CAM Y'all
By
February 2007
Cincinnati Area Mensa, the first weekend in December: now what images does that bring to mind? Hopefully those images are of the fun you have had at the CAM Regional Gatherings (RGs) over lo' these many years. If you have never attended one of the CAM RGs, check the images on our website at cincinnati.us.mensa.org. Take the RG link on the main page and then look for the photos link. Then plan to attend the 2007 RG and make some images of your own.
The CAM RGs are great parties, but they are a lot more than that. The RGs are our annual fundraisers. And what do we do with the money we raise? We give out scholarships. (See cincinnati.us.mensa.org/scholarship.htm) The scholarships are awarded, based on an essay contest, to college students. CAM awards three scholarships each summer. The total amount awarded ranges from $1500 to $3000 based on the profit we make at the RG and any other donations to the scholarship fund.
CAM RGs are lots of fun and they support a good cause, but a good RG involves a lot of work. Ideally, that is a lot of work spread across a lot of people so no one has too work too hard and everyone has time for fun. Unfortunately, the number of people volunteering to help with the RG has been dwindling over the last few years. We have had a few people doing a heroic amount of work and they are getting tired. We can't expect them to continue at that pace.
One of the highlights of the 2006 RG was the Mensa Retirement Village, the brain child of RG Chair Mary Lee Kemper. Building permits were filled out, and construction was done, with assorted paper products, on marked lots on the village. A few of the highlights of the final product were the shag carpeting in the bar, the line for the women's restroom at the stadium, and the big box retail store made out of a real cardboard box.
What do we need for the next RG?
- We need more great ideas like the Mensa Retirement Village. We need great ideas for programs, themes and decorations. We need creative people to make those decorations.
- We need more brains helping to organize, budget, cook, plan, etc.
- We need warm bodies on the muleteer team to help load and unload the truck and set up the rooms on the Thursday before the RG and to pack, load, and unload on Sunday afternoon after the RG.
- We need helpful people to fill the snack bowls, empty the garbage cans, set up for meals, clean up after meals, welcome the speakers, and to notice things that need doing and do them.
- We need many more things that aren't covered here.
I ask that each of you think about what you can do. Think outside the box. We need creativity; we need brains; and we need brawn. So, what can you do to help? Contact me, or .