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June
2003
Dear Great Lakes & Ohio Valley Mensans,
Mensa
operations are carried out by two very different groups of people—volunteers and
employees. Here’s a summary of how we operate.
At all levels of our society, elected boards consisting of
volunteer members make all policy decisions. At the international level,
that board is the International Board of Directors (IBD), consisting of four
internationally elected officers, and representatives of 24 national Mensas;
American Mensa, the largest national Mensa, has four representatives on the IBD
with about ten votes (votes are based on a formula involving number of members,
and no person may cast more than three votes). American Mensa’s board, the
American Mensa Committee (“AMC”), consists of 21 members—five elected
nationally, two previously elected nationally (the most recent past chairmen),
10 elected regionally (me and nine other RVCs), and four specialty positions
elected by the other 17. Each local group in American Mensa has bylaws that
determine how its board is constituted; while there are minimum standards, there
is an impressive variety in how the various boards are chosen, and even named
(“Executive Committee,” “Steering Committee,” “Board of Governors,” and “Board
of Directors” are examples).
Volunteers appointed by the various boards carry out most
Mensa operations. You’ll see lists of various appointees at the national and
international levels in the semi-annual listing in the Mensa Bulletin;
appointees lead such programs as SIGHT (Service of Information, Guidance, and
Hospitality to Travelers), SIGs (Special Interest Groups), Mensa World Connect,
and Gifted Children. At the local level, volunteers carry out virtually all
Mensa operations, including finances, newsletter production and distribution,
and Regional Gathering (RG) planning and execution, as well as local affiliates
of national and international programs such as SIGHT, SIGs, Mensa World Connect
and Gifted Children (depending on the group, some of these positions are
directly elected by the membership, rather than appointed by the board).
Paid employees carry out some operations at the
international and national levels (I know of no local groups with paid staff).
The international office, located in London, England, has two employees, with
much of their work involving efforts to build Mensa in countries around the
world where national Mensas do not yet exist. American Mensa is one of four
national Mensas with an office and paid staff.
American Mensa’s National Office is located in Arlington,
Texas; other than our Supervisory Psychologist (a part-time employee), all 20
employees work in that office. The 19 other employees report to Executive
Director Pam Donahoo, who reports to AMC; Pam’s job is to see that the policies
set by AMC are carried out. Other than Pam’s Administrative Assistant, the
remaining staff is divided into five departments, each with a departmental
director. (Full
staff list and functions)
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The Marketing Department
handles national public relations, provides public relations support to local
groups, and is our front line in protecting Mensa’s name and logo from
trademark infringements. |
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The Communications Department
is responsible for production and distribution of the Mensa Bulletin,
InterLoc
production, providing website content, and other internal communications. |
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The Accounting & Finance
Department pays our bills, deposits receipts, invests our funds, distributes
money to local groups, and advises our elected treasurer on needed or
desirable policies. |
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The Information Systems
Department provides computer support for all our operations, inputs membership
data, operates our website, and provides support for local group websites.
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The largest department is the
Membership Services Department, which manages membership services, processes
qualifying tests, keeps records of national and local volunteer positions,
organizes local group support functions (such as production and distribution
of membership lists and newsletter mailing labels), ships materials to members
and local groups, and receives and distributes incoming communications (phone
calls, emails without a specific recipient, faxes, and mail). |
If you’re not sure who to whom to address a Mensa-related
question, start with your RVC; I can easily forward your email to the right
person, or advise you whom to contact. If you need to contact the
National
Office, and aren’t sure who to contact, that’s no problem, either;
will
be quickly routed to the right person, or you can use the toll-free voice mail
number, 1-800-66-MENSA. (I don’t recommend phone calls; the person to whom you
need to talk will almost certainly be busy with someone else’s problem and
unavailable at the moment you choose to call—send a fax or email, or use the
free voice mail, and ask for a return call.)
There are no June RGs in or near this region, but it’s not
to soon to think about July! Register now for the Annual Gathering, July 2-6 in
St. Paul, Minnesota, or for Columbus Area Mensa’s great RG that will take place
July 25-27 on the east side of Columbus. I hope to see many of you at both
events.
Yours in Mensa,
Page last updated:
05/11/2005
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