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	<title>WGPO</title>
	<link>http://wordgameplayers.org</link>
	<description>Word Game Players&#039; Organization</description>
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		<title>Amendment to the Bylaws</title>
		<description><![CDATA[WGPO members recently APPROVED two proposals to change Article IX of the bylaws: Proposal 1. WGPO tournament directors may offer approved invitational tournaments (with further definition and approval requirements to be determined). Proposal 2. WGPO tournament directors may offer WGPO members-only tournaments. Proposal 1 received 69 YES votes and 18 NO votes. Proposal 2 received 56 YES votes and 18 NO votes. Voting began on December 12, 2011 and ended on December 26, 2011. Respectfully Submitted, Nominations and Elections Committee Dick McHugh Ruth Hamilton Mary Krizan]]></description>
		<link>http://wordgameplayers.org/2012/01/30/amendment-to-the-bylaws/</link>
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		<title>Voting period begins for proposed changes to Article IX of the bylaws</title>
		<description><![CDATA[PROPOSED That Article IX, Section 3, be amended as follows (revised wording between asterisks): ARTICLE IX Clubs and tournaments (3) WGPO-approved tournaments *normally* shall be open both to WGPO members and to players who are not WGPO members if those individuals agree to abide by the tournament rules and ethical standards of the WGPO. *WGPO tournament directors and organizers also may offer approved invitational tournaments. WGPO tournament directors also may offer members-only tournaments.* Please vote one time for each proposal. Proposal 1. WGPO tournament directors may offer approved invitational tournaments (with further definition and approval requirements to be determined) Proposal 2. WGPO tournament directors may offer WGPO members-only tournaments. The voting period will run for 14 days from the time of this posting and will end at 12:51am (PST) on December 26th, 2011 .]]></description>
		<link>http://wordgameplayers.org/2011/12/12/voting-period-begins-for-proposed-changes-to-article-ix-of-the-bylaws/</link>
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		<title>A Call to Vote on Bylaws Amendment</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ANNOUNCEMENT By vote of 5-0, the Board of Players Representatives has recommended a change in the by-laws to liberalize the rules for individual competition and provide greater operational latitude to club directors in the conduct of tournaments.  This proposal has been reviewed by the Executive Committee and forwarded to the Nominations and Elections Committee to prepare a resolution for a vote of the membership.  The Nominations and Elections Committee has prepared the following resolution for the consideration, and established a voting period of ten days, commencing Monday, December 12-2011, and ending Wednesday, December 21, 2011.  The members’ decision on this proposal will be determined by a simple majority of votes cast during the election period.  Public comment will be accepted on the WGPO listserv any time between the receipt of this announcement and the beginning of the election. Comments from the membership are encouraged to provide interest and members’ views on the government of our group.  As always, we request that comments be submitted in a reasonable fashion, and restrict themselves to the subject at hand. PROPOSED That Article IX, Section 3, be amended as follows (revised wording in italics and underlined-no wording has been deleted): ARTICLE IX Clubs and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://wordgameplayers.org/2011/11/29/a-call-to-vote-on-bylaws-amendment/</link>
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		<title>2012 Word Cup – Updates</title>
		<description><![CDATA[What: Six-day, WGPO Annual Word Cup tournament event. When: Friday-Wednesday, August 3-8, 2012. Where: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, Bloomington, Minnesota. Contact: Steve Pellinen, steve@pellpro.com. Notes: This event includes a catered reception, multiple seven-game “early birds” in a variety of formats (pairs, speed, clabbers, open), and a 31-game main event. A block of 40 rooms is set aside at the low rate of $103, and a provisional “commuters fee” of $50 is in effect. See tournament flyer for important details. See also the upcoming tournaments page. There is a Word Cup Fundraising pagebeing set up by the Twin Cities/MN Scrabble Club to help increase prize levels and visibility for this event. Check out the site for more information.]]></description>
		<link>http://wordgameplayers.org/2011/11/01/2012-word-cup-updates/</link>
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		<title>2012 Word Cup</title>
		<description><![CDATA[As a start to the goal of moving the WGPO Word Cup around the continent, the 2012 version will be held in Bloomington, Minnesota, on August 3 &#8211; 8. Event details still need to be worked out, but there likely will be an Early Bird on Friday, August 3, followed by a five-day, 31 &#8211; 35 game Main Event, similar to this year&#8217;s Word Cup in Reno. The tournament will take place at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel Bloomington &#8211; Minneapolis South, just a few miles from the Twin Cities International Airport and Mall of America. Free shuttles to and from those locations, from which light rail connects to downtown Minneapolis, Target Field (Minnesota Twins) and places between. Stay tuned for details, Steve Pellinen]]></description>
		<link>http://wordgameplayers.org/2011/08/04/2012-word-cup/</link>
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		<title>2011/07/03-04 WGPO Committees and BPR Meeting</title>
		<description><![CDATA[WGPO Committees and Board of Player Representatives Meeting Reno, NV July 3-4, 2011 Attendees:  Stephanie Steele, Keith Hagel, Peggy Grant, Susi Tiekert, Steve Pellinen, Rick Wong, Larry Rand, Janice Kaye (nonvoting), Melissa Brown (nonvoting).  (Laurie Cohen was unable to attend.) Meeting Chair:  Day One – Stephanie; Day Two – Keith Minutes The Sunday, July 3 meeting was called to order by Stephanie. 1) Rules update (Susi) Susie distributed copies of the rules.  Susie believes this is a complete first draft, as written by her with editorial assistance from Melissa.  These rules are intended to be used at WGPO clubs and tournaments in lieu of any other organization&#8217;s rules.  As NASPA comes out with new rules, WGPO will review and determine if revision necessary.  Moved by Rick that the committees and the board review the draft, and discuss at a future meeting.  Seconded by Peggy, and passed unanimously. 2) Director&#8217;s test update (Janice) Janice reported that two people (Bill Pizer and Michael Bradley) have taken the Director&#8217;s test, which was created by Peggy and revised by Janice.  Janice will distribute a final copy of the test to committees and board.  Stephanie moved that the test contact info should be included on [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://wordgameplayers.org/2011/07/15/20110703-04-wgpo-committees-and-bpr-meeting/</link>
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		<title>2011/07/05 WGPO Membership Meeting</title>
		<description><![CDATA[WGPO Membership Meeting Tuesday, July 5, 2011 Grand Sierra Resort Reno, Nevada WGPO Player Representative Peggy Grant called the meeting to order at 8:00 PM. The Executive Committee and Board of Player Representatives introduced themselves: Keith Hagel, EC Stephanie Steele, EC Rick Wong, EC Susi Tiekert, BPR Larry Rand, BPR Steve Pellinen, BPR Peggy Grant, BPR Not present was Laurie Cohen, BPR Peggy opened the floor to questions from the membership. She addressed the question of the different roles of the Executive Committee &#38; the Board of Player Representatives: The Executive Committee oversees the day-to-day operations of WGPO while the Board of Player Representatives deals with the policies and bylaws. She related how the bylaws were used for one of their first tasks, that of filling a vacancy on the Board when a newly elected rep defaulted. Tobey Roland, MD, asked what the status was of WGPO becoming a nonprofit.  Keith Hagel, EC, responded that it is an issue the two boards want to discuss.  Susi Tiekert states we should just continue as we are.  Steve Pellinen, who was on the NASPA Steering Committee told us that they all agreed NASPA was to become a nonprofit, but when Chris Cree [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://wordgameplayers.org/2011/07/15/20110705-wgpo-membership-meeting/</link>
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		<title>2011/05/19 BPR Minutes</title>
		<description><![CDATA[BPR minutes: May 19, 2011 Matter: Appointment of vacated BPR seat Members present: Peggy Grant, Steve Pellinen, Susi Tiekert, and Laurie Cohen BPR met and called for discussion concerning the matter of filling the vacated seat on the BPR of WGPO. There was discussion of the BPR and review of the WGPO bylaws. The bylaws state that the responsibility of filling a vacated seat is that of the BPR. A motion was made and seconded, and the matter was unanimously passed, that the BPR would nominate and appoint a WGPO member in good-standing to fill the vacated seat. BPR called for discussion concerning the process which would be followed in order to select a candidate to fill the vacated seat on WGPO. A motion was made and seconded and the matter was unanimously passed, to send a &#8220;call for candidates&#8221; to the general membership with request of a short biography from members to be considered in the selection process. As of the deadline, two WGPO members submitted names for consideration of the vacated seat: Larry Rand, AZ and Pat Feigin, FL. After discussion of the merits of each candidate, based on information submitted to the WGPO, a motion was made [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://wordgameplayers.org/2011/05/19/20110519-bpr-minutes/</link>
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		<title>Inaugural WGPO Word Cup 2011</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The WGPO is proud to announce its inaugural championship, the WGPO Word Cup, which will be held July 1-6, 2011, at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada.  The tournaments are being organized by Jeff Widergren and the WGPO, and will be directed by Rick Wong and Larry Rand.  An 8 game Open Early Bird, “The Preamble,” will take place Friday, July 1st.  The Premier Event will feature three divisions, each playing 35 games, July 2nd-6th. The Grand Sierra has attractive room rates for our group, starting at only $66/night. You must register with the group code (SCS11) or using the WGPO Reservation link to receive a $40 refund at registration.  Maximum two refunds per room.  A $25 refund will also be given to players who postmark their payment by Saturday, April 2nd. The entry fee for the Preamble is $45.   The entry fee for all three divisions in the Premier Event is $140.  Unlimited play ups are permitted.  Your current recognized rating on 6/30/11 will be used for qualification into restricted divisions.  WGPO ratings take precedence. Premier Event: Red Division:  No rating restrictions White Division:  1650 and below Blue Division: 1200 and below A flier and entry form [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://wordgameplayers.org/2011/03/08/inaugural-wgpo-word-cup-2011/</link>
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		<title>2011/02/20 Meeting Minutes</title>
		<description><![CDATA[WGPO Committees and Board of Player Representatives Meeting Phoenix, AZ February 20, 2011 Attendees:  Stephanie Steele, Keith Hagel, Peggy Grant, Steve Pellinen, Rick Wong, Laurie Cohen, Janice Kaye (nonvoting), Larry Rand (nonvoting), Melissa Brown (nonvoting). Minutes recorded by:  Melissa Brown Meeting Chair: Steve Pellinen Agenda/Minutes Duties of Executive Committee (EC) and Board of Player Representatives (BPR) The duties of the EC and BPR are outlined in the WGPO Bylaws. EC shall be responsible for &#8220;day to day&#8221; operations and decisions, while the BPR shall be responsible for setting policy, either brought to it from the EC or from the players at large; this may or may not necessitate member input / vote of the players depending on the issue. Keith suggested that WGPO maintain a policy manual documenting the policy decisions. Peggy suggested that the BPR split up the members for representation, somewhat based on geography, but not solely. With discussion, Peggy agreed to take the membership roster and study how it could be distributed, and make a proposal back to the EC/BPR. Word Cup Schedule: Friday, July 1st: 8-game Early Bird. Saturday, July 2nd through Wednesday, July 6th: 35 games, 3 divisions. Entry fees will not be as disparate [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://wordgameplayers.org/2011/02/25/388/</link>
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