Most of you know me well,  but just in case. My name is Joshua Thomas McClellan and I am asking you to support my bid for the Chess club presidency, which will be voted on 3/26/2017 at the Sunny Street Café during our regularly scheduled meeting.

I’ve been an active member of the Huntsville Chess Club for almost 17 years. I’m the current Secretary and former ACF Treasurer. It just occurred to me that I’ve been HCC for half of my existence, as I’m 34. In that time, I’ve directed more tournaments than I can count and enjoyed the privilege of coaching some of the finest people I’ve ever met. I’m currently the senior web developer at the U.S Chess Federation sales office,  which will become important in the next paragraph.

Adult tournaments are suffering hard at the moment. Rated tournaments used to be a dime a dozen in the Tennessee Valley. The problem? A lack of a reasonable playing site. It seems to be the subject of countless discussions that end with no resolution. This next sentence deserves to be at the top of a paragraph..

I’ve just secured the BEST playing site in all of Huntsville history. You’re gonna love this.  The owner of the United States Chess Federation sales office (my boss) has graciously agreed to lend us the facility for the purpose of playing monthly chess tournaments.

1. It’s located within 1 minute of the Wall Triana highway exit on 565.

2 . It’s free.

3. The playing room is insanely huge,  is silent,  well lit,  and climate controlled.

4. It’s a chess store! Imagine walking into a playing hall with wooden sets and boards set up for you. Need scoresheets, clocks, books or any other chess product? Just holler at me and I’ll get it to you within a few minutes of the request.

5. Did I mention that the coolest playing site in Alabama is ours now? And free ?

I’m the right man for this job.  I am promising monthly adult tournaments (scholastic players are also welcome, of course) and support for chess education and training. Despite not learning to play chess until after becoming an adult, I’ve achieved the expert title and am dying for a chance to teach others to do the same for themselves. I also promise complete transparency as well as a balanced board of directors. I promise that all of you will have a say in the direction we go in and I’ll allocate resources for members. Patrick Dowd, for example, is coaching scores of kids in Hampton Cove, largely by himself (maybe completely alone). One of my highest priorities is getting him staffing and logistical support ASAP. I’ll do the same for any of you. Thanks for reading and call / text /email with any questions or concerns you may have. My phone is 256 374 4830.

-Josh