Presidential Transition

It has been both fun and an honor to work with the ACF membership over the past decade. Since 2010 when I was elected president, ACF has grown both in terms of the number active players and the number members willing to participate in the volunteer activities that have enabled part of that growth.

During that time we

• launched the Alabama Chess in Schools Initiative in partnership with the Alabama State Department of Education to develop state of the art chess in education training for teachers
• improved the ACF website and added a Facebook page
• improved the chess journalism offered to members
• expanded the number of state championship tournaments
• automated ACF membership purchase
• improved governance through various upgrades to the bylaws
• implemented online tournament registration for the state scholastic championships

As my term as president ends on September 30, 2019, I am pleased with the energy and ambition that new president, Jonathan Rasberry, brings to the job. Look for some new ideas to be implemented in the coming year, particularly in the realm of social media. I look forward to another year on the ACF Board Member serving as Educational VP where is will be managing the spinoff of Chess in Schools LLC (CIS) over the coming year. [See the following story.]

I want thank departing Board Members Balagee Govindan and Michael Ciarmarra for there service. Balagee has been a tireless promoter of chess in the state and has often stepped forward to volunteer his time and made financial donations to support state championship tournaments. Michael Ciamarra has been an invaluable counselor as well as an excellent chess journalist. Without his help there would have been not Alabama Chess in Schools Initiative.

Thanks to Caesar Lawrence for maintaining the ACF Calendar and Tournament Reports these past several years, not to mention the multitude of tournaments he continues to run across our state. He’s a giant! Last but not least, Scott Varagona: thank you for your 5-star effort in publishing our quarterly Antics online magazine.

It has been a blast!

Neil Dietsch

Highlights