RVChat - May 2008
by Lori Norris

Happy May!!  Time to get the summer toys out of the attic.  Bicycles have been tuned-up and we have taken a few rides in between the rainy and windy days of April.  Now is time to get the kayaks down and into the bay.  We have sit-on-top kayaks so we have the thrill of sitting in the cold water as we paddle, but have actually gotten into the water with them as early as Mother’s Day weekend at the Cape Cod RG.  I don’t think we’ll be kayaking quite that early this year, but by the end of May we’ll get wet. 

If you’re reading this column before May 2 it’s not too late to consider attending at least a portion of the Leadership Development Workshop being held May 2-4 in Warwick, Rhode Island.  Call me if you are interested.  Walk-ins are welcome.  For further detail see the RIM website: http://www.rhodeisland.us.mensa.org.

Last weekend I attended the March AMC meeting, held in San Francisco.  Did you know that you can review the agenda prior to the meeting and the minutes following the meeting?  Go to the Inside AML page of the national website and look under the subheading AMC & Appointees.  I always welcome your comments on the agenda as I would like to know what you think about the topics up for discussion.  At the AMC meeting, the TeenSIG coordinator gave us a short presentation on Mensa membership as seen from the teen point of view.   Since the youth are our future, I do believe that Mensa does need to do as much as possible to capture the interest of gifted children and teens.  Since this was my first trip to San Francisco, I did make some time for sightseeing.  Check out my pictures on the Region 1 website.  Of course, after taking the red-eye home, I paid for that sightseeing time the next day.

As of the end of our membership year, March 31, 2008, AML had a total of 56,006 members.  Don’t forget to renew your membership if it expired last month.  You may want to think about a multi-year membership to reduce cost and eliminate the necessity for renewing annually.

A New Member Benefit:  American Mensa has partnered with the YTB Travel Network.  I have reviewed this website and they seem to have either comparable or slightly better pricing then some of the other travel websites and American Mensa receives a portion of the commissions paid to YTB.  Before planning your next trip, perhaps to the Denver AG, check out this website: www.us.mensa.org/travel.

Lori