thanks those who are continuing to serve in other capacities. We expect to approve many additional appointments over the next few months. The Board also took steps toward developing a statement of ethical standards to help guide members of the Board and AGA officers. The initial draft adopted informally by the Board last November is available for review at the AGA website. It is currently being revised. The Board also requested that the Governance and Policies Committee take up the issue of conflict of interest guidelines as its first task. The Board hopes to be able to act on a revised ethical guidelines statement, including recommendations on conflict of interest developed by the Governance and Policies Committee, fairly soon. The Board has also begun work on developing a mission statement for the AGA that will provide officers guidance on priorities and present the AGA to the world. Over the next few months, the Board expects to begin discussions about the role of professional players in the AGA and the operation of the ratings system, as well as to develop a practical way to hold more public Board meetings. As always, the Board welcomes comments, suggestions, complaints, and other communication from AGA members. - Dave Weimer, Chair AGA CONTACT LIST: President: Chris Kirschner: president@usgo.org Secretary Susan Weir: Secretary@usgo.org Treasurer Ben Bernstein: Treasurer@usgo.org VP - Communications: Chris Garlock Journal@usgo.org Archivist Craig Hutchinson: Archives@usgo.org Chapter Management: Paul Celmer chapterservices@usgo.org Nicole Casanta: Chapters@usgo.org Community Outreach: John Goon Outreach@usgo.org Congress Liaison: Judy Debel Congress@usgo.org Education Coordinator: Lee Ann Bowie Education@usgo.org Equipment Distribution: Paul Celmer Equipment@usgo.org HR & Recruitment: Terry Assael Hr@usgo.org Membership Services: Tom Hodges, Joel Gabelman membership@usgo.org Policy & Governance: Keith Arnold Governance@usgo.org Professional Players' Representative: Zhu-jiu (Jujo) Jiang Professionals@usgo.org Ranking Issues: Jeff Shaevel Rank@usgo.org Ratings Coordinator: Paul Matthews Ratings@usgo.org Tournament Coordinator: Chuck Robbins Tournaments@usgo.org Tournament Regulations: Duane Burns Regulations@usgo.org Webmaster: Roy Laird: webmaster@usgo.org Youth Coordinator: Noné Redmond youth@usgo.org National Coordinator of Legal and Compliance: Michael T. Brockbank American Go Foundation: Terry Benson terrybenson@nyc.rr.com Database Manager: Sam Zimmerman database@usgo.org AGA Board of Directors Dave Weimer (Chair): weimer@lafollette.wisc.edu Chen-dao Lin: cdlin5@yahoo.com John Stephenson: Jcs@wingsgoclub.org David Dinhofer: David.dinhofer@alum.mit.edu Harold Lloyd: Hlloyd@core.com Bob O'Malley: omalley@coas.oregonstate.edu Jon Boley: Jon@airsltd.com Published by the American Go Association To make name or address corrections - notify us at the email address below. Editor: Chris Garlock email: journal@usgo.org Voice: 202-857-3410 Fax: 202-857-3420