Reason For 2025 WOCC Officer Switch (Secretary & Officer At Large)

For anyone who may be curious the following is an explanation for the switch in officer positions between Secretary Bryan Cohen and Officer at Large Saptarshi Bandyopadhyay for 2025, in their own words.

Secretary Bryan Cohen:

Why I ran for Secretary:

I have basically been fulfilling many of the duties of Secretary since Secretary Ari Minkov passed away in May 2023. I was asked to take over at that time, but even though sending out mass emails to club members I had not attended the club since early 2019 and was uncomfortable officially taking over such an important officer position. So as a result I agreed to become Officer at Large, basically an emergency back up officer position, and then Officer at Large Saptarshi Bandyopadhyay took over as Secretary.

But now after being a regular club member once again for over a year and a half I was ready for the official role of Secretary while Saptarshi agreed to run for Officer at Large. This change makes perfect sense as I have been performing many of the duties of Secretary and can always do so remotely if need be, as I live further away from the club. And Saptarshi can better back up the other officers as Officer at Large as he lives in much closer proximity to the club.

As Secretary I intend to keep fulfilling the duties I have been fulfilling plus taking a greater role in organizing membership information, hopefully through the establishment of a club member spreadsheet accessible from the club website. Most important in organizing the membership information is contact information, club membership status (membership type and expiration date) and USCF membership status (expiration date).

Officer at Large Saptarshi Bandyopadhyay:

To maximize my contribution to the West Orange Chess Club (WOCC), I aim to efficiently use my limited free time and stay flexible in supporting the executive committee’s initiatives as Officer-at-Large (OAL). Here’s how I arrived at this conclusion:
Before being elected OAL in 2023, I was deeply involved in the club and chess, thanks to the welcoming community at WOCC. My predecessor, Ari Minkov, played a key role in bringing me back to chess after a 20-year break. As OAL, I focused on expanding the club’s membership and promoting chess to take advantage of the post-COVID resurgence in interest. I collaborated closely with Ari to plan initiatives like a revamped website, team consulting competitions, and a potential podcast. Sadly, Ari passed away unexpectedly, and I was forced to step into the role of acting Secretary.

Taking over as Secretary was a challenging and eye-opening experience, revealing the immense behind-the-scenes work that Ari had done. As I shifted my focus to administrative tasks, I found it harder to continue the OAL projects. Fortunately, Bryan Cohen stepped in as OAL and took on many responsibilities, allowing me to focus on rebuilding the WOCC’s leadership. I also sought help from new leaders like Rutul Patel and Steve Lorimor, who played crucial roles in our success.

Now, as we continue to improve our online presence and membership outreach, I feel that stepping back into the OAL role will allow me to focus on unfinished projects that can help the WOCC grow further. With the administrative burdens lifted, I can support our efforts in a more flexible capacity, benefiting both the club and the wider chess community. For these reasons, I approached Bryan about returning to the OAL position, and he agreed.

— SB