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.

Why does CoCo leadership matter, anyway? What do our board of directors and our executive director actually do? What role do we play in shaping the future of the CoCo and the future of Scrabble?

This weekend, at our home in northeast Seattle, Jennifer and I hosted a pair of 1-day tournaments. The result was two enjoyable events, two exciting races, and ultimately two different champions.

We're hosting not one Scrabble event, but two - we've got a pair of 1-day tournaments on the docket. We're getting ready to host 14 wonderful humans for 14 games of Scrabble.

Little weekend events, a day or two long, that attract people from nearby cities and states to drive an hour or three, are a Scrabble organization's true bread and butter.

And so we turn the page on another Charlottesville CoCo tournament - our first in almost four years, and only our second ever. This event had it all - some serious Scrabble, some great camaraderie, and more than a few moments of levity.

It's hard to believe it's been almost 4 years since the last time we hosted a CoCo tournament in Charlottesville.

This year's CO will take place in downtown San Francisco over the weekend of Dec. 12, and it will feature 20 games over a stretch of 3 days. This is going to be one of the events of the year.

This year, we've really been working to roll out innovative new programs that can incentivize new players to come into the fold. We're proud of the work we've done in this area.

Have you ever thought to yourself, "I'd love to volunteer in some capacity for the CoCo. I wonder what I could do?" Well, here are a whole bunch of ideas.