As I write this column, my term as RVC is officially beginning. Next  week I leave for the Annual Gathering (AG), where I will represent Region  2 at the American Mensa Committee (AMC) meeting. Since this is the  first AMC meeting of the term, most of the agenda deals with appointments.  Several members of Region 2 are up for appointments: Sallie Banko as  the new InterLoc editor, Maria Sawczuk as returning corporate counsel,  Clifton McCann, Esq. as returning intellectual property counsel, Steve  and Lesley Slepner as returning chairs of the Election Committee, and I  as chair of the Publications Recognition Program (PRP) for the third  time. In addition to participating in the AMC meeting, I also will be  attending a few committee meetings, the new AMC member orientation, the  Annual Business Meeting, and several LDW programs.

It's been several months since our Region has held a Regional Gathering  (RG), but the drought is about to end. Delaware Valley Mensa is back  with Liberty Bell XV: "That's Medieval" to be held October 14-16, 2005,  in King of Prussia.  This will be an anachronistic extravanza with their  friends from the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA).  There will be  programs on the arts and styles of pre-17th century Europe as well as  some of their old favorites.  This RG shows signs of being their biggest  one yet. I've already sent in my registration. Have you???

One of my goals for the upcoming year is to hold a Leadership  Development Workshop (LDW) somewhere in Region 2. LDWs are standardized training  sessions with the purpose of developing local group leaders. You don't  have to be a current local officer to attend. This will be a great  opportunity to learn more about the administrative side of Mensa and meet  some of the people currently holding positions in our region. It has  been many years since we have last hosted one, and we are overdue. Over  the next couple of months, I will be sending out surveys to each ExCom,  asking their opinions on topics, potential locations, and whether or not  they wish to participate.

Did you know that Region 2 has its own Yahoo Group? It was started a  year and a half ago, but has yet to see much participation. I'd like that  to change. This is a great place to promote a Regional Gathering, help  plan a LDW, or provide feedback on AMC Agenda topics. If you're afraid  of being overwhelmed by email, don't worry. Yahoo gives you options to  receive postings as individual emails, a daily digest, or no emails at  all. You will find the Yahoo group at  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AML-Region2/, and you can join by sending  an email to AML-Region2-subscribe@yahoogroups.com, or directly from the  website.

I'm looking forward to the next two years, and I hope you are as well.  If you have any questions, comments, or just want to talk about what's  happening in Mensa, you can reach me by email at rvc2@us.mensa.org or  by phone at 717-308-1221.