2026 Advisory Board Elections - Revision history

Judycole: /* Background Information */ Updated SPC years

2026-04-30T23:16:33Z

‎Background Information: Updated SPC years

Judycole: /* “Good Standing” */ updated dates

2026-04-30T23:15:44Z

‎“Good Standing”: updated dates

Judycole: /* Voting */ removed # of candidates

2026-04-30T23:12:04Z

‎Voting: removed # of candidates

Judycole: Added Fred and John

2026-04-30T23:06:30Z

Added Fred and John

Judycole: Created page

2026-04-30T22:51:06Z

Created page

New page

In '''2026''', NASPA plans to hold an '''[[Advisory Board Elections|election]]''' for three members of its '''[[Advisory Board]]''' (AB).

The [[Advisory Board Composition|composition]] of the AB over the years under NASPA is available at this website.

== Electoral Districts ==

This year’s election will choose members in:

* At Large
* US South:
* US West: AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY

== Nominees ==

====At Large====
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{|class=candidates
|-
!Candidate
!Candidate Statement
|-
|class= name|'''[[Fred Morlan]]'''
<br/>
{{#naspa:photo|23297}}
|class=statement|
I would like to join the NASPA Advisory Board to help promote the growth and well-being of the game that we all love, Scrabble.

I have seven years of experience as the club director of the Bluegrass NASPA Club #637 and have directed multiple tournaments, including the first ever Collegiate Scrabble Championship. I also have years of experience in various leadership positions in the world of quiz bowl, including directing multiple national championship tournaments and organizing the production of sets of hundreds of questions by a team of dozens of workers.

As a member of the Advisory Board, my primary goals would be to contribute to the growth of the game by encouraging youth participation through the School Scrabble and Collegiate Scrabble Championship competitions, as well as encouraging an increase in the number of clubs across the country by looking for underserved metro areas. I’d also like to do what I can to open communication between the Advisory Board and the general membership of NASPA.
|}

====Canada====
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====US Midwest====
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{|class=candidates
|-
!Candidate
!Candidate Statement
|-
|class= name|'''[[Paul Wood]]'''
<br/>
{{#naspa:photo|8647}}
|class=statement|
Scrabble is a wonderful game which allows the young to play the old, the novice to rise to the challenge of playing against the experts. A game that allows one to grow confident in the use of the wonderful words in the English language.

As a member of the Board, I have been privileged to see the behind-the-scenes work of making sure that the ethics of the game are upheld. To see how plans for the Scrabble Players Championship are shaped. I have seen how the board works diligently to ensure that complaints of any nature that are raised to the board are reviewed, examined and adjudication given. How the board will always seek to protect players from harassment, cheating and undue pressure to keep quiet when infractions occur.

I believe I have been able to contribute to many important discussions and reviews. It is my wish to continue to support not only the Advisory Board, but all Scrabble players going forward, to ensure the name of Scrabble is continued to be held in high esteem.
|}

====US Northeast====
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====US West====
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== Voting ==

Voting will take place from June 1–30 inclusive, Eastern Time. Votes will be accepted by paper or electronically. Any current NASPA member can vote for (at most) one candidate for each of the five contested seats, regardless of the region of residency.

Paper votes may be sent to NASPA by [[Contact|postal mail]] and must arrive during the voting period to be accepted. Paper votes are not anonymous and must identify the voter and their vote.

[{{SERVER}}/cgi-bin/vote.pl Electronic votes] should be made through the Member Services link at the NASPA website. Electronic votes will be anonymous, except inasmuch as a skilled person with access to the NASPA server could eventually reconstruct voting information.

The winner of each election will be determined by plurality. If an election ends in a tie, a lottery or coin toss will be used to break the tie.

Winners will be announced at the beginning of July, as soon as the votes are tabulated.

Any disputes about the elections process will be decided by the AB, excluding those members running for reelection.

== Nominations ==

Electoral candidates must meet all of the following criteria:

* They must be a NASPA member in good standing.
* They must accept the nomination during the nomination period of May 1–31, 2025.
* They must be at least 21 years of age.
* They must be prepared to comply with the [[Committee rules#Member Obligations|obligations of NASPA committee members]].
* They must submit a platform statement.

They do not need to be a certified [[director]], have a high tournament [[rating]] or serve on another [[committee]], but neither do these qualifications exclude them. Incumbent members may stand for reelection.

==== Nomination Process ====
'''Nominations will take place from May 1–31 inclusive, Eastern Time.'''

To nominate yourself, send your name and platform statement to [mailto:info@scrabbleplayers.org info@scrabbleplayers.org].

To nominate someone else, send the candidate's name to [mailto:info@scrabbleplayers.org info@scrabbleplayers.org]. Nominated candidates will be contacted and asked if they agree to run. If so, they will be asked to send their platform statements.

==== Platform Statement ====
A platform statement is a brief statement that describes a candidate's qualifications, background, platform, and any other information that might be of use to voters, for posting to this webpage.

You can view the platform statements of previous candidates [http://www.scrabbleplayers.org/w/2024_Advisory_Board_Elections here].

==== “Good Standing” ====

For the purposes of this election, a NASPA member is considered to be in good standing if:
* Their membership has been valid since the beginning of the [[2023 Scrabble Players Championship]] - July 14, 2023
* Their membership will be valid at least through the scheduled end of the [[2025 Scrabble Players Championship]] - August 13, 2025
* They have not been under suspension at any time since the beginning of the [[2023 Scrabble Players Championship]] - July 14, 2023

==Background Information==
The AB acts as a liaison between the membership and the [[Executive Committee]] (EC), helps the EC decide matters of policy, and adjudicates appeals on decisions made by other committees.

AB members should possess:
* Good communication skills
* The ability to work well in a group situation
* A willingness to make tough decisions on sensitive or controversial issues
<br/>
AB members serve a 2-year term. The upcoming term runs from the 2025 Scrabble Players Championship (SPC) to the 2027 SPC.

Most AB business is conducted during monthly conference calls and over email in which AB members are expected to participate. Also, many AB members take on additional projects.

@@ Line 74: / Line 74: @@
 == Voting ==
-Voting will take place from June 1&ndash;30 inclusive, Eastern Time.  Votes will be accepted by paper or electronically. Any current NASPA member can vote for (at most) one candidate for each of the five contested seats, regardless of the region of residency.
+Voting will take place from June 1&ndash;30 inclusive, Eastern Time.  Votes will be accepted by paper or electronically. Any current NASPA member can vote for (at most) one candidate for each of the contested seats, regardless of the region of residency.
 Paper votes may be sent to NASPA by [[Contact|postal mail]] and must arrive during the voting period to be accepted. Paper votes are not anonymous and must identify the voter and their vote.

@@ Line 126: / Line 126: @@
 * A willingness to make tough decisions on sensitive or controversial issues
 <br/>
-AB members serve a 2-year term. The upcoming term runs from the 2025 Scrabble Players Championship (SPC) to the 2027 SPC.
+AB members serve a 2-year term. The upcoming term runs from the 2026 Scrabble Players Championship (SPC) to the 2028 SPC.
 Most AB business is conducted during monthly conference calls and over email in which AB members are expected to participate. Also, many AB members take on additional projects.

@@ Line 114: / Line 114: @@
 For the purposes of this election, a NASPA member is considered to be in good standing if:
-* Their membership has been valid since the beginning of the [[2023 Scrabble Players Championship]] - July 14, 2023
+* Their membership has been valid since the beginning of the [[2024 Scrabble Players Championship]] - July 19, 2024
-* Their membership will be valid at least through the scheduled end of the [[2025 Scrabble Players Championship]] - August 13, 2025
+* Their membership will be valid at least through the scheduled end of the [[2026 Scrabble Players Championship]] - July 22, 2026
-* They have not been under suspension at any time since the beginning of the [[2023 Scrabble Players Championship]] - July 14, 2023
+* They have not been under suspension at any time since the beginning of the [[2024 Scrabble Players Championship]] - July 19, 2024
 ==Background Information==

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 * At Large
-* US South:
+* US South: AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV
 * US West: AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY
@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
 <br/>
 {{#naspa:photo|23297}}
 |}
-====Canada====
+====US South====
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@@ Line 55: / Line 49: @@
 </style>
-====US Midwest====
 <style>
 table.candidates td { vertical-align: top; column-width: 50%; }
@@ Line 72: / Line 67: @@
 !Candidate&nbsp;Statement
 |-
-|class= name|'''[[Paul Wood]]'''
+|class= name|'''[[John Karris]]'''
 <br/>
-{{#naspa:photo|8647}}
+{{#naspa:photo|2207}}
 |}
 == Voting ==
@@ Line 128: / Line 91: @@
 * They must be a NASPA member in good standing.
-* They must accept the nomination during the nomination period of May 1&ndash;31, 2025.
+* They must accept the nomination during the nomination period of May 1&ndash;31, 2026.
 * They must be at least 21 years of age.
 * They must be prepared to comply with the [[Committee rules#Member Obligations|obligations of NASPA committee members]].