Have been a member of a few local chess clubs, most notably in 2001 I became involved with a now defunct chess academy, directed by a strong 2500 plus IM who, at that point in time was ranked 15th in the country by virtue of rating points.I helped with the organization of scholastic events and participated in their monthly adult tournaments, of which I took first in quite a few in my section, at one point winning first 3 months running, winning 11 consecutive games. I also had the extreme pleasure of teaching a chess class for a semester at a local Global Charter school The highlight of my two year stay with the academy was meeting and talking to GM Larry Christiansen and IM William Paschall. GM Alexander Ivanov was there as well.