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American Mensa
Mensa International
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R3 Business
If you would like to know more about the political
organization of American Mensa, this is the place
to be!
While the number of regional officers is quite minimal
(see the R3 contacts page), at the national level things
are significantly more complicated. Outlined below
you will find information about the structure and function
of the AMC (our governing body) as well as
our ByLaws
and ASIEs.
Note - many of the links below require access to the restricted
area of the American Mensa website. For assistance with that,
visit this page.
American Mensa Leadership
(A complete
listing of the
current
AMC
members and
their appointees can be
found here.)
American Mensa is governed by a body called the
American
Mensa Committee, or AMC. The 21 voting
members of the
AMC include:
5 officers
who are
elected nationally (the
Chairman, First Vice
Chairman,
Second Vice Chairman,
Treasurer and
Secretary); 10
officers who are elected
regionally
(Regional
Vice
Chairmen, or RVCs, one for
each of
the 10 regions in
American Mensa); 4 appointed
officers
(the Membership
Officer, Communications Officer,
Development
Officer
and the Director of Science and
Education). The
two
most recent past Chairmen also
remain as voting
members of the AMC.
The Executive Committee consists of the 5 nationally
elected members of the AMC, which are the Chairman,
First and Second Vice Chairmen, Secretary and Treasurer.
In addition to the elected officials, there are a number of
appointed positions at the national level. These include
committees chairs on the AMC (held by elected officers),
publication
editors (InterLoc and the Mensa Bulletin), the
Advocate and
Ombudsman, Chairs for various
events
(Culture Quest, the
Annual Gathering, Mind Games),
Program Coordinators (Gifted
Children, SIGHT, Publications
Recognition, Community Activities,
Project Inkslinger,
SIGs)
and several special positions (Salny
Awards, Risk
Management,
Research Review, Hotel Consultant,
etc.).
Mensa also appoints
a Supervisory Psychologist to oversee
our testing practices.
A word about committees - National Committees may be
chaired by AMC members or by appointees. A listing of
all
National Committees
and Chairs can be found here.
In addition to the Chair, a liaison to the AMC is appointed
(unless the Chair is a member of the AMC) as well as a
liaison in the
national office. A listing of all liaisons can be
found here (log-in required).
Again, a complete
listing of the current
AMC members and
their
appointees can be found here.
Job
descriptions for all
officers and appointees can be found here (log-in required).
Completely seperate from the AMC are the American Mensa
employees at our national office, which is located in Texas.
While not members of Mensa, these employees are hired to
provide support to our leadership as well as our membership.
The AMC hires our Executive Director who, in turn, supervises
all staff at the national office. The Executive Director reports
to the Chairman of the AMC. A complete listing of national
office staff, as well as their contact information, can be
found here.
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The AMC at Work
Elections
National elections take place every two years (odd numbered).
Starting in 2009, ballots are being direct mailed to members
(all
current members as of March 31), intended to arrive around
April 15. They can be returned via US Mail with online voting
as an alternative. The ballots will allow members to vote for
national officers as well as ByLaws amendments. Specific
information about the current candidates and amendments
can be found in the Members Only area (log-in required).
A note about international elections - all members of American
Mensa are automatically members of Mensa International,
whose elections are also held in odd-numbered years. Ballots
are distributed in the April/May edition of the Mensa Bulletin
and must be returned by US Mail. Information about the
candidates for office can also be found in the Members Only
area (log-in required).
AMC Meetings
The AMC meets 3 times per year, in March, July and November.
While the March and November meetings rotate around the
country, the July Meeting is always held at the Annual Gathering.
It is at the July meeting that newly elected officers are seated.
A calendar of upcoming meetings and their agenda deadlines
can be found here (log-in required). All committees chairs are
responsible for
submitting reports to the AMC prior to each
meeting.
The most
recent copies of those reports can be
found here,
along with agendae and minutes, when available (log-in required).
Note that this page lists all meetings by date, regularly scheduled
meetings as well as teleconference meetings. All available reports
for each meeting are found there.
Financial statements can be found here (log-in required).
Further information about the functioning of the AMC can be
found in the AMC Handbook (log-in required).
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The Paperwork
(Note - all links in this section are located in
the restricted
area
of the national website and therefore
require member
log-in
to access. Go here if you need help with that.)
There are several documents which are binding on Mensa
as
an organization and Mensans as members. The first of
these
is the Constitution of Mensa International, a copy
of which
can be found here. This document is divided into
13 sections,
as follows: I. the Nature of Mensa (our purposes),
II. the Policy
of Mensa, III. Individual Membership (including
criteria for
membership and conflict resolution), IV. International
Board of
Directors, V. National Mensa Representation on the
International
Board of Directors, VI. Mensa International Limited,
VII. Non-
Voting Positions, VIII. Removal from International Office,
IX. National Mensas, X. Elections, XI. Finance, XII. Miscellaneous
and XIII. Amendments.
American Mensa is governed by the ByLaws of American Mensa
Ltd., a complete copy of which can be found here. The ByLaws
consist of 14 un-named articles, an overview of which is as follows:
I. name and incorporation information, II. location, III. elected
officers and appointed officers, IV. duties of the officers, V. election
process and terms, VI. Nominating and Election Committee practices,
VII. AMC meetings and committees, VIII. Ombudsman, IX. membership
and disciplinary actions (Hearings Committee), X. local groups,
XI. special
interest groups (SIGs), XII. Amendments, XIII. the
Annual Gathering
(AG) and XIV. adoption of the ByLaws.
The final document important in understanding the governance of
American Mensa outlines the Actions Still in Effect, or the ASIEs.
This 135 page document outlines all of the actions taken by the AMC,
limited to those which are currently in effect, a full copy of which can
be found here. The first page is a Table of Contents, outlining the 22
sections and the 23 appendices. This document contains a wealth of
information about virtuallly every aspect of American Mensa.
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American Mensa - Region 3