A Message from

           Your Director

Your fellow club members are now back from the 2010 National Scrabble Championship Tournament in Addison, Texas.  It was wonderful meeting and competing with players from across the States and also from other countries.  Our club members who attended were (in alphabetical order) SANDEE BLOOM, JUDY FORD, TRIP PAYNE, STEVE POLATNICK, GEORGE ROGERS, MARTY ROSEN, CARL STOCKER, IAN WEINSTEIN and new club attendee MARLA RIFF.

Please make sure to check the home page of our web site to see photos of our club members that your "roving photographer" (yours truly) took while at the tournament.

It was also fun to reconnect with players who come to the tournament year after year.  One of the players with whom I reconnected was a friend from many years ago, DEE SEGREST.  (Dee was one of the annotators at the Nationals this year.)  I first began playing Scrabble in a club environment in 1985 when I was living in Dallas.  I attended the Dallas-Mid Cities club for a short time right before I moved back to Philadelphia.  While attending that club, a group of us went to the Abilene tournament together.  Dee gave me a copy of a photo that she had of our group from 25 years ago!  Among others, a young CHRIS CREE, MARY RHOADES, DARRELL DAY, MIKE WILLIS and JEFF REEVES are also in that photo.  We were all sooooooo young back then!

During August while the "Waiting List" requirement is still lifted, we were very happy to welcome ALISON BURGOS and MARLA RIFF to our club.

We hope you both enjoyed your visit and will attend other nights while there is still room.

 Alison Burgos                                                                                  Marla Riff






Even though the air-conditioning is now working which is also helped along by our new floor fan, on Aug

ust 8 I awarded a hand fan for the person who scored the highest word beginning with the letter "F."  All night long I kept reminding our players not to forget their "F" words.  The winner of the evening was JOHN THOMASON when he played "FURRIEST" for 83 points!  Now he'll never have to let the other players see him sweat!

I inserted an extra large photo of John because he is wearing our Club's tee-shirt that was presented to him along with all of our club members two years ago at our 20th Annual Awards Night. I love to see these shirts being worn! :-)



I would like to take this opportunity to thank my Assistant

  Director, LARRY "P." GRADUS for taking over the club for me on August 11 while I was in Texas attending the Nationals.  I knew the club would be in good hands with you at the helm.  Thanks, Larry!


There aren't a plethora of holidays and observances during the month of August, so on August 18 I decided to award

an peg game to the first person w

ho was "lucky" enough to get seven vowels on their rack at once!  Actually, JED MARTINEZ looks quite happy with his vowel rack.  At the end of the evening, Jed told me that at one point his rack consisted of six vowels and one blank.  He traded in his blank and lo and behold, pulled out the seventh vowel!  Wow!  How lucky is that?!!!

August is "Back to School" month for many children therefore on August 25 two stretch book covers were awarded for the highest "S" word

  in each of the first two games.  HOWARD PISTOL won the first book cover with his 63 point high scoring "S" word, "SUBSTATE."  LARRY "P." GRADUS won the other book cover in the second game with his word "SPURTED" for 90 points.  It is such a pleasure to take a photo of Larry without having him hand over $1.00 for his cell phone ringing!

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