Gary L. Walters has announced in the USCF forums that he is running for one of the two open spots on the USCF Executive Board and is now collecting the necessary signatures.
Chess Player
Walters is an A-player at OTB and a national master in correspondence chess. He is a finalist in the 2007 Electronic Knights championship, the 2009 USCF Absolute Championship and is about to start playing in the 18th United States Correspondence Championship final. On the international scene, he is currently playing in a preliminary section of the 33rd World Correspondence Championship.
Experience as a Director/Organizer
As far as I can tell from his personal statement or from the MSA website, Walters has no experience either directing or organizing tournaments. He states that his recent interest in USCF issues originated from the Polgar lawsuit against USCF and became active in the USCF Online Forums at that time.
"Real World" Experience
Walters does has an impressive resume. He holds a bachelor's degree from Auburn University, a master's degree from the Advanced Military Studies, and a law degree from Cornell Law School. He is a veteran of the Gulf War, and was awarded the Silver Star (the 3rd highest military decoration) as an infantry company commander. Currently he is a practicing litigator in Cleveland, OH.
Endorsements
Several prominent members of the USCF have already expressed support for Gary's candidacy, they include Bill Goichberg, Brian Mottershead, and Brian Lafferty (candidates in 2009), and Joe Lux (candidate in 2007).
My Thoughts
In elections in the past (and likely this one), I've preferred candidates who had organizing or directing experience. (In 2007 I voted for Polgar, Lux, Berry, and Bauer, in 2009 Atkins, Nietman, Berry, and Haring, so organizers got three out of my four votes each time around) The fact that Gary has little or no experience organizing tournaments either at the local or state level is a minus as far as I'm concerned. The counter to that is that he is a practicing lawyer, and with all of the lawsuits that the USCF is still (!) facing, it would be good to have a lawyer on the board. With no other members even unofficially throwing their hats into the ring ye, it's too early to tell who is a good candidate and who is not.
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Thanks for the blog comments, Klaus. Your hesitancy based upon my lack of experience as an organizer/TD is fair. My prime credentials for the EB are that I love the game and that I can bring some substantial off-the-board ("real world") experience to the EB. I am foremost interested in quelling USCF in-fighting and helping to present an Executive Board to both the chess and non-chess world that inspires confidence in the USCF and opens doors to advancing the game. I have and I continue to work hard to discover the issues that have divided the Federation. In addition to those you mention above, I would add a few other who have stated that I have their support, including Randy Bauer (USCF EB), Corky Schakel (ICCF-US), and Alex Dunne (USCF CC). Best, -Gary Walters
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