Terminology

August is a slow month in Washington, the temperature hovers around 90 degrees every day, and the lawyers are all out of town. It has also been a slow month for the AMC, since the Annual Gathering is over and done, and the Certificate of Incorporation has been changed, and these changes have been accepted by the State of New York.

ProxyQuest is complete. The Regional Vice Chairs, in cooperation with the AMC, have issued Certificates of Appreciation to all the local groups for their efforts in making the drive a success. We all should be proud, and I am aware that most of us are. I hope that everyone in the membership is aware of our appreciation for a job well done. The CofI has been officially changed, and we are back to business as usual.

There are several tasks that are of importance to the AMC over the next few months. The first is Food Preparation, the second is overhaul of SIGs Management and the third is planning for the future.

First, in accordance with the requirements of Risk Management, the methods in which we prepare food, and the circumstances under which the food is provided will be coming under control, so that we can minimize the risk of any untoward problem concerning health issues. The first step has been to institute a food preparation course requirement that hospitality volunteers must meet before they can work in hospitality situations. The Mensa course is in place, and has been offered in the past, and will be offered in the future. A few final issues need to be decided, and your help would be greatly appreciated.

Secondly, the AMC and the national Special Interest Group leadership are discussing how the SIGs need to change in order to meet the requirements of Risk Management. In the process, we are discussing such issues as: proper conduct, American Mensa and individual liabilities, services of the national office available to the SIGs, and dues processing. Once again, I am interested in your input.

 The major issue in future planning is the Annual Gathering. We need to have ideas for the future. Are they too expensive? Are they too much work? Are we providing too much or too little in Hospitality? Is the July date still acceptable? What are your thoughts?

I am starting to get feedback on the need for a Leadership Development Workshop for 2005. I am aware that Region 2 has some of the most informed individuals in the American Mensa, and as such, the local groups do not want for information and experience for running their groups. So, then, the awareness exists as to the reason for the low participation, for they are not vacations but serious events for the education purposes. One area that has not been suggested yet, is the possibility of an online LDW. For most officers have access to the web and telephone, so there is that possibility, and it would solve several problems. Please, let me know the full information on your thoughts for this idea, for if we could do this, we could create a model for the rest of the regions. I am still in favor of a LocSec Forum, and look forward to your opinions on this.

The other Regional Gatherings on the schedule are:  Snowball XXXI, “Nautical but Nice” for Central New Jersey for the first weekend in March, the 4th through the 6th. Delaware Valley’s “Mensans in Black”– October 15-17 and Tidewater’s “My Favorite Mensan” – November 12-14. The Winter Solstice Regional Gathering will be taking place in Lancaster PA on December 17-19