Current USCF Leadership:
USCF President: Bill Goichberg
USCF VP: Jim Berry
USCF VP of Finance: Randy Bauer
USCF Secretary: Randy Hough
USCF ED: Bill Hall
Some basic USCF financial numbers:
YTD 2009 / YTD 2008 (Numbers are based on the information provided by USCF CFO Joe Nanna on May 18, 2009.)
Total Revenues: $2,952,904 (Bequests of $397,681 = $2,555,223 actual revenues) / $2,633,658
Total Membership Revenues: $1,457,224 / $1,568,324
(Down $111,100 from last year)
Magazine Expenses: $623,998 / $697,197
(Savings of $73,199)
Total Expenses: $3,015,457 / $2,619,019
(We outspent last year by $396,438)
Losses in 2009 so far: $79,494 + $397,681 = $477,175
Are we going to get to the point that the USCF can’t/won’t provide services a paying member demands and that some other entity emerges to take over US chess?
And Goichberg and Jim Berry want another 4 years with this kind of numbers? Are you kidding me? These incompetent people need to shown the door.
This is unbelievable! How can these guys like Jim Berry or Bill Goichberg stay on the board for such performance? Are they trying to bankrupt the USCF? What BS will they spin next? Like the devils made them involved in all these lawsuits?
the only reason I renewed my USCF membership was to vote against these people.
A bunch of incompetent board members. If the members want to bankrupt the USCF, vote for Goichberg, Jim Berry, Ruth Haring, Mike Atkins, Brian Mottershead, Brian Lafferty or Sam Sloan.
bcause they care not abt members only care wht benefits them as long as their on board uscf will go bankrupt so lets vote them crooks out soon asap thts y there is shortfall they didnt want a woman on board bcause women r smarter n kno how 2 run things rite doesnt benefit them
Hey guys, don’t worry, Berry made a campaign promise that he would repay any losses by the USCF from his own pocket…
hahahahahahahahaha
Why on earth would any sane person vote for Goichberg or Jim Berry or their slate of Ruth Haring, Mike Atkins, Brian Lafferty or Brian Mottershead? These people have done nothing but destroying the USCF.
We need a strong business person like Eric Hecht, or someone with chess credentials like Mikhail Korenman, Blas Lugo or Nietman.
And our VP of Finance Randy Bauer is spinning this BS while insulting anyone who disagrees with him. This is corruption at the highest level. How come Bauer doesn’t investigate the bribing charges against Goichberg and Hough with Hall and Jim Berry hiding the facts?
Oh the corruption charges. Well the USCF Forums moderators will not allow the discussion. Someone tried to ask for a discussion and he reported that the posting was not allowed.
The USCF has lost a ton of money. Even more then shown here. They got super lucky this year and got 2 bequeths from people dieing and leaving money to USCF. that was about $400,000 and it is gone.
Goichberg plans on spending over another half million dollars on lawyers to try to destroy his competition. It is not his money. It is money that belongs to the chess players of this country.
This has to be the most important election in USCF history. I intend to vote for Neitman, Hecht, Lugo and Korenman. These are the only 4 honest good people we can trust to save the USCF.
If everyone votes it will be OK. But Goichberg has name recognition and most people do not know how corrupt the USCF is run. We have to get the word out. Then make sure all your friends vote correctly. This is going to be a close race.
“How come Bauer doesn’t investigate the bribing charges against Goichberg and Hough with Hall and Jim Berry hiding the facts?”
Because Goichberg, Hough, Hall, and Berry have the dirt on Bauer.
Bauer was supposed to be a reform candidate in 2007 and has been led by the nose down a path of corruption that he allowed. Now he is covered in the same FILTH as the others. He should of resigned when he had a chance.
Now he must pay for his collusion with evil chess politicians.
If you roll with pigs, don’t cry about mud in your eyes.
No one forced Bauer, Goichberg, and Jim Berry to make stupid decisions. No one forced them to waste money. They could have spared the USCF for $1. But they chose to hide their dirty deeds and stupid decisions behind the USCF wall then insult everyone who speaks out against their stupid decision.
Bill Goichberg, Randy Hough and Jerry Hanken were caught red handed in a bribery scandal. Instead of accepting responsibility for his action, Bill Goichberg continued to lie to the USCF members while denying that he had anything to do with it in spite of the corrobotation of 4 different individuals. There’re also clear and precise evidence such as email coming from and to these parties.
Would Mr. Goichberg be willing to sign an affidavit stating that he’s not involved or he had nothing to do with it, and he’s not aware of any bribery?
If proven true, would Mr. Goichberg resign as President of the USCF as well as his membership to the USCF?
If Mr. Goichberg is telling the truth, he shouldn’t have anything to worry about. If he refuses, it means that he clearly lied and covered it up.
So these incompetent EB majority members blew away all of the $397K bequests in less than a year? And Goichberg and Jim Berry want to be re-elected? Are they serious? And Bauer is notorious for insulting USCF members, volunteers and delegates who disagree with him? Unbelievable! No wonder why this federation is in deep doodoo.
Throw the bums out immediately. Geesh!
Bauer is frantically trying to spin the USCF BS all week this week. How about demanding for affidavits from Goichberg, Berry and Hough about the bribery issue? What happen Bauer? Don’t you wanna fulfill your fiduciary duty to the USCF and its members? What a crock!
The biggest mistakes I’ve made was to vote for Jim Berry and Randy Bauer in the last election.
Bauer is the most obnoxious USCF board member ever. He’s also a professional politician. His credibility is as good as Nancy Pelosi. He’s also the worst VP of Finance in a long time.
As someone who is only passingly familiar with the management of the USCF, I find threads like this to be more confusing than illuminating. I’ve been reading them off and on for years, and have yet to figure out just what in the heck everyone is (usually anonymously) specifically talking about.
Here’s what I’ve been able to glean: There’s a Mr. G and a Mr. B. Mr G. is a good-for-nothing profligate pig-at-the-trough poo-poo-head. Mr. B promised he would clean up the mess that Mr. G (and his cronies) left. Mr. B, however, failed at this, even getting involved in some of the same sort of messes that Mr. G was buried in.
… and that’s it.
Lots of accusations are thrown about, but none of them help me, as a neophyte unfamiliar with the issues, hack through the problems. Even Susan’s blog of a few years ago failed to get down to specifics.
So, I’d love it if someone out there who is intimately familiar with this issue could explain to me just what the heck Mr. G did and what Mr. B failed to do. Citations of relevant articles would be most helpful.
Here’s what I’m NOT looking for:
“Mr. G mismanaged USCF, he’s a lousy good-for-nuthin’!”
This informs me of nothing except the writer’s animus for Mr G.
Something like this would be better:
“Mr. G diverted funds from X account of USCF to keep his mistress in furs in a Manhattan apartment. Then, when accused of this, he hired lawyers using USCF funds to defend this…”
Of course, this is hypothetical. In truth, however, something like this COULD be the case as far as I can see from this thread.
Thanks, in advance, for your explanation.
Brad H.
The USCF members should sue Goichberg, Berry, Bauer, Hough and Hall for their conduct in the past year or two. Despicable!
Not to worry, Obama will save them with a chess stimulus package!
It’s pathetic that the USCF and the board majority (Randy Bauer and Jim Berry) chose to cover up corruption and illegal conduct by the USCF President Bill Goichberg and others.
Now it’s clear why Goichber are so anxious to go after Polgar. He doesn’t want anyone who can expose his long time pattern of despicable behavior on the board. Bauer is screaming about fiduciary duty all the time and yet he and Jim Berry chose to do NOTHING! What a hypocrite!
http://uscf.fiorechess.org/
Pages 14 and 15 of Susan’s Amended Complaint reads as follows:
42. Defendants Hanken, Hough and Goichberg wanted so badly to see Truong removed from the Board that they even went as far as bribing a USCF member, Jessica Lauser, and her husband, Hero Smith, with free hotel accommodations, airline tickets, tournament entry fees, meals and future writing opportunities in exchange for them to come to Dallas for the Delegates Meeting and vote to remove Truong. Lauser was never a Delegate, and Smith was not even a member of the USCF until days before the USCF Delegates’ Meeting, when Hanken, Hough and Goichberg paid Smith’s membership fees. Hough and Goichberg then certified both Lauser and Smith as Delegates so they could vote against Truong in the motions to remove Truong from the Executive Board. After the “USCF trial” against Truong, Lauser and Smith voted against removing Truong from the Executive Board. Despite attending the meeting with the purpose of voting for Truong’s removal, they changed their votes after hearing facts Truong presented in his defense and which facts were suppressed by
Defendants Kronenberger, Goichberg, Hall, Hough, Hanken, and Berry.
I am sick and tired of seeing Chess Life and the USCF website being used to portray a one-sided and inaccurate account of the lawsuits. Accordingly, I am dedicating space on my server to enlighten the members of all the facts – you may view it at USCF Legal Issues.
Now the USCF B&E is being run by House of Staunton (does that name ring a bell from another law suit pending against USCF). Contract awarded by Bill Hall.
When the B&E was operated by Hanon Russell he was made to merge his shop with USCFSales.com. But I still see House of Stanton on the Internet along with their other shops (eBay for one).
So now it seems B&E is effectively being run by its competitor with pricing lower at the other shops then at the B&E.
This is very disturbing. A lot of our money comes (well did come) from the revenue of the B&E.
To read the filings against Goichberg, Berry and the USCF
http://www.chessdiscussion.com/fullphpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2565
I mailed in my ballot. I hope we win. I voted for Hecht, Lugo and Korenman. Just the 3. Taking no chances this election. Too important.
I too am a life member who is disgusted with the USCF total corruption. Throw the bums out.
I really can not stand Bauer. What a bad attitude.
Unfortunately Neitman came out for spending more money on lawsuits in the June issue of chess life. Strike him off the voter list.
there are only 3 acceptable candidates now.
Hecht
Lugo
Korenman
forget the rest.
B&E Books and Equipment is a scandal. Here is a summary.
We are running with 12% of all sale by ChessCafe. Goichberg et all get together with House of Staunton and do an advertising campaign. They send out adv for House of Staunton losing sales for USCF. something fishy here. It breaks the contract with Chess Cafe. ChessCafe is properly upset and the contract is broken. Then USCF awards all the Books and Equipment to House of Staunton who got us into trouble in the first place at probably what will be half the income for USCF that Chess Cafe provided. Plus we have big legal fees defending against Chess Cafe. All this spending is blamed on Susan who had nothing to do with it at all. They lump all expenses as being against Susan. People buy the lies and we are here today.
The book deal is a huge disgrace they will not allow any discussion on USCF forums.
The corruption at USCF is so intense. SO complete. It is a scandal. they must be voted out.
There are only 3 candidates with sensible ideas to fix the USCF. Only 3 not caught up in the spending frenzy.
Hecht
Lugo
Korenman
Vote correctly
Vote for sure
Chess depends on your vote.
Never has it been more important to vote to save chess from bankruptcy.
We would be bankrupt right now today excpet the USCF received $400,000 in bequests from 2 people and they spent it all in a couple of months.
Goichberg calls that income and claims he made a profit of one dollar. haha. Everyone else sees it as a loss of $400,000 covered by people dieing.
http://uscf.fiorechess.org/
for an honest view of USCF corruption problems.
Your vote was never more important than right now.
One tournament organizer recently made an excellent bid to the USCF to host various national championships in Chicago. One of Goichberg’s most profitable chess tournaments also takes place in Chicago at a similar time. The motion to award a multiple year bid to the Chicago organizer would have passed 3 (Yes) – 2 (No) -1 (Abstention) if Goichberg had recused himself from voting due to his conflict of interest with Continental Chess. Goichberg refused to recuse himself, and his Board majority refused to ask him (Goichberg) to recuse himself, and the motion was at a 3-3 deadlock when the Board voted. The USCF sees annual cash inflows in the range of $3.2 million through the dues of its 80,000 members, grants, gifts, advertisements, bequests, sponsorships, et cetera. At one time, the USCF annual revenues exceeded $6 million. For the last thirty years, Goichberg, through his constant presence on the USCF Executive Board, has managed to unlawfully cause many thousands of dollars to be unfairly directed to his pocket, his political allies, and the coffers of Continental Chess.
This is why Goichberg, Berry, Atkins, Haring and other Goichberg’s friends must not be elected. The corruption must end.
Hall’s “Article” in yesterday’s issue was a scandle. Blatant disgusting politicking in the guise of info.
It is also OUTRAGEOUS that he is taking away our printed copy of Chess life and holding it for ransom of more money, all the time deflecting blame from himself and his mob.