The next meeting of the American Mensa Committee will be held on July 5, 2018 at the 2018 Annual Gathering in Indianapolis, IN. At this writing, the agenda has not been finalized, but it will be posted shortly at https://www.us.mensa.org/read/board-meeting-reports/ if you would like to peruse them and offer any feedback. I can be reached at RVC10@us.mensa.org.
At a couple of ExComm meetings over the past month I discovered that there was a common misunderstanding among some Local Group officers, and so I expect that some of you might have the same impression. So I’d like to clarify a point:
In the past few months, the national office has been moving forward with its Higher Logic project and launched Mensa Connect (https://connect.us.mensa.org/) Despite any impression the name may have given you, Mensa Connect is NOT A DATING APP. (We have a partnership withMatch.com for that.) Mensa Connect is the new home of the Mensa Community, and has expanded to include many of the mail lists for committees as well. This gives the membership and its leaders and volunteers a new, robust tool for planning and socializing. And this past month, two great new features were introduced:
Mensa Connect now has an app for your mobile devices! If you go to the Apple Store or Google Play Store and search for “MemberCentric”, you’ll be able to download the Higher Logic app. I’ve been using it for the past couple of weeks and am very pleased with it. You can set member contacts and send and receive messages directly to and from individuals or groups, receive announcements, view calendars, and join community forums and SIGs (Special Interest Groups). There are news links that can show you the latest American Mensa updates on Twitter or browse member benefits, and a repository where you can share files with your groups.
And the most recent update has created forums for the Local Groups! Two of the first three Groups to join were Tallahassee Area Mensa and Northwest Florida Mensa (thank you, Robin Preston and Richard Hurt!). And Art Schwartz in Tampa Bay Mensa has taken it the next step, and after setting up the local group for the service, created subgroups for their ExComm and RG (Regional Gathering). So now your local groups have new tools for organizing, planning, and connecting to the membership as well.
So Mensa Connect is so much more than a dating app! (Although who knows who you might meet in the forums…)
_____
On another topic, I had received feedback regarding the Mensa Cares! project that was launched last year in which some individuals told me in no uncertain terms that Mensa shouldn’t become a service organization. So I want to clarify that as well.
American Mensa created the Community Services Committee over 20 years ago in 1997, so this is not a new idea, nor is it intended to change the nature of Mensa. Rather, as stated in the committee charter, “The Committee … is charged with generating positive images of and for Mensa through Community Service.”
While participation is encouraged, it is not required of any member. Since many members have mentioned in surveys that they would like Mensa to be more involved in the community, this is a good program to have available for members who are so inclined.
I have run out of space for now, but I will be writing more about the program in future columns.
Until next month (or until I see you online),
Thomas George Thomas
Email: RVC10@us.mensa.org
Recent Comments