American Mensa Region 10

RVC Columns: 2018

December 2018

The American Mensa Committee (AMC) met via teleconference on October 30 to vote on Bylaws referendum items for the 2019 election. Four items were passed for the ballot, pending legal review. Those items included:

A change to Article IX, Section 6, related to discipline of members whose conduct has been deemed to be harmful,

The ability to add one or two days to the election period if needed,

A change to the petition deadline from February 1 to January 31,

Removal of the requirement for a signed Candidate Acceptance of Nomination for elections.

(Note that if they pass, the three election related referendum items would not take effect until the 2021 election.)

Two additional referendum items failed to pass for the election: a procedure to fill RVC vacancies (currently in the ASIEs (Actions Still In Effect) but not in the Bylaws), and a change to AMC terms from 2 to 3 years (to match a similar referendum being submitted for members of the International Board of Directors).

We also approved the minutes of the September 29 AMC meeting, which are now posted on the national website at https://www.us.mensa.org/lead/amc/meeting-reports/.

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And since it seems we can never have enough meetings, the next AMC meeting is scheduled on Saturday, December 1, via teleconference. The agenda includes:

A motion regarding the rights of both members and hosts and meetings/functions hosted by members, both in members' homes and in public venues,

A section regarding White Hat requirements at AGs,

A list of functions offered by the National Office for AGs, and

Meeting room requirements at AGs.

There will also be reports and updates from the Treasurer, the Event Safety Task Force, the Risk Management

Committee and the Governance Task Force.

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As I mentioned last month, the Election Portal is now open at https://www.us.mensa.org/lead/amc/elections/2019-board-election/. Online candidate petitions for the AMC will be available from December 1 through January 31, although manual petition signatures may be gathered earlier using the forms at the link above. I plan to run for reelection for RVC 10, although I welcome new energy if others choose to run.

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At the Region 10 level, there is currently plenty of activity, including some big events. Lisa Blair will be leading Tampa Bay Mensa's participation in the Miles For Moffitt cancer awareness event on December 8 as part of Mensa Cares!. Ed Wujciak is leading planning activities for the King Mango Strut satirical parade in Miami on December 30. Debbie Freeland is putting together the next Regional Gathering for Central Florida Mensa over Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend in January. Theresa Hohmann and Belinda Nemeth are continuing to plan the "RG At Sea" cruise for Tampa Bay Mensa over Memorial Day weekend. And many of the local group calendars show holiday parties scheduled.

It's nice to see the renewed energy during this season, and I'm thankful for all the volunteers who make things happen.

That's all the space I have for this month. Until next month (or until I see you online),

Thomas George Thomas
Email: RVC10@us.mensa.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thomas.g.thomas
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MensaRegion10/
Twitter: @FardleBear

November 2018

In the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, American Mensa reached out to members in affected areas including Northwest Florida Mensa, Tallahassee Area Mensa, North Florida Mensa, Tampa Bay Mensa, and Mensa In Georgia. The most badly hit group was Northwest Florida Mensa, and while initial efforts to reach those members have received a limited response (only 30 out of 170 members have checked in as safe as of this writing), outside of our efforts some members have reported that they are safe and have continued with their activities such as happy hours and a local group picnic in late October. The American Mensa Committee (AMC) has appointed Carole Lane of San Diego Mensa as Disaster Relief Coordinator. She'll help organize our relief effort for those in need by mobilizing and promoting fundraising efforts, coordinating with SIGHT officers to provide temporary shelter, and facilitating the temporary housing of animals. Carole can be reached at disastercoordinator@us.mensa.org.

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The AMC held its fall meeting in Arlington near the national office owned by the Mensa Foundation. It was recently announced that the office building was sold by the Foundation, and our operations will be moving to a new facility in December. More detailed information about the move can be found at https://www.us.mensa.org/featured-content/mensa-on-the-move/.

Actions taken during the AMC meeting included the creation of the AML History Task Force, to be chaired by Howard Prince, and the referral of three motions regarding changes to the ASIEs regarding Responsibility to Control Offending Parties to the Event Safety Task Force (a fourth motion was defeated). The agenda and mini-minutes for that meeting, as well as an audio recording, can be found at http://us.mensa.org/meetingreports by selecting 2018-09-29 - Arlington, TX from the dropdown. The next meeting of the AMC will be a teleconference on October 30. The agenda for this meeting has not yet been finalized but will likely include approval of the minutes from the September meeting (after which they will be posted at the preceding link), as well as discussion of proposed Bylaws changes to be presented to the membership in the 2019 election.

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Speaking of the 2019 election, the Election Portal has been opened (announced in the Mensa Wired e-newsletter on September 18), and information can be found at https://www.us.mensa.org/lead/amc/elections/2019-board-election/. Online candidate petitions for the AMC will be available from December 1 through January 31, although manual petition signatures may be gathered earlier using the forms at the link above.

The American Mensa website has a wealth of information for members wanting to serve at the National level, whether as an elected official or by volunteering for several of the national committees. Most important of these are the policy documents, including our Constitution, Bylaws, and Actions Still In Effect (ASIEs). These can all be found at https://www.us.mensa.org/read/policy-documents/.

Until next month (or until I see you online),

Thomas George Thomas
Email: RVC10@us.mensa.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thomas.g.thomas
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MensaRegion10/
Twitter: @FardleBear

October 2018

The American Mensa Committee (AMC) held a teleconference on August 22 to elect Greg Kontz as our new Secretary following the resignation of our previous Secretary Lisa Maxwell, per the procedure set forth by Article III.(12) of the American Mensa Bylaws. We also used the opportunity to approve the minutes of the July 5, 2018 AMC meeting. The full minutes are now available for review at http://us.mensa.org/meetingreports by selecting 2018-07-05 - Indianapolis from the dropdown.

Also available at the meetingreports link, you will be able to find the agenda for the upcoming September 2018 AMC meeting. Agenda items include appointment of the 2019 Election Committee, as well as changes to the membership of existing committees. There will be discussion regarding Event Safety, and a report from the Risk Management Committee. In New Business, there is a motion to create an AML History Task Force to collect historical information about American Mensa and format it so it is accessible to the membership. This will leverage volunteer efforts, and if approved, I will serve on this Task Force. There are also four separate motions proposing changes to the ASIE regarding "Responsibility To Control Offending Parties". I have no sense of how these will play out, since between the AMC meetings an Event Safety Task Force was created, and I have also been appointed to that Task Force.

The AMC has many committees, and although there are several others I find very interesting, as the saying goes, "You can do anything, but not everything." For this reason, we all trust that our colleagues who serve on the

AMC will provide due diligence on the committees the rest of us don't have time for, and we also make use of the expertise provided by member volunteers from outside the AMC as much as feasible. This extends beyond the AMC, however, and also applies to the Local Groups. There's a lot to do, and I've heard from some of the local leaders that the most frustrating parts of their roles is the assumption that if things are going well that they don't need help. But help is always needed. For instance, the annual Scholarship Program has just launched (https://www.mensafoundation.org/what-we-do/scholarships/), and our local scholarship chairs will be looking for volunteers to help judge essays. All local groups need proctors for admission tests to find new members. All local groups need event organizers to provide stimulation for other members (and all event organizers need members to attend!). All local groups need members who promote Mensa to new prospective members, through social media or community service projects (https://www.us.mensa.org/volunteer/community-service/). And so forth. The local group officers can't do it all themselves. Bottom line, all local groups need YOU. They can't do it without you.

Until next month (or until I see you online),

Thomas George Thomas
Email: RVC10@us.mensa.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thomas.g.thomas
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MensaRegion10/
Twitter: @FardleBear

September 2018

At the American Mensa Committee (AMC) meeting held at the Indianapolis Annual Gathering (AG) in July, there were three primary actions taken. We approved four Appointed AMC officers to one-year terms for 2018-2019. Continuing in their positions are Tommy Ryan as Communication Officer, Henri Buccine-Schraeder as Membership Officer, and Marie Meyer as Director of Science & Education, with new appointee Alex Huth taking on the position of Marketing Officer from departing officer Alexis Wise, who is beginning a graduate program this year. We also appointed Sue Ann Gilmore as Regional Coordinator to stand in for the recently vacated Region 8 RVC position until the 2019 election, and approved Reno, Nevada as the site of the Annual Gathering for 2022.

Several Region 10 members and local groups were honored at the Awards ceremony at the AG. Brian Reeves received a Chairman's Service Award as part of the transition team for the replacement of our Executive Director. Southwest by South Florida Mensa received the Innovative Owl Award (best member retention) for the second time in the past four years, with a 92.5% retention rate. Four of our Local Groups received Jewel Awards for outstanding member service, with Broward Mensa achieving an Emerald Award in Class II groups (400 - 899 members), Manasota Mensa and Mensa of Jacksonville achieving Emerald Awards in Class III groups (200 - 399 members), and Northwest Florida Mensa achieving the Sapphire Award in Class IV groups (100 - 199 members). And for CultureQuest, Northwest Florida Mensa's "Florida Panhandle Mensa Team" ranked 16th out of 107 teams, while Central Florida Mensa's "Tragic Kingdom" team took first place for a remarkable fifth consecutive year, with a $550 prize for their group! Congratulations to all.

One of the projects our Membership Officer has been working on for the past year was to establish a Young Adult Mensan (YAM) program, which would focus on attracting and engaging members from ages 21-40. Those members currently have the highest lapse rate, so we want to find ways to make them feel more welcome and involved in the organization. To that end, Henri Buccine-Schraeder has appointed Josh Fishkind as the National YAM Coordinator, and each RVC has been asked to appoint a Regional YAM Coordinator to assist. I have appointed Deanna Kalil from Miami Mensa to be Region 10 YAM Coordinator, so please welcome her and wish her well in the position.

One of the most interesting discussions during the AG was a Debate Room program called "How Can Mensa Be Improved?". There were dozens of members there brainstorming possibilities, such as microgrants for members, mentoring programs, Mensa sponsored events for the public, and many others. Of course, the challenge, as always, is finding volunteers to take these ideas and run with them, but to remain a thriving club, we must find ways to incorporate new and exciting ideas as they come up.

Along with other experiments, Tampa Bay Mensa has decided to shake things up a bit on the Regional Gathering front, and rather than the traditional style of gathering, will be hosting a "High Seas RG" next Memorial Day weekend, traveling between Tampa and Cozumel. Theresa Hohmann and Belinda Nemeth are busy promoting the event, so make your plans early to get the best rates, and to be sure your passports are up-to-date!

Until next month (or until I see you online),

Thomas George Thomas
Email: RVC10@us.mensa.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thomas.g.thomas
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MensaRegion10/
Twitter: @FardleBear

July 2018

The next meeting of the American Mensa Committee will be held on July 5, 2018 at the 2018 Annual Gathering in Indianapolis, IN. At this writing, the agenda has not been finalized, but it will be posted shortly at https://www.us.mensa.org/read/board-meeting-reports/ if you would like to peruse them and offer any feedback. I can be reached at RVC10@us.mensa.org.

At a couple of ExComm meetings over the past month I discovered that there was a common misunderstanding among some Local Group officers, and so I expect that some of you might have the same impression. So I'd like to clarify a point:

In the past few months, the national office has been moving forward with its Higher Logic project and launched Mensa Connect (https://connect.us.mensa.org/) Despite any impression the name may have given you, Mensa Connect is NOT A DATING APP. (We have a partnership with Match.com for that.) Mensa Connect is the new home of the Mensa Community, and has expanded to include many of the mail lists for committees as well. This gives the membership and its leaders and volunteers a new, robust tool for planning and socializing. And this past month, two great new features were introduced:

Mensa Connect now has an app for your mobile devices! If you go to the Apple Store or Google Play Store and search for "MemberCentric", you'll be able to download the Higher Logic app. I've been using it for the past couple of weeks and am very pleased with it. You can set member contacts and send and receive messages directly to and from individuals or groups, receive announcements, view calendars, and join community forums and SIGs (Special Interest Groups). There are news links that can show you the latest American Mensa updates on Twitter or browse member benefits, and a repository where you can share files with your groups.

And the most recent update has created forums for the Local Groups! Two of the first three Groups to join were Tallahassee Area Mensa and Northwest Florida Mensa (thank you, Robin Preston and Richard Hurt!). And Art Schwartz in Tampa Bay Mensa has taken it the next step, and after setting up the local group for the service, created subgroups for their ExComm and RG (Regional Gathering). So now your local groups have new tools for organizing, planning, and connecting to the membership as well.

So Mensa Connect is so much more than a dating app! (Although who knows who you might meet in the forums...)

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On another topic, I had received feedback regarding the Mensa Cares! project that was launched last year in which some individuals told me in no uncertain terms that Mensa shouldn't become a service organization. So I want to clarify that as well.

American Mensa created the Community Services Committee over 20 years ago in 1997, so this is not a new idea, nor is it intended to change the nature of Mensa. Rather, as stated in the committee charter, "The Committee ... is charged with generating positive images of and for Mensa through Community Service."

While participation is encouraged, it is not required of any member. Since many members have mentioned in surveys that they would like Mensa to be more involved in the community, this is a good program to have available for members who are so inclined.

I have run out of space for now, but I will be writing more about the program in future columns.

Until next month (or until I see you online),

Thomas George Thomas
Email: RVC10@us.mensa.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thomas.g.thomas
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MensaRegion10/
Twitter: @FardleBear

June 2018

While I usually use this column to report on the actions of the American Mensa Committee (AMC), we're in a slow period right now, as our last meeting was in April and our next will be at the Annual Gathering (AG) in July. But of course this doesn't mean nothing is happening.

Mind Games was held towards the end of April, with 64 games chosen to be evaluated by a large group of Mensa judges, and five games were awarded the Mensa Select seal, which will continue to put our name out to the a demographic group (gamers) who would have a higher than average interest in Mensa. Although I didn't go to Mind Games this year, I did pick up one of the winners (Azul, from Next Move Games) the day they were announced. The other winners were Constellations (Xtronaut Enterprises), Ex Libris (Renegade Game Studio), Photosynthesis (Blue Orange Games), and Raiders of the North Sea (Renegade Game Studio).

107 teams participated in CultureQuest this year, with 200 questions ranging from the arcane to the arcade, but everyone I've heard from had a lot of fun. Winners will be announced at the AG in July. Will Tragic Kingdom from Central Florida maintain their streak of first place finishes? Stay tuned...

May is the time of year when we focus on lapsed members. While Region 10 had 1,125 lapsed members at the end of the 2016-2017 year, we only had 802 lapsed members at the end of March 2018, and as of this writing, we're down to 612 lapsed members, which isn't unusual. Membership Officer Henri Buccine-Schraeder and Director of Membership Timothy Brooks will be distributing the annual Lapsed Member survey this month to get feedback on what factors lead to lapses, with the side benefit of reminding some members who procrastinated to send in their renewals. And local groups are also encouraged to reach out to their own lapsed members in order to add a personal touch, and get a little additional funding for the effort.

Mensa Connect is also progressing, with all the national committees using them in order to do their business. The techies at the National Office are in the process of working with some groups on testing the functionality for local group communities, and they should be rolled out to all the local groups soon as a home grown social network that won't require members to be on Facebook to participate.

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This will be my last chance to put in a plug for the AG coming up in July in Indianapolis, as well as the Annual Business and AMC meetings which will be held there. Unfortunately, the agenda for the meeting is not available for this column, so I recommend checking online in June at https://www.us.mensa.org/read/board-meeting-reports/ to see the agenda when it is ready, as well as minutes of our past meetings.

I also encourage anyone who is interested in ongoing Mensa news to subscribe to the e-newsletter Mensa Wired (https://www.us.mensa.org/read/enewsletters/mensa-wired/) , where you can get information much faster than through my monthly columns.

Until next month (or until I see you online),

Thomas George Thomas
Email: RVC10@us.mensa.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thomas.g.thomas
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MensaRegion10/
Twitter: @FardleBear

May 2018

The Constitution of Mensa establishes that one of our three main purposes is to provide a stimulating intellectual and social environment for our members. The primary avenue for providing that is through Gatherings, and the next one is coming up soon! After taking a break last year due to the nearby Annual Gathering (AG) in Hollywood, Tampa Bay Mensa is back on schedule with Margarita Bay, their annual Memorial Day Regional Gathering (RG) on May 25-28. This has always been a fun event, and if you've never been to a Gathering, you owe it to yourself to go, as the total immersion experience is a great way to interact with your fellow Mensans. Registration is now open at http://www.tampa.us.mensa.org/. Tammy Hicks and team are putting together another great event, and I look forward to seeing you there!

If for some reason you can't join us in Tampa, we also have the Annual Gathering (AG) coming up in July in Indianapolis (not quite as close, of course). Along with several tracks of presentation, games, tournaments, and other events, the Mensa Foundation hosts the Colloquium each year on the day before the AG on a specialized topic. This year it will be on "The Evolution and Revolution of Manufacturing".

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The American Mensa Committee (AMC) met by teleconference on April 17, 2018. Aside from some housekeeping items including approval of the minutes from the March AMC meeting and cleanup of some obsolete ASIEs, the main purpose of the meeting was the formation of a new Events Committee to replace the AG Policy and Site Selection Committees. This streamlines the existing process, while also removing some obsolete references. Tax Criss (RVC 6) was appointed Chair of the Events Committee, joined by Deb Stone (AMC Treasurer) and John Voymas (RVC 3) as the other voting AMC members. The next meeting of the AMC will be on July 5, 2018 at the JW Marriott Indianapolis Downtown, site of the 2018 Annual Gathering.

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Following the annual renewal period, Region 10 started the year with a membership of 3,389 members -- an increase of 114 members over the same date last year. Southwest By South Florida Mensa had the best retention rate at 88%, while once again Central Florida Mensa is the largest group in Region 10, just squeaking by Tampa Bay Mensa, 578 members to 575 members.

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I attended several local group picnics in April, including the Broward Mensa Spring Fling, Tampa Bay Mensa's Spring Picnic, and Central Florida Mensa's Annual picnic, as well as more local group Executive Committee (ExComm) meetings (North Florida, Northwest Florida, Central Florida, Tallahassee, and Manasota) in March and April. I hope to finish off the year by visiting Southwest By South Florida Mensa and Miami Mensa before the Annual Gathering, if they have any weekend events in the next few weeks.

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Thanks to all of you who are back for the coming year, and I hope to see you at one of the events in 2018-2019!

Until next month (or until I see you online),

Thomas George Thomas
Email: RVC10@us.mensa.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thomas.g.thomas
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MensaRegion10/
Twitter: @FardleBear

April 2018

The American Mensa Committee (AMC) met on March 3, with several presentations, including the first report by our new Executive Director Trevor Mitchell, the regular Treasurer's report by Deb Stone including a presentation of the Annual Budget Review and Budget Process , a presentation by Committee Chair Jon Gruebele of the new Strategic Planning Committee, and a couple of presentations by Membership Officer Henri Buccine-Schraeder regarding the membership satisfaction survey and other membership information. These presentations will be available under the meeting reports on the national website at www.us.mensa.org/read/board-meeting-reports/ under the dropdown 2018-03-03 -- Denver, CO once the minutes have been approved. Actions taken during the meeting included approval of the 2018-2019 Budget, a waiver of Equity Restoration requirement for 2018-2019, and rejecting a motion regarding making guest memberships available to Mensa International Members for additional fees. The next meeting of the AMC will be on July 5, 2018 at the JW Marriott Indianapolis Downtown, site of the 2018 Annual Gathering.

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Speaking of the Annual Gathering, have you made your reservations for AG2018 yet? Co-Chairs Teresa Gregory and Jan Pfeil Doyle have been hard at work in creating an exciting event, including booking Gala Dinner Speaker Dr. David Wolf, veteran of seven spacewalks and one-time MIR resident. Of course, you'll also have an opportunity to see the AMC in action, and participate in the business of American Mensa at our Annual Business Meeting (ABM). We understand that there will be many other intriguing presentations and events that might draw your attention away from the AMC meeting, but I do hope you'll try to attend the ABM, since we can't conduct any business (including the introduction of member-instituted referenda for the 2019 election) unless we have a quorum for the meeting.

The Mensa Foundation Colloquium will take place the day before the AG, with the theme "The Evolution and Revolution of Manufacturing", with featured presenter Scott N. Paul, President of the Alliance for American Manufacturing. More information on both of these events can be found at ag.us.mensa.org, and you can find discussions about the events at www.facebook.com/events/234054937121565/

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On a more local note, don't forget to sign up for the next Regional Gathering in Florida, which will be in Tampa Bay over Memorial Day weekend. Registration is now open at http://www.tampa.us.mensa.org/. Tammy Hicks and team are putting together another great event, and I look forward to seeing you there!

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Over the past several weeks I've been making the rounds to many of the local groups, with visits to the ExComm meetings for Central Florida, Palm Beach Area, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay, and Space Coast Area, with upcoming meetings scheduled for Northwest Florida and Tallahassee. I'll be scheduling meetings with the remaining groups as well, and hope to get to all of you before the AG.

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Now that renewal season is over, thank you to all of you who have continued your membership for the next year or longer. If you haven't renewed, it's not too late! I hope you'll stay involved.

Until next month (or until I see you online),

Thomas George Thomas
Email: RVC10@us.mensa.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thomas.g.thomas
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MensaRegion10/
Twitter: @FardleBear

March 2018

The American Mensa Committee (AMC) will meet in Denver, CO on March 3, 2018. At the time I write this the agenda has not been published, but by the time you read this it will be available on the national website at www.us.mensa.org/read/board-meeting-reports/ under the dropdown 2018-03-03 -- Denver, CO.

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Central Florida Mensa threw another wonderful Regional Gathering in January, thanks to Chair Debbie Freeland and committee members Jennifer Keating, Stephen Stull, Bill Keevan, and Melissa Stephens, and all the other volunteers who worked to make it happen. The next Regional Gathering will be in Tampa Bay over Memorial Day weekend, with Chair Tammy Hicks hard at work with her team. Everything that happens in our Region or in any of our chapters are due to the efforts of volunteers, so please thank them when you see them.

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The Mensa Foundation Scholarship Program is underway, and submissions are being evaluated by local group volunteers. Once they finish their work, the essays will move on up to the regional level, headed by Regional Scholarship Chair Wynn Rostek and his team of Regional Judges -- Nora Foust, George Lebovitz, Elizabeth Potter, Tammy Hicks, Darcy Schiller, and Suzanne Rostek.

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Have you put together your CultureQuest XXIX teams yet? Each team may have up to five members plus two alternates, but if any team members are not renewed by March 31, the entire team will be disqualified -- so encourage your smartest teammates to renew early! The competition lasts 90 minutes, with all teams across the country beginning simultaneously. Game Day is Sunday, April 29.

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I'd like to congratulate North Florida Mensa and Palm Beach Area Mensa, both of which are currently exceeding their membership levels from this same time last year. With a little over six weeks to go in the fiscal year, I'm hoping more of our groups will join them.

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One metric where our Region is falling behind is in Mensa Testing. In the fourth quarter last year, only 26 people took the Mensa test in Region 10, while half of our local groups had not held any test sessions at all. That said, I would like to recognize Testing Coordinator Nancy Heinrich of Manasota Mensa, who was responsible for over 40% of all the tests given during that time period!

Part of the issue is that we're running low on Proctors -- the volunteer members who administer our tests to those who are interested in joining Mensa. Three of our Local Groups only have a single Proctor, and at present there are only three Proctors-In-Training across the Region. I trained to become a Proctor in 2005, and have found it gratifying to meet people I've tested at events after they've joined. If you have a four-year degree minimum from a college or university, you could be part of our front-line greeters for new members. Contact your Local Secretary/President or Local Group Testing Coordinator for details.

Until next month (or until I see you online),

Thomas George Thomas
Email: RVC10@us.mensa.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thomas.g.thomas
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MensaRegion10/
Twitter: @FardleBear

February 2018

The American Mensa Committee (AMC) met via teleconference on January 16. This brief meeting involved the approval of the minutes of the December 2 AMC Meeting (now posted online), the official appointment of the Chair for the Community Services Committee (yours truly), the Transition Committee's report regarding a new Executive Director, and a vote on a motion to clarify the Duties, Responsibilities, and Authority of Regional Vice Chairmen for inclusion in the ASIEs (Appendix 26). This is the topic I mentioned in my column last month, and I hope it will be useful information for anyone interested in running for the position in the future, as I have heard many amusing misconceptions about what the RVC's role actually is.

The details of the agenda for this meeting are available on the national website at www.us.mensa.org/read/board-meeting-reports/ under the dropdown 2018-01-16 -- Teleconference.  The next in-person meeting of the AMC will be in Denver, CO on March 3, 2018. The agenda will be posted online at the link above on February 16.

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CultureQuest registration opened on January 16, and there's still time for your Local Group to field a team (or three)! Last year Central Florida Mensa and Tampa Bay Mensa both took money prizes, and maybe this year it's your turn. The deadline for registration is March 31, and remember, all members of your team(s) must also have renewed by that date! Rules and registration are at https://www.us.mensa.org/attend/culturequest/.

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Does your Local Group have a great Gifted Youth Coordinator? Nominations for Gifted Youth Coordinator of the Year are due on February 20. Information on this program is available at https://www.us.mensa.org/recognize/group-awards/gy-coordinator-of-the-year/.

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And finally, with National Volunteer Week (Mensa Cares!) coming up on April 15-22, I'm starting to hear groups coming up with different programs they would like to create, from beach and road and park cleanup to library support to group home visits and other projects. Besides being a good way to give to your local communities, it's also great visibility and promotion for your local group. I'd love to year what kind of creative ideas you could come up with! You're Mensa -- and you're Brilliant!

Until next month (or until I see you online),

Thomas George Thomas
Email: RVC10@us.mensa.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thomas.g.thomas
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MensaRegion10/
Twitter: @FardleBear

January 2018

The American Mensa Committee (AMC) met on December 2 to discuss several matters, including the Transition Committee's progress in seeking a new Executive Director to replace Pam Donahoo, as I'd mentioned in last month's column. After presenting their report, the AMC thanked them for their work so far and asked them to continue with their work. In the meantime, Trevor Mitchell, AML's Director of Membership and Strategy, was named Acting Executive Director.

Other appointments made at the meeting included Palm Beach Area Mensa member (and former AMC Chair) Elissa Rudolph as the AML Advocate, and Allison Reeves will be joining Palm Beach Area Mensa member Brian Reeves as Co-Chair of the 2019 Annual Gathering (AG) Committee.

The usual Treasurer and Executive Director reports were presented, along with the results of the Local Group Leadership Survey and the launch of Mensa Connect (the Higher Logic project). These reports and more are available on the national website at www.us.mensa.org/read/board-meeting-reports/ under the dropdown 2017-12-02 -- Houston, TX.

The next in-person meeting of the AMC will be in Denver, CO on March 3, 2018, with a teleconference meeting scheduled before then on January 16, 2018. The agenda for the teleconference has not been set, but will be posted online at the link above on January 6.

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On another topic, the AMC has been discussing the role of the RVCs (Regional Vice Chairmen), given the split duties we perform. In addition to acting as members of the Board of Directors for American Mensa along with the five nationally-elected officers, and serving as voting members on various national committees, we also have particular duties to the Local Groups of our regions that go beyond the fiduciary responsibilities for American Mensa. However, some expectations, both from the national and local point of view, are contradictory. While there is documentation that defines our role as "CEO of the Region", this nevertheless carries with it limited authority. So when I've been asked to intervene in some local group issues over the past few months, there wasn't much that I could do other than to listen to the issue being presented and refer the involved parties to documentation on the website (primarily dispute resolution). The RVCs are working through the existing ASIEs and guidebooks to come up with a consolidated job description so that it will be clearer to future RVCs (and local members) what the real expectations should be.

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Finally, I mentioned the Community Services Committee in my column last month, and I have recently been appointed Chair of that Committee. While there are projects going on year-round, the big focus is Mensa Cares!, a project that coincides with National Volunteer Week. This year those dates are April 15-21. Many of our members have mentioned in surveys that this was something they wanted Mensa to be involved in, and the response to last year's efforts was enthusiastic. More information will be forthcoming as the Committee starts planning over the next few weeks.

Until next month (or until I see you online),

Thomas George Thomas
Email: RVC10@us.mensa.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thomas.g.thomas
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MensaRegion10/
Twitter: @FardleBear

 

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