An open letter to the AGA chapter representatives and members: The AGA is facing the most serious crisis in its history. Please read this letter immediately. If any action is to be taken, it must be with your collective cooperation and support. On Thursday night, 16 October, in closed session, with no prior notice to the other Board members, a majority of four of the seven on the Board voted to replace Chris Kirschner as President of the AGA. Immediately after this vote, Dave Weimer resigned his position as Chairman of the Board in protest. The four directors then proceeded to name Dee Dee Eckles President, and Bob O'Malley acting Chairman. The basis for this precipitous action, taken without notice or consultation with the other three Board members, appears to be that the four directors just do not feel that Chris is a good President. This judgement is personal to the four, with deliberate exclusion of the rest of the Board, the chapter leaders, and the membership. Thus, the four have set themselves up as sole judge, jury and executioner. The AGA should not accept this behavior. The agenda item under which all this took place was "Report of Search Committee (closed session)." Sam Zimmerman agreed to serve on the Search Committee under the clear condition that the Committee would not seek to replace Chris Kirschner in the immediate future. He strongly feels misled and misused by what has happened. John Stephenson asserted to the Assembly at the Congress that the Search Committee was not engaged in an attempt to remove the President. Those at the Assembly may well feel similarly misled and misused. The four are David Dinhofer, Chen-Dao Lin, Bob O'Malley, and John Stephenson. The three who were not consulted are Jon Boley, Harold Lloyd, and Dave Weimer. While we understand that the four directors acted in what they believe is the best interest of the AGA, we, the undersigned, believe as strongly that these actions are ethically improper, and contrary to the spirit of open and accountable Board behavior, which these same four have been advocating. We now are faced with a conflict, which at least in the short term will be severely divisive and harmful to the AGA. A number of policy issues need to be addressed: * The four directors, in a sense, are a lame-duck majority, as John Stephenson will be replaced on the Board in January by Allan Abramson, in the Eastern Region. The current By-Laws need to be amended to provide that newly elected Board members will assume their positions immediately after the Congress, not four months later. * The President currently serves at the pleasure of the Board. The President should be named for a fixed term, and be removed only for violating clear and specific criteria, by a supermajority of at least two-thirds of the sitting Board members. * Our By-Laws should provide that a major action like this can take place only after informing and polling the chapter leaders for their input. Faced with this fait accompli, we believe that several actions need to be taken in the coming weeks: * The Board needs to be petitioned by the chapters to suspend or reverse its decisions in this matter, until chapter leaders and the membership have an opportunity to provide their input. This is with due respect for Ms. Eckles, whom we believe to be an innocent party in what has happened. * Failing this, the Board needs to be petitioned to take no further actions in this matter until the new Board convenes in January. * Failing this, the chapter leaders need to take appropriate action to hold the four directors accountable for their behavior, including consideration of removing them from the Board. Conclusion: Setting aside all personality issues, and this can be hard to do, the current situation can be viewed as part of our evolution as an organization. For years, some thought that the President had too much power. The new structure and By-Laws were intended in part to address this concern. Now, we have four members of the Board acting as if they had absolute power. The President needs to be able to make operating decisions, and mistakes, without wondering daily whether the Board will remove him or her. The Board needs to be able to make policy decisions, and mistakes, without polarizing and fracturing the organization. We need to understand our mutual good intentions, appreciate our differences, and work cooperatively even under stress, to support GO in the U.S. An open and participatory system, with appropriate checks and balances, is the essence of a healthy operational evolution. Clearly, we are not yet there. We need to get the balance of power right. Make no mistake: we believe this to be a major crisis for the AGA, which will prove divisive and destructive. Whatever their good intentions, the four directors have done a great disservice to the cause of promoting GO in the U.S. We sincerely hope that with your input and ideas, we can deal with this inappropriate action and come out a stronger AGA. Please let us and the Board know your views and wishes, as we all consider how best to move forward. Dave Weimer Director At Large, AGA Board of Directors Harold Lloyd Central Region Director, AGA Board of Directors Co-Director 1996 U.S. Go Congress Jon Boley West Region Director, AGA Board of Directors 2003 AGA Go Camp Director 2003 Ing Redmond Tournament Director Manager Seattle Go Center Allan Abramson East Region Director-Elect, AGA Board of Directors Keith Arnold Chairman Policy and Governance Committee President Baltimore Go Club Director 17th U.S. Go Congress Judith Debel AGA Major Events Coordinator Thomas Hsiang AGA Professional Liason Roy Laird AGA Webmaster President of the AGA 1998-2002 Publications Coordinator AGA, 1984-1998 Rick Mott Princeton Go Club Chuck Robbins AGA Tournament Coordinator Larry Russ Hoboken Go Club Chapter Representative Jeff Shaevel Chapter Representative, Austin Go Club AGA Ranking Issues Coordinator Phil Straus President of the AGA 1993-1997 Sam Zimmerman AGA Database Manager