USCF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BILL HALL RESIGNS USCF Affairs / News for our Members
On Thursday, May 9, 2013 the USCF executive board accepted a letter of resignation from Executive Director Bill Hall. Bill is leaving the organization for personal reasons, and we wish him every success in his future endeavors.
Bill served as executive director for over eight years managing the USCF through a temporary relocation during construction of a new headquarters facility, then helped the USCF successfully navigate turbulent waters, and positioned the organization for future growth.
The USCF executive board passed a resolution on May 10, 2013 expressing its appreciation for Bill Hall’s honorable, skillful, and diligent service to the USCF as its executive director from 2005-2013.
The USCF will began an immediate search for an executive director. The deadline for applications, as listed in the job description on our website, was June 30. See the announcement at
www.uschess.org/content/view/12117/706/.
USCF WELCOMES INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FRANCISCO GUADALUPE
Francisco (Franc) Guadalupe, our FIDE Zonal President will serve as the USCF interim executive director. Franc is also an international arbiter and international organizer. He served on active duty with Adjutant General Corps in the U.S. Army for over 23 years, retiring with the rank of Chief Warrant Officer Four.
After his initial training and a tour in Korea, he served as personnel officer in numerous
assignments, including Fort Eustis, Virginia, the XVIII Air - borne Corps at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the 8th Infantry Division in Germany, White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, and the Theater Army Support Group in Kaiserslautern, Germany. Franc was the distinguished graduate of his military personnel officer course and the advanced administrative warrant officer course. He received many military service awards and decorations, including the army achievement medal, the army commendation medal, three meritorious service medals and the legion of merit.
Franc has experience as a chess player, chess dad, coach, organizer and director. He learned chess while in college in Puerto Rico. He organized, directed and played in a few small USCF-rated tournaments while in his first tour in Germany but military duties and a growing family did not leave much time for chess. After he retired from the service, he taught chess to his two youngest sons, Francisco II and Thomas.
A few years later, they became very interested in the game, and Franc’s interest was also renewed! He started a scholastic chess program in Brevard County, Florida where, with the help of others, he organized and directed county-wide events. Before the first tournament, there were only two USCF-rated scholastic players in Brevard.
Two years later, the county had over 300 scholastic rated players! During that period, Franc also started and coached the chess
10 July 2013 | Chess Life
team of Sea Park Elementary School, leading them to several Brevard County Championships. In recognition of his efforts in promoting scholastic chess, he received two Brevard county school district awards and the organizers of the Space Coast Open instituted the “Franc Guadalupe Award” given to the best performing scholastic player at their annual event.
Thomas eventually quit chess in pursuit of other activities. Francisco II, however, progressed very rapidly, winning several state championships in Florida and Texas while also winning three national grade championships. He participated in two Denker Tournament of High School Champions and attended University of Texas at Dallas where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and was a member of their chess team.
Although he still plays online, Franc took a break from over-the- board chess several years ago. According to him, he was paying more attention to Francisco’s games than his own, so he decided to concentrate on organizing and directing events. Franc has been the chief tournament director (TD) of many national scholastic championships, including the last two SuperNationals. He has also been the chief TD of two U.S. Opens, was the assistant arbiter at the 2006 and 2010 U.S. Championships and the chief arbiter at the recently concluded 2013 U.S. Championship.
Franc has also organized three U.S. Class, three U.S. Junior and two U.S. Senior Opens, as well as two National Youth Actions. As zonal president, he has represented the U.S. at the last two FIDE Congresses, in Krakow, Poland and Istanbul, Turkey. In 2009, on behalf of the USCF, he traveled to Belize, Central America to train their tournament directors. That same year, he was selected as the USCF tournament director of the year. Franc has served with the USCF tournament director certification committee and the scholastic committee.
The Guadalupes reside in a suburb of Houston with three of their six children. Franc’s wife Bonnie also served in the Army, for 12 years, and their son Jonathan served in Afghanistan as an army combat medic. Their youngest son, Thomas, has passed all the required examinations and will soon become a fire fighter while Francisco II will start his master’s degree program in the fall. Franc’s eldest daughter, Julissa, also resides in the Houston area and has helped with the last two SuperNationals.
GUADALUPE PHOTO BY BETSY CARINA DYNAKO
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