I am honored to have been nominated by Dallas Johnson to represent the Midwest Region on the Advisory Board.

My SCRABBLE career spans over 25 years. I direct two clubs in the Cleveland, Ohio, area. I've directed dozens of tournaments and assisted in running over 100. That includes being a Division Leader at the last 11 North American SCRABBLE Championships, where I have also been the primary author of the 100-tile statements or "tableaux" placed on the Big Board. [http::/www.cross-tables.com Cross-tables] tells me that I've played over 4000 tourney games. Based on my playing history, NASPA has awarded me the title of "SCRABBLE Expert" – although my rating has dropped a little since that title was earned.

I've been on NASPA's Rules Committee since 2009. That experience should show that I have the three qualities that NASPA recommends for Advisory Board members: "Good communication skills; the ability to work well in a group situation; and a willingness to make tough decisions on sensitive or controversial issues."

I certainly would like to see the game move forward and increase in popularity, and I fully support current NASPA efforts to do so – including supporting School SCRABBLE and the efforts of the Forward Energy Committee. But that's easy to say. The reality is that this is a political position, so let me tell you where I stand on three key issues that are facing NASPA.

First is the question of resuming over-the-board play after the pandemic. On this issue, I am an advocate of significant caution. NASPA was a little slow in officially closing down its clubs and tourneys, and I do not want to risk the health of our players by reopening prematurely. The decision to reopen needs to be made based on sound, scientific recommendations that say it is safe to do so, paired with appropriate healthful practices when we do.

Second is the question of lexicons. On this issue, I favor the status quo where NASPA supports both the Collins and NWL (formerly TWL or OWL) dictionaries. Collins is wonderful for those who can compete internationally and choose to do so, as well as for a limited number of players who prefer the much larger word list. However, I feel that most NASPA players prefer the more compact and more familiar NWL lexicon. Accordingly, the best approach is to continue to provide many opportunities to play with both word lists.

Third is the question of competing organizations. I am definitely a NASPA partisan, and I personally don't attend tourneys run by other organizations – but I disagree with NASPA's traditional stand on this issue. I would like to see outreach from NASPA to competing organizations, especially efforts to coordinate scheduling to minimize the conflicts between major tourneys run by any such organizations. Let's see if we can work toward having one plan for scheduling tourneys!

As I write this, there is one other candidate for the position of Midwest representative on the Advisory Board. My opponent also loves the game and would serve well. Please vote for the candidate with whom you agree more and/or the one you feel to be better qualified.

My campaign slogan is one of my tableaux. It uses the 100 tiles in the standard set and can be placed on alternate rows of the board: "Valuing one plan, we realize Daniel Stock is hopeful to be a quite exacting Advisory Board juryman for the Midwest Region." The blanks are the L in "hopeful" and the N in "exacting."

Playing SCRABBLE has been a unique way for a player to grow in self belief and confidence. As a Board member I will seek to support, strengthen and enable each member of NASPA and those who wish to become members, in growing in both their playing skills and their own personal skills and development. Working with other Board members, I will engage in actively promoting SCRABBLE in all its formats within the United States, and beyond the borders as appropriate.

I see the growing importance of School SCRABBLE tournaments and development of the youth as a solid foundation for the growth of SCRABBLE worldwide.

Greetings to my fellow professional SCRABBLE members of the North American SCRABBLE Players Association (NASPA). Our social gathering has partially crumbled and been impacted by isolation and shelter-in-place policies as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Nonetheless, our abilities to actively network various social media in these difficult times remain unchanged, as some of us constantly connect online and play scrabble virtually.

I am James Flomo, a resident of Prince George’s County (MD) and a member of both the District of Columbia and Bowie sanctioned SCRABBLE Clubs. I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice and am married with children.

I am formally registering my interest to be nominated and elected to the NASPA Advisory Board in June 2020.

I came to the United States in 1998 upon an invitation to participate in the 1998 then National SCRABBLE Championship held in Chicago (IL).

My passion and love for the SCRABBLE game date as far back as 1978 while in my junior year in high school in my native land, Liberia. Never did I think that I would have been socially intertwined or occupied my time with the “world’s most popular indoor game." My interest at the time was purposely recreational – intended to only boost my word power and vocabulary in competing in spelling contests.

Little did I know that I would one day become a professional SCRABBLE player competing with fellow professionals in sanctioned tournaments around the world. In 1995, my passion for the game further grew actively when I became the first organizer and chairman of the SCRABBLE game in Liberia, West Africa. I was instrumental in having the game officially registered and recognized as a professional indoor game (like other games such as soccer and basketball) with the Ministry of Youth & Sports in Liberia, West Africa.

In 1997, a 5-member team of the National SCRABBLE Association of Liberia, including myself, was invited to participate in the World SCRABBLE Championship held in Washington DC. Unfortunately, Liberia could not participate due to political upheaval and civil crisis at the time.

Again in 1998, an invitation was accorded us to participate in the then National SCRABBLE Championship held in Chicago (IL), and we did commit ourselves to participate. Since then, I have continued to actively play professional SCRABBLE both at the national and club levels. A synopsis of my profile and activities with NASPA can be found on the Association’s Website for your easiest perusal.

I can, therefore, assure you that if nominated and elected as one of your Advisory Board Committee Members, I will faithfully and diligently execute the duties assigned me – to assist the Executive Committee to decide matters of policy and adjudicate appeals on decisions made by other committees of the Association. Hence, I am committed to ensuring that we not only professionally play the game, but find ways to continuously improve the game worldwide and encourage more people to join our endeavors.