April
2003
Dear Great Lakes & Ohio Valley Mensans,
April begins with All Fools Day—and while Mensans are, by
definition, incapable of being stupid, we are very capable of doing foolish
things. Indeed, one of the most popular presentations at Annual Gatherings is
when Past American Mensa Supervisory Psychologist Dr. Abby Salny has spoken on
“Dumb Things Smart People Do.” (Those of us who have been members for a while
may remember a similarly themed column in the Bulletin, entitled “Turn of the
Table,” by the late Orville Brandes.)
One of the foolish things Mensans can do is forget to renew
our membership prior to expiration. If you see “2003” on the mailing label for
this newsletter (above your name), and if you haven’t renewed since the label
was printed on February 28, your membership expires March 31 of this year—and
depending on when you’re reading this, you may have lapsed. The good news is
that, except for the right to vote in this year’s American Mensa and Mensa
International elections,
renewing during April won’t cause you a significant
loss of membership services. On the other hand, renewals that reach the AML
National Office after the close of data entry at the end of April will result in
missed local newsletters and missed Mensa Bulletins. So if you forgot to renew
on time, do it now! Don’t be a fool any longer.
For those of you who renewed on time, or who previously
bought multi-year or life memberships: Thank-you! It’s good to keep you around
for a while longer. But, having your membership in place for the new membership
year gives you another opportunity: Voting. When the April/May Bulletin
arrives in mid-April, you will find ballots for both the American Mensa and
Mensa International elections. This year, we get to vote on 6 referenda
(proposed amendments to the AML Bylaws), at least 2 members of the American
Mensa Committee (2nd Vice Chairman and RVC3), and all 4 elected members of the
International Board of Directors.
I’m not one to encourage people to blindly mark and return
ballots—I want a high return of votes from informed members. Reading the
campaign materials is a good start, but realize that a candidate who can write a
great campaign statement is not necessarily the person we want elected to an
office. Read what’s posted on our regional website.
Ask people who know the candidates for information. Ask your LocSec and other
local group officers, ask members of the AMC, ask members of the IBD. Don’t
just ask for opinions on the various races and issues, but also ask for ideas as
to whom else you should ask.
Two years ago, Region 3 had the largest turnout of any
region with a contested RVC race, and we should be proud of that fact. Yet only
345 members of this region—about 8% of those eligible—voted. I’d like very much
for this region to be proud of how much we’ve increased our turnout this time.
(Ballots are due in by the end of May.) Don’t be a fool--make the effort, get
informed, and vote. This society belongs to all of us, and this is our
opportunity to shape the society’s future.
There’s one Regional Gathering in this region in April—Dayton
Area Mensa’s “Sixteen Tons” RG promises to allow all of us to dig up a good
time the weekend of April 4-6. Or plan now for
Southeast Michigan Mensa’s
SEMMantics RG, May 2-4, in Troy (suburban Detroit). If you’re reading this in
late March, it may not be too late to
sign up for CultureQuest®, a truly great
trivia quiz, to be held on Sunday afternoon April 27. More information on all
three events is available in the Bulletin, on the
American Mensa website, or you can
, and I’ll help you get the information you need.
Until next month, I’m—
