CHESS JOURNALISTS OF AMERICA - Campaign Site

CAMPAIGN for CJA Secretary/Treasurer -Vote for Daren Dillinger - Ballot contained in the June 2009 Chess Journalist magazine!

More than any other office, the CJA Treasurer should reflect openness and integrity. Lack of integrity in any office, reflects poorly on the CJA.

With our CJA treasury at a five year low, we have been remiss in several areas.

I strive for open disclosure, full compliance with our rules and also inspection rights laws. Accuracy is important, but if a mistake occurs let us admit to the error and correct it - NOT the cover ups we have seen so much of.

With four years as CJA Vice-president, I see the greatest use of my background in this position. I know how CJA should work. Perhaps since I am NOT a national chess person, but rather a journeyman chess organizer, I have not developed the arrogance of some who are Big Wheels.

I am genuinely very appreciative of all who have made possible my fellowship in the chess community.

As a past Treasurer both in Corporate America (bonded for $100,000) And large chess organizations. I seek your support.

Like my position as Vice-president, I will continue to be on the CJA Executive Board. My 30 years of experience working with organizers and over ten state publication editors, insures that I am tuned in to our chess community at every level, not just the top!

Please follow through with sending in our written ballot.

Any questions? My email is: DDillinger@chessjournalism.org

I will be updating my election campaign and responding to current and new issues at this website.

Thank you for your consideration!

Daren Dillinger, CJA Vice-President, Member of the CJA Executive Board, U.S. Chess Federation Voting Delagate from Florida.

ABOVE - Doing research on Ben Franklin, as an official Reader at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California

At the 2003 U.S. Open in Los Angeles with GM Susan Polgar & GM Arnold Denker

Part of my 10 years on the Florida Chess Assn. Board of Directors, I enjoyed working with Arnold Denker before and during his being President of the FCA.

Staff reporter for POLICE TIMES magazine

Giving an exhibition and Chess Symposium at Florida Community College in Jacksonville, Nov. 2006 --

See: www.the-campus-voice.com/past_issues/2006/December_5_2006/is
sue_dec5_2006.htm#checkmate

QUALIFICATIONS For CJA Secretary/Treasurer position.

From 1999 to 2001 I was office manager of a computer consulting and repair corporation, MacPcTech Pro, Inc.

As such I did the accounting books. By 2004, we had grown so much that we turned the book keeping and tax filing over to a professional outfit.

See info at our Better Business Bureau website: www.jacksonville.bbb.org/commonreport.html?compid=11347

During my 20+ years serving on the Boards of local chess organizations, I have been treasurer several times. Additionally I have been on the Florida Chess Assn. Board of Directors for 10 years, and reviewed and voted on our budget during those years.

Perhaps a higher level of financial book keeping ability - and ethics; is demonstrated by my experience in the non-chess business world. In addition to the computer corporation noted above. I have served as the Treasurer of an AFL-CIO union, Local 982, where I was bonded for $100,000.00

I served in the early 1980's on the Board of Directors of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, with a multi-million dollar budget to oversee and pass each year.

EMPIRE CHESS magazine

BONUS!

Posted here are clip art, cartoons, jokes, & text stories you may use FREE in any chess publication. Great filler material!

Also, more will be added in July & August of 2007, CHECK BACK!

You are welcome to use any of this content . . . with NO compensation requested (--just a line credit). First I grant permission for any to use any portions of the above article on Bobby Fischer's first mentor and chess teacher, Carmine Nigro.

The piece was published in Empire Chess magazine, and the text is available at:

http://web.archive.org/web/20041026050533/http://www.nysca.net/Dillinger.html

Also almost every chess club can pick up some successful tactics to use in the local media, with the piece titled "The Media and Your Local Chess Club" as published on pages 13-14 in the Sept. 2006 issue of the Chess Journalists magazine. See: www.chessjournalism.org/pdf/cjsep06a.pdf

These two columns about "chess in outer space" are what I would call "Feature pieces" for they are not time sensitive, also note that this particular website is NOT registered with any search engine, so other than our local newspaper readership, none has seen these columns -- You will need to have Microsoft Word on your computer to access and read these columns.
www.geocities.com/boyslife2003/052001.doc

www.geocities.com/boyslife2003/052701.doc

Chessville did run the below two items, on their website, but you are welcome to reuse them.

This piece titled Measure Your Chess Aggressiveness, was written by both
Robert Morrell & myself. It also won a national Chess Journalism award as best humor piece, and is probably the best piece suited for a mass audience, -- that does NOT have such a heavy duty interest in chess.

I have copyright permission from both Morrell & myself, to offer this for publication.

www.chessville.com/misc/Fiction/MeasureYourChessAggressiveness.htm

Here is a quiz, also published by Chessville, I am told by many, it is really funny, BUT I feel funny to only seasoned chess players, who have been members of the US Chess Federation for years.

www.chessville.com/misc/Fiction/ChessHistoryQuiz.htm

Here are a couple of more conventional chess trivia quizzes I did for a major Quiz Trivia Website: www.Sploofus.com

(Be advised that the Sploofus website, does require a brief free sign in, but the advertisements are on the peripheral side bars, very non invasive, and NO Pop ups on the site.)

This quiz is more for the top chess fans, members of USCF

www.sploofus.com/triviaquiz/chess_within_the_us_chess_federationquiz.html

This quiz is for more general chess fans, but still serious enough to follow chess history.

www.sploofus.com/triviaquiz/chess_trivia_bobby_fischer_and_beyond.html

Here are some additional cartoons and clip art posted at this website link

www.freewebs.com/chessjournalists/pagetwo.htm

I also grant copyright permission for the below cartoon gag.

-- Policy Statement --

Our Treasurer should be the custodian of our financial records. His duty is to preserve them, so other officers (and regular members too, should be okay) can look at them and verify what has made money and what has not.

The entire CJA Executive Board should have year round access to the records as they plan throughout the year.

The Treasurer should NOT seek to hide the records from all officers and all members. . . as is being done now. . . with the support of the CJA President.

Having this hidden records policy, just after the current Treasurer going EIGHT YEARS without any financial statements, is an additional black mark. Proof of this violation of our Constitution and By-laws is contained in the PDF files of the Chess Journalist magazine posted at the CJA website. www.chessjournalism.org

You will note only an annual balance, no financial statement of any kind. Thankfully after eight years, statements were started up in 2006. . . although with a lot of errors!

Let us improve and move forward!

Daren Dillinger

I was happy to have been the Chief Tournament Director at the 2003 U.S. Open Blitz Championship. Here I am with Tournament winner GM Susan Polgar. I first met Polgar when she was age 17 on her exhibition tour through Florida.

Polgar has gone on to win the U.S. Blitz Championship three times ( so far! )

On staff as a reporter and copy-editor at the Courier Newspaper.

(click on above pic for stories)

Psychology & Chess go hand in hand. One of my published Psychology articles was in the Journal of Undergraduate Research in Psychology (JURP), Vol.3 issue #1 - 1999. My paper on Interpersonal Relationships was published due to winning an award at the 1999 American Psychological Society Convention. Abstract still posted online. Click on above cover to see.

BELOW CLIP ART IS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

BULLETIN!

Write in Vote for PARIS HILTON for CJA President?

Jerry Hanken is the only person on the CJA ballot. Thus a Protest vote for CJA President had been set up by PARIS HILTON backers ( & members of Jerry Hanken's enemies list), living in California.

UPDATE NOTE -- July 1,

I shall leave the website address below, for the fun of looking at the site. It is a RIOT!

But the group of chess journalists out in San Diego have cancelled the movement for a write in vote for Paris Hilton.

Instead, they have announced that Ira Riddle is running a write in campaign for CJA President.

Indeed they have a good bit about Riddle and Hanken both running for CJA President at the site! Compare and VOTE!!

See their website at: www.freewebs.com/chessjournalists

It is a BLAST!

Cute pictures and campaign stuff!

CJA Bank over rides Treasurer's violation of banking laws; to give out all CJA banking records to Ex. Board officer requests!

Latest CJA Scandal Updates:

Bank officials verify CJA Treasurer's violation of law. Will he concede on this issue? June 25th - July 29th, 2007 updates!

Note the above letter from the CJA Credit Union, where their Director of Operations, over the objection of the current Treasurer, Randy Hough, in the face of his violations of the California state financial disclosure laws; DID forward to the Vice-president ALL statements, copies of checks, & other bank records hidden by Hough.

It is hoped that this action rebuking the Treasurer, will be a deterrent to future actions for any treasurer to again violate the laws, as well as Sec. XI of the CJA constitution.

Of course the old news has been, our current treasurer went eight years (1997 until 2006) With no financial or budget statement. He got away with it, because the CJ magazine and our Bylaws "said" he was doing it every year. Thus trusting officers assumed that was not a published lie.

When the 2006 statement was prepared, a number of errors cropped up, AND every officer was denied access to get copies of certain months of the CJA check book or any other financial records to check out.

More details in ongoing Treasurer's scandal

During our recent phase of investigation, early in June we finally uncovered where the CJA accounts have been.

Water and Power Community Credit Union

1053 W. Sunset Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90012

Asst. manager Shirley Petrill has phoned up Hough and instructed him that he has indeed been in violation of the law all of this time. And that he is required to provide access year round. Yes, even for unincorporated associations like the CJA.

Shirley Petrill's phone # 213-580-1621

Her fax # 213-580-1739 Atten: Shirley Petrill.

Keep in mind that with this violation of banking laws being processed. The bank's position is to not comment directly on legal issues on any specific case. BUT either Ms. Petrill or any other bank official, will state that all association account holders in general, are required to comply with disclosure by law.

My position on the Board is that it is NOT just RANDY HOUGH we are going after, but any present or future Treasurer, to enforce financial records requirements when asked by any fellow Board member. It is the Law!

Cover ups should soon be over!

Even if no violations were alleged, Blocking access to financial records is in itself a criminal offense. For over a year, our current Treasurer has said over and over, that he cannot be required to provide any access to anyone. This is incorrect! -- as also rebuked by the Credit Union manager and asst. manager Shirley Petrill.

In mid June the bank started the process to force disclosure, but Hough used his options to delay until July 3rd.

The only remaining hidden records are the receipts for expenses, Which Mr. Hough did promise to bring to CJA officials for inspection Aug. 1, 2007 at the U.S. Open taking place in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

We shall see. -- Daren Dillinger, CJA V.P.

UPDATE - Sept. 2007. Well Hough was at the Aug. 1 meeting. Even at the meeting for all to hear, he SAID he would NOT allow inspection of any records at the meeting, but he would allow such inspection for those who would wait an hour after the conclusion of the CJA meeting. I caught him at that time . . . He continued to lock up and not present any records or receipts. Indeed I got those violations on recorded audio!