Terminology

It is now September, summer is winding down, and fall is in the offing. I hope you all enjoyed your summers, I know that I did.

The Annual Gathering was quite a time. It was a SUCCESS, the attendance was pretty much unprecedented, the dust is still settling, so we don't have the final statistics. We successfully put ProxyQuest to rest at the Annual Business Meeting, so that the business of Mensa can conducted in the normal manner. This will allow us to cast ballots during the next election period, and to change the bylaws to allow the an Annual Business Meeting in August, so that 2006 ABM can be held at the Orlando International / Annual Gathering that is being planned for that year. I had a few minutes before and after the meetings to do a little sight seeing, and you can see my and other's pictures on the Regional website. The 2005 Annual Gathering will be in New Orleans, and information can be found at http://ag.us.mensa.org. Thanks to Cookie Bakke for a successful 2004 AG, and good luck to Heather Miller for the 2005 AG.

Two important issues were dealt with at the AMC meeting. Dues have now been raised to $52 for the 2005 fiscal year. There was a year's worth of consideration, and weighing all factors, it is a necessity. The second requires that membership in an American Mensa SIG requires membership in Mensa, and that guests are welcome at the discretion of the SIG coordinator. There has been much discussion on this issue, and in an attempt to keep the SIGs as open as possible, this was the decision. The Risk Management Committee and the SIGs Committee will be deciding if any further changes are necessary, and information will be forthcoming. Please, let your elected representatives, including me, know your opinions. Is this decision to your liking? Are there other decisions that you would like made? These are the questions that are before you, for my goal is 100% empowerment for the membership of American Mensa, and in order to achieve this, I need your input.

We are behind schedule on the planning of the AGs beyond 2006. The schedule required the submission of a bid for 2007 to be presented at the AMC meeting last month. There has been some interest expressed, but no bid is in the offing. I have been told that there is local interest in having an AG in Region 2 in 2008, and I will wholeheartedly support any effort in this respect. Annual Gatherings are a lot of work, but they are also a lot of fun, and there is great satisfaction and opportunity for education in hosting one. If we can have one in the Baltimore-Washington area, that would be great.

I have approved the [Central Pennsylvania] Winter Solstice Regional Gathering. It will be taking place once again in Lancaster PA on December 17-19. The other Regional Gatherings on the schedule are:  Snowball XXXI, "Nautical but Nice" for Central New Jersey for the first weekend in March, the 4th through the 6th. Delaware Valley's "Mensans in Black"- October 15-17 and Tidewater's "My Favorite Mensan" - November 12-14.

Last year I planned a Leadership Development Workshop for the northern half of the region in Delaware. For 2005, I would like to plan one for the southern half of the region, and was considering targeting one of the Interstates in Richmond VA area. If anyone is interested in helping me plan it, please get in touch with me. There is plenty of rich talent sprinkled throughout the region, and if we can get them together in one place, to share their experiences and wisdom, then all will profit. In addition, the idea of a LocSec retreat has been suggested, and it is an excellent idea, and could be conducted in conjunction with the LDW. If there are any other ideas, my email address is RVC2@us.mensa.org.