David A Hater's candidate statements also appear in the Chess Life issues under which they are listed below.
April Statement:
I was elected to the Executive Board (EB) in 2020 and am seeking re-election. My previous campaign introduction is at www.davidhater.com.
As I stand for re-election, part of my campaign is that this EB is functioning well and US Chess is prospering. I, as an incumbent, have been part of that success and I would like to continue to sustain the path that we are on. The only weakness I have seen in my first term was the IT upgrade being negatively impacted by COVID. That was unavoidable, but it is on a better path and is a priority of mine moving forward.
Incumbency is not enough. EB members must bring something to the table. My chief contributions are tournament directing and administration, senior executive management skills as a human resources professional, and contributions advancing U.S. interests/priorities within FIDE. In subsequent posts, I will detail these areas.
May Statement:
In my first post, I detailed four reasons why I am a good candidate for re-election to the EB and promised more detail in the second statement. Here is that detail.
1. EB is functioning well; US Chess is prospering.
- Membership is at an all-time high-we recently crossed over look members!
- Finances are at an all-time high - Over $3 million in our various bank account funds.
- EB is cohesive - all working cooperatively to complete the US Chess mission to empower people, enrich lives, and enhance communities through chess.
In short, this is a winning team and I want to remain on the winning team!
I am not at all claiming that I am solely responsible for the remarkable success that US Chess is enjoying. Rather I am stating that I am part of a team that has set the conditions for our success. Here are some of my key contributions:
2. Tournament directing and administration
In 2022, I directed over 50 events with nearly 15,000 players and over $1 million in prizes awarded. This experience is invaluable on the board and I have used it to advise on tournament director certification, rules, ethics, and FIDE events in particular. In addition, I travel the country and am acces sible to members and represent member concerns in important EB decisions.
3. Senior executive management skills as a human resource professional
Consulted in compensation and benefits, transition benefits, and best practices, ensuring US Chess employees can reach their full potential while meeting their responsibilities to the organization. During my time on the EB we twice made improvements to health benefits and we increased compensation to our employees to help keep pace with inflation. We are a non-profit and will never be a wage leader, but we must always do right by our employees - this is a priority of mine.
4. Advancing U.S. interests/priorities within FIDE
Serve on FIDE Ethics & Disciplinary Commission; part of US Delegation at FIDE General Assembly. USA is not a chess island and must work cooperatively in the international arena - Gens Una Sumus (we are one family). I actively contribute to the international arena and advance U.S. interests and positions within FIDE.
I ask for your vote so that I can have the honor of continuing to advance the US Chess mission and vision through my Executive Board service.
June Statement:
In this final Chess Life statement, I would like to outline some goals for the future. It is not possible to know what the next four years hold and future events will dictate priorities and directions, but we can start with where we are today and some goals for the future.
As chess players we often focus on strategy and tactics. That lens can be helpful here also. This current and past boards outlined strategic directions in mission and vision statements as well as goals and values https://new.uschess.org/mission-and-vision. Growing chess by expanding beyond our membership base while still growing members and providing outstanding service is where we should be striving to go as an organization.
In support of that direction, I will continue what I laid out in my last message: being a valued member of the governance team, bringing expertise as a tournament organizer/director, focusing on human resources and .representing US interests internationally.
There are many things to accomplish, but I want to list three here: modernizing IT infrastructure, setting optimal staffing levels, and setting standards of behavior for all our members and holding accountable those who violate these standards.
Modernizing IT structure: We have made some progress in this regard, but there is still a lot of work to do. We recently hired an IT professional and have allocated resources to this goal. We must accomplish this because this is one of the backbones of the office and it is how we deliver our services such as membership and ratings. This must be a focus area of the Executive Board.
Setting correct staffing levels: One of the by-products of our unprecedented membership growth is more work for our professional employees! The Executive Board needs to make sure the office has what it needs to accomplish our mission. While the Executive Director proposes staffing levels, the Executive Board must allocate the resources. I will fully support and encourage the right staffing levels, even if it means adding a position or two to respond to increased workload.
Setting standards of behavior: This is an area I have been involved with for many years, but can’t share specifics due to privacy issues. I have personally been involved in hundreds of cases at the US and World Level dealing with players from beginner to grandmaster. These cases range from minor offenses to fair play issues (aka cheating) all the way to criminal behavior. All of our members have a right to a safe playing environment. We need to have clear standards of behavior and procedures for dealing with transgressions/misconduct. We’ve made improvements such as adopting Safe Play guidelines and we have held members accountable for transgressions (even though most of these are never publicly known). This is one of my priorities to protect our members and ensure all are treated with dignity and respect and have a safe and fair environment to play chess.
I look forward to serving you – our members and I ask for your vote in this election.
