From the LocSec
By
June 2008
Communication. That's what connects us as Mensans. In a sense, two of the purposes of Mensa are about communications: We promote research into the nature, characteristics and uses of intelligence, and we publish a scholarly journal (The Mensa Research Journal) to communicate the results - unshared research is useless. And we promote stimulating intellectual and social environment for members - communication at its most basic.
Nationally, we have the Mensa Bulletin, the American Mensa website, and various Special Interest Groups, each with their own newsletter or other communication organ. And we have various national events, including next month's Annual Gathering in Denver.
At the local level, we in Cincinnati Area Mensa do our best to facilitate communications among members. We schedule and advertise a variety of activities at which members can (and do) communicate with each other. You're reading this column in our monthly newsletter, the Mencinnatian (thanks to the great work of editor Andy Freede). We have a Yahoo Group, CincyMensa, for members to communicate. And we have a website.
The Yahoo Group and the website are under the aegis of Misty Richmond. You might think that such electronic media would demand a "computer person" to manage them - and, if so, you would be wrong. Misty is not a programmer; she is a nurse by trade. When she took over the website, she had to quickly learn the tools needed to operate it. And what a job she has done! Take a look at the website and see what Misty has assembled for Cincinnati Area Mensa's spot on the internet. As I write this, she is in the process of adding an online directory of our group's membership, a service that will allow our members to look each other up without waiting for a printed directory; the directory will be in a section accessible only to current members, and the information posted is limited to that authorized by each member.
Communication is, of course, two-way. The seven members of Excomm, in whom you have entrusted management of your group, are always interested in what you as members think Cincinnati Area Mensa should be. We hope you will communicate to us your ideas of what we are doing right, what we are doing wrong, and what we could be doing better. Those communications can be in person, by US Mail, by telephone, or by email. The group belongs to all of us, and we want everyone's input.
Are there other channels of communication Cincinnati Area Mensa might choose to use? Absolutely. And, with time, I expect you'll see us add more, both officially and unofficially. Each of our memberships is more valuable the more we communicate with other members; I, for one, want to get a lot of value from my membership, by communicating with many of you.