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Gatherings

I hope that you and yours have had a happy and healthy holiday season. It has sure been an exciting one in the Gordon household, but more on that later.

One Regional Gathering took place in December. It was Winter Solstice in Lancaster PA. I have heard great things on it, and a lot of productive work took place. This month, February, there is one Regional Gathering, Hearts Afire, from Metropolitan Washington in Herndon VA on February 13-15. Then, in March, there are two; the first is Snowball XXX, followed by the Thomas Jefferson RG. The Thomas Jefferson RG will host an American Mensa Committee (AMC) meeting, so it should be an interesting time. I have just gotten the paperwork for the 2004 Liberty Bell RG from Delaware Valley, and if it is anywhere near as fun as this year’s, it will be worth attending.

The Leadership Development Workshop (LDW) for 2004 for Region 2 has been scheduled. It will be taking place at The Avenue Inn in Rehoboth Beach, DE, the weekend before Memorial Day. Maria Sawczuk, the LocSec of Delaware has found us an excellent venue; it is near the main street of the resort town, and a few blocks from the beach. However, we will be there to learn leadership skills, so we might actually have to spend some time “hitting the books”. Marc Lederman, your LDW coordinator, is spending a good deal of time organizing the event, so there will be sessions that will be interesting and in the best interests of your local group. I urge all the local groups to discuss who should attend, and try to send at least two participants. For more information, contact Marc or me. There should be flyers available for all local groups to share and discuss.

The AMC meeting in New Orleans was very informative; your editor will be supplied with the Mini-Minutes as soon as they are available. Linda and I were there a day early, so we did the whirlwind N’Awlins Tour. It started with a muffeletta at Napoleon’s, followed a beignet and chicory coffee at Café du Monde, and finally a Hurricane at Pat O’Brien’s. The Vieux Carre is a very walkable area, and it is a recommended vacation. I shudder at the thought of MY parents doing the teenage thing there, but that is how long ago the places we went were established.

The business of the AMC was exhausting, the typical 16 hour days. The two main topics of deliberation were Risk Management and the Actions Still In Effect (ASIEs). As has been mentioned previously, there is much discussion on Risk Management. We live in a very litigious society, so caution is the order of the day. The bottom line concerns the fact that we must be careful in our actions, so that we are not liable for any legal infractions or the catalyst for any harm. If you would like to have further information, please introduce yourself at the next event that we are together, and we can talk. For the second matter, the ASIEs are now to be called Standing Orders (SOs), and all documentation will be changed to reflect that. These actions are those that govern Mensa in conjunction with the bylaws.

The March AMC meeting will be held at the Thomas Jefferson RG, the weekend of March 20, in Charlottesville VA. Feel free to join us and experience the inner workings of American Mensa. You can always spot an AMC member, either searching desperately for a cup of coffee in hospitality, or sitting in the corner at 1:00 AM, talking incessantly. There is a strong double-deck cancellation hearts contingent on the AMC, and their true personalities can be discerned in the games room during the wee smalls on Sunday morning, so if you see us, join us.

As for ProxyQuest, vote, vote, vote. We are doing quite well, we are at 42% of our goal, and the phone tree and the membership renewal drive have yet to be effected. The 10,000 mark should be reached over the Christmas Holiday; it is 32 proxies short at this moment. Region 2 has just topped the 20% mark; we are in fifth place in percentage. The necessary goal is 50% across the board, and this fact must be remembered. Watch your membership renewal mailing for your proxy, if you have not yet participated. When we start getting close to the end, we will require each local group to form a phone tree, to urge participation. Once, the goal has been reached we can be assured that we are legally governed.