December 2002
Dear Great Lakes &
Ohio Valley Mensans:
Aabsurd. Alkafriends.
Ancient Weapons. Computer Gaming. Dog Crazy. Fortean Mysteries.
Hell’s Ms. Holmesian Studies. Mythopoeic.
Second Amendment. What do these ten names have in common? They’re all the name
of Mensa Special Interest Groups (“SIGs”) with coordinators listed with
addresses here in Region 3. Given that many SIGs list only email addresses for
contact information, there are probably many more SIGs operated from within this
region, but this list is sufficient to show the diversity of the SIGs available
to our members.
We aren’t limited to
joining SIGs based in our home region, of course. Indeed, that’s one of the
strengths of the SIGs program—the ability to bring together Mensans with similar
interests from varying geographic locations, around the country and around the
world. Some SIGs are large—Hell’s Ms, coordinated by Skinner, a member of
Dayton
Area Mensa, is one of the largest—and some are quite small. Some are trying to
change the world, while others are merely dedicated to the amusement of the
SIGs’ members. Because of the geographic spread of most SIGs’ membership, SIG
activities usually consist of communications by newsletter or electronic list,
although some SIGs (Club Med, Ski, Scuba, and Hell’s Ms among them) do have
meetings.
We have surveys taken
in the not-too distant past that tell us that more of our members are active
through the SIGs program than through local groups, and all the information we
have now suggests that this hasn’t changed. Indeed, the surge in internet-based
SIGs has probably made this even truer than before.
The SIGs list is
published twice annually in the Mensa Bulletin (most recently in September), and
is also available on the American Mensa website. Take a look at the list; you’ll probably find one of more SIGs you want
to join. (If you think you have an idea for a SIG that doesn’t currently exist,
contact SIGs Officer
.
She’ll help you start the SIG, or help you put out the word that you’re
interested if someone else starts it.)
Of course, SIGs aren’t
the only way to take advantage of your Mensa membership. Reading and your local
newsletter and the Mensa Bulletin, and responding to what you read (or writing a
submission that’s not a response) are something you can do from home, just like
participation in SIGs. If you like meeting other members face-to-face, there’s
nothing more convenient than attending a local group activity; you also have the
option of attending Regional Gatherings (“RGs”), the Annual Gathering (“AG”—plan
now for the 2003 AG in St. Paul, MN, or
the 2004 AG in Las Vegas, both in July) or a special event such as
Mensa Mind Games
(the next one is scheduled for April in Houston). Our choices aren’t mutually
exclusive; I attend many local activities and many RGs, and I am a member of
three SIGs.
December brings one RG
in our region—Cincinnati Area Mensa’s “That’s Mtertainment!” to be held December
6-8 in a northern suburb of Cincinnati (I was off one day in my November column—
Sorry!). If you’d like a chance to see an American Mensa Committee (AMC—
American Mensa’s Board of Directors) meeting with an RG available to escape to,
we’ll be meeting in conjunction with an RG in Salt Lake City, one week after
Cincinnati’s RG. (If you don’t want to travel so far, the next meeting, in
March, will be held in suburban Pittsburgh, here in Region 3, but there won’t be
an RG being held with it.)
Also in December will
be an experiment of mine—online office hours. Sign up as a member of
AMLRegion3News, then come to the website’s chat room between 8 and 9 PM EST on
December 1 to chat online with me and other interested members.
Take advantage of your
Mensa membership! The options are all yours.
—Rick Magnus, RVC 3
Page last updated:
05/11/2005
