In October, we announced that we were seeking candidates for our third annual leadership elections. As in past years, we invited any CoCo member based in North America to run for election to the Board of Directors or for the Executive Director position. Every CoCo member around the world - roughly 350 people! - was eligible to vote, and we sent a ballot to each of them.

I ran for Executive Director again, and I was elected to continue serving in that position for another year. This time around, we had three open seats on the Board. Among the candidates who ran to fill the three open seats, we had faces both new and familiar. I offer a warm congratulations to Yuki Loritz, Rob Robinsky, and Peter Armstrong for being elected to the three open seats. Two others, Steve Pellinen and Evans Clinchy, will continue their existing terms as board members. (They were elected to two-year terms last year.)

I now present the 2023 CoCo Board of Directors:

Every board member serves a two-year term. Yuki and Rob will begin the first year of their terms on Jan. 1, 2023, while Steve, Evans, and Pete will continue their service as board members into the new year. (Pete is a current board member serving a one-year term.)

As with our prior Boards, this year’s Board brings a great mix of skills and experience in a wide range of areas, including finance, communications, growth, directing, marketing, and more. As the CoCo’s principal decision-making body, the Board represents you and your interests. That’s why every member of the Board (as well as the Executive Director) is elected by the full CoCo membership. 

In the year to come, the Board will focus on building out ever more live tournaments, growing our community, spearheading new initiatives, fostering innovation and new technology tools, strengthening our reputation internationally, and continuing to build the organization.

This Board is as committed to transparency as prior Boards, and they will continue to publish summaries from every Board meeting so that you can stay informed on what the CoCo is doing. If you have ideas or initiatives that you’d like the Board to consider, you can contact the group at board@cocoscrabble.org.

Congratulations to the CoCo’s new leadership team! And before I end here, I’d like to thank and recognize Mike Johnson (our Board chair in 2022) and Becky Dyer for their prior service on the Board. Many people hope to see the Scrabble scene grow and thrive, but not everyone is willing to devote the time and hard work to actually make it happen. I extend great appreciation to Mike and Becky for volunteering their time as Board members and for providing all their effort, skills, and spirit to make our community as strong as it can be.