Taking a moment to give thanks
It seems like, whenever I come across any kind of media coverage around Thanksgiving, it's always about either the food you cook for Thanksgiving dinner or the people who join you for said dinner. Every article, every podcast, every whatever - it's always either "How to Brine the Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey" or "How to Deal With Your Brother-in-Law and His Questionable Political Views."
I'm not knocking this, exactly. In fact, I'm here for any and all discussion of Thanksgiving food. More pie recipes, please and thank you. What I do find sort of funny, though, is the thing that's so often lost in all this discourse - the actual giving of thanks.
That's what the holiday is supposed to be all about, right? It's right there in the name, after all. And it's a good habit to do this from time to time anyway. It's nice to set aside a little time, take stock of all your various blessings in life, and make a point of saying thank you. It's good to do this just with your life in general... and, I reckon, it's good to do it with your Scrabble nonprofit on occasion, too.
From a CoCo perspective, this is something we try to prioritize on the regular. And rightfully so. We've got a whole lot of people and a whole lot of things to be thankful for, and this is the perfect time of year to speak up and say so.
First and foremost, what we're thankful for is you all, the players. Since our inception almost six years ago, we've watched our community of devoted Scrabblers steadily grow, little by little, and we now have a total of 223 members that have played at least one rated tournament. We're grateful that each and every one of you has taken a little time out of your busy lives to come and play a little Scrabble with us.
We're thankful for our team of directors. Without capable people at the helm, our tournament scene wouldn't exist. We feel very fortunate to have good people stationed all over North America who are willing to dedicate their time and their energy to running tournaments. As I always say in this space, directors are the lifeblood of any Scrabble organization. They're what keep us going.
We're thankful for all of the other volunteers who work behind the scenes to keep our tournaments running and our organization humming along. Whether it's our board members who endure countless hours of meetings, our technology team that handles everything from our website to our pairings code to our data management, or our finance team who keeps a close watchful eye on every last dollar and cent, everyone plays a pivotal role, and we're grateful for them all.
We're thankful that we're able to offer a robust slate of tournaments for Scrabble players across North America. That's no small thing, and we don't take it for granted. What started out six years ago as just a small-time operation with a couple of us running tournaments in our kitchens is now a thriving network of Scrabble events that stretches from sea to sea. It took all of the above people - players, directors, volunteers, and then some - to turn that dream into a reality. So, thanks to you all.
We're thankful for all of the partnerships we've developed over the years. Whether it's our friends at WGPO, with whom we've collaborated on many of our biggest and most successful tournaments, or the many other people we've worked with from time to time - a streamer here, a graphic designer there, a commentator, a content creator, what have you - we've had plenty of little helping hands pitch in over the years and help us to run successful tournaments. We're always grateful.
Finally, we're thankful for all the positive energy for the future that's all around us. Whether it's CoCo players, directors, volunteers, or anyone else, the good vibes are on display at every tournament. It's plain to see - everyone is excited for the future of the CoCo and the future of Scrabble as a whole. Speaking for our team, I can tell you, we are too. The next tournament is always right around the corner, as is the one after that, and the one after that, and the one after that. Thank goodness.