Photo By Nell King | Sgt. 1st Class Martin Gold, of The U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own," poses with his...... read more read more
JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. Sgt. 1st Class Martin Gold is a word nerd, and he wants you to become one too, by playing Scrabble.
“Just about everyone knows how to play,” he said.
Gold recently received a grant from the North American Scrabble Players Association and will use that money to start a Scrabble club on Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall.
“They announced back in April that they were awarding three grants of up to $1,500 each. They called them ‘idea grants.’ if anyone had an idea of how to improve the game or how to improve competitive Scrabble to take out a proposal,” he said.
Martin said he has been considering starting the group up for quite some time, but with two small children and his work at The U.S. Army Band, his time is limited.
“I saw that and thought, ‘Well, no time like the present,’ and put a proposal together to do a military program here at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall,” he said.
Gold hopes that the program, if successful here, will spread to other military installations around the country. He has played the clarinet and bass clarinet for The United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” since 2004. The Sarasota, Florida, native holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Florida and a master of music degree from Indiana University.
“I’ve been playing Scrabble in some form or another since I was 5 or 6; in competitive tournaments for about six years,” he said.
Gold said the best opening word laid down in a Scrabble tournament is muzjiks (a type of Russian peasant), which garnered the player about 108 points.
“Personally, the highest score I’ve ever gotten for a word is retirant (someone who is retired),” he said. “That one was 131 points. That was my personal best.”
The group will hold its introductory session Oct. 28 from 5 to 8 p.m. in the Community Center, Building 405, on the Fort Myer portion of the joint base.
“What we’re doing is weekly sessions in the fall culminating with a tournament in the spring,” he said. “I am trying to keep everything cost-free.”
For more information, email fortmyerscrabble@gmail.com. All military personnel, family members, retirees and Department of Defense civilians are invited to participate. Gold said you don’t have to stay the entire three-hour session – just drop by when you can.
“Success to me is a lot of people showing up,” he said. “All skill levels are welcome.”
| Date Taken: | 10.22.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 10.22.2015 18:50 |
| Story ID: | 179698 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, VA, US |
| Hometown: | SARASOTA, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 69 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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