A few weeks ago, we announced that the CoCo was soliciting candidates for its leadership positions. Any CoCo member who resides in North America was eligible to be a candidate and run for election for the Board of Directors or Executive Director. This year, there are three open seats on the Board.

I’m pleased to present for your consideration the candidates who stepped up to share their visions, sweat, and leadership for the future of our Scrabble community. Below are your 2022 leadership candidates, listed in order of registration.

Candidates for Board of Directors

Yuki Loritz

“My name is Yukiko Loritz, but most people call me Yuki. I’ve been a Scrabble player since 1997, and I have made many friends due to playing this wonderful and sometimes frustrating game.

Ever since switching to Collins in July 2020 (the pandemic seemed like a great time to make the switch), I have enjoyed the challenge of playing Collins. When I play TWL now, I almost invariably wish I were playing Collins because there are so many more opportunities for great plays. I feel limited by TWL now.

It was not my idea to run for any office, but another Scrabble player (Steve Pellinen) felt I would be a good candidate. Therefore, if you vote for me, I am willing to help the CoCo grow as an organization and to help them in whatever capacities I can.”

Peter Armstrong

“I'm Peter Armstrong, and I just reached my 25-year Scrabble anniversary, having first attended a Scrabble club in late 1996. I am running for reelection to the board for a 2-year term. As treasurer, I helped with the application process to transition CoCo into a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. I helped add levels of security to protect our accounts. I created and maintained databases for general accounting and tournaments, and helped transition to our new system, in which individual tournaments run through CoCo.

Other board duties included directing online club (formerly), helping determine our online tournament strategy, and helping form our overall strategy towards in-person tournaments, COVID, and other issues. My platform is below.

1. Look out for the interests of CoCo members.
2. Make sure everyone can continue to play Scrabble! Continue to provide players with opportunities to play in fun high-quality Collins tournaments, both in-person and online.
3. Science-based approach to COVID.
4. Pursue partnerships and collaborations with other organizations (WGPO, WESPA, etc.).
5. Work toward a community that is more racially diverse and inclusive. Eliminate harassment and discrimination based on gender, race, sexual orientation, disability, religion, parental status, etc.
6. Expand CoCo's geographic reach to parts of North America where we currently don't yet hold tournaments.
7. Expand the number of people working on CoCo: board members, committee members, and tournament directors.
------------------
Finances
1. Work to streamline more of our financial processes, including how we keep track of and display our finances.
2. Continue expanding, including: number of premium members, number/size of tournaments, and donations.
3. Increase the number of people on our finance committee, so that other people are capable of taking over treasury duties.
4. Continue to maintain transparency in our finances, and ensure that we steer clear of conflicts of interest.”

Rob Robinsky

[Editor’s Note: This statement has been updated after we discovered we accidentally copied a prior statement from last year’s election. Please see below for Rob’s statement!]

“My name is Rob Robinsky, and I have decided to run for election for a position on the Board of Directors of the Collins Coalition. This upcoming year will mark my twentieth anniversary of discovering tournament Scrabble, and truth be told, the balance between what I have gained from this incredible community and what I have given back to it has always been heavily tilted towards my own growth and development as a person and player. Having taken a bit of a sabbatical from play over the several years leading up to and during the Covid-19 pandemic, I came to realize that I believe that I have more to offer than some occasional flashy plays and, admittedly, more than occasional fits of pique about the game. After organizing two successful CoCo tournaments in Minneapolis in 2022, I feel that there is no time like the present to work towards strengthening and broadening the ties between regions, organizations, and lexicons within the Scrabble world.

Having recently relocated from Minnesota to Maryland, I believe that I am well-suited as a candidate to further CoCo's goals of increasing and expanding our geographical footprint to the US East Coast. My years in the Midwest offered me countless opportunities to learn from and observe the development of WGPO as a player-driven grassroots democratic organization, and I believe that it has afforded me the ability to continue strengthening the cooperative connections between CoCo, WGPO, WESPA, and other Scrabble bodies. I have a background in both analytical chemistry and quality system implementation, which as a CoCo director has already enabled me to help to improve the tournament software and paperless results submissions processes that are the hallmark of CoCo events.

I am excited to pursue this opportunity and, if elected, to deepen my commitment to working towards the betterment of our Scrabble community as a whole.”

Candidate for Executive Director

Once again, one person registered to run for Executive Director (me). Here’s my platform:

“I’ve been an active member of the Scrabble community since 2013. I've played many tournaments, including two WESPA Championships, and directed more than two dozen in-person and virtual tournaments. As the current Executive Director, I co-launched the CoCo's Newcomer Discounts program, which provides 50-100% off the entry fee to new Collins players and first-time tournament players. This initiative was part of my efforts to expand our community, reach new players, and lower financial barriers to access to tournaments. Other ways in which I've broadened the CoCo's reach is through my role co-directing the Collins divisions of the 2022 Word Cup. Among the successes I contributed to that event include growing the size of the Collins field by more than 300%, meeting directly with Scopely and successfully securing corporate sponsorship, and advocating for the resources and technology to execute a world-class Scrabble stream.

In the year to come, I aim to continue my research and investigation of grant funding, donations, and sponsorship opportunities. The Executive Director role often involves the unglamorous work of ensuring compliance with the tax, insurance, and legal aspects of running a nonprofit, in addition to doing basically everything that needs to happen that no one else is doing. I am actively working on succession planning and resource documentation to ensure that the CoCo is sustainable and will survive changes in leadership. No startup succeeds in the long run when it depends on one or a small handful of people. Strengthening the organization’s infrastructure to guarantee long-term sustainability through fresh ideas and energy from new leaders is a priority. In the meantime, I remain committed to making sure the CoCo has what it needs to be active, innovative, inclusive, and responsive as the Scrabble community evolves.

I’m committed to continuing to do everything that needs to be done, making sure the CoCo can keep going and growing. I am also actively working on succession planning, volunteer recruitment, and resource documentation to ensure that the CoCo is sustainable and can survive changes in leadership. No startup succeeds in the long run when it depends on one or a small handful of people. Strengthening the organization’s infrastructure to guarantee long-term sustainability through fresh ideas and energy from new leaders is a priority.”

Vote!

The hundreds of CoCo members around the world will receive a unique link by email from ElectionBuddy, our online voting system. All votes are anonymous. You will have two weeks to cast your ballot. After voting closes, we’ll announce the results of the election here and introduce your new leadership team. Make your voice heard and cast those ballots!

(P.S. If you think you should have received a ballot today, but don’t see it in your email inbox, check your spam folder. If you don’t see it there, contact us at info@cocoscrabble.org and we’ll check if an internet monster ate your ballot or if we lack a current email address for you.)