From the LocSec
By
June 2009
Mind Games went great! 230 Mensans and guests from 33 states, including 22 from Cincinnati Area Mensa, came to the Drawbridge Inn, and had a great time evaluating new games. This year's winners of the coveted Mensa Select Seal are Cornerstone, Dominion, Marrakech, Stratum, and Tic-Tac-Ku; look for them in games stores, online, and at the Mensa Boutique.
Mind Games was successful on just about every level possible. The attendees had a great time. The judging went as smoothly as we could hope. The hotel was great to us. Cincinnati Area Mensa made a nice "profit" on the event. And the hospitality suite was a great ad for our Regional Gathering.
I use quotation marks around the word "profit" most deliberately. No Mensa event makes a true profit - we make a return on donated labor. Mind Games was no different; I can't say enough to thank those who pitched in to make the event a success. One person in particular deserves special mention; that person is Virginia Plottel. Virginia put in extraordinary efforts as Hospitality Chair (I have no doubt that she worked harder than I did), and produced extraordinary results. As a result, Excomm voted to buy her a membership in the Hell on Wings Chapter of the Hell's Ms SIG - a truly insufficient honor, but the best one we could think of. Thank you to everyone who volunteered at Mind Games, and special thanks go to Virginia.
We have the membership year-end figures in, and our lapse rate is down this year. We lost 68 members, leaving us with 337 members. One year ago, we reported 80 lapses, leaving us with 311 members. Frankly, I expected our lapse rate to be up this year - between the dues increase and the recession, it seemed likely; instead, our lapse rate is down almost 4%. I guess we must be doing something right to get members to spend discretionary dollars on dues in hard times, and I thank each of you for staying around. I hope we can justify your confidence with a well-run local group.
The Annual Gathering is coming! This year, it's close to us - about 290 miles away in Pittsburgh. It's soon - July 1-5. It's co-chaired by a Cincinnati Area Mensan who chaired the highly acclaimed 1998 AG, Mary Lee Kemper, so we know it will be well run. It's a chance to meet Mensans from all over the country, indeed, from all over the world, and hear speakers, attend workshops, play games, tour the area, and/or chat about anything and everything, as you choose. There will be some Mensa business done, too (that you can attend or not, as you choose). I strongly recommend attending; I think you'll be glad you did.
--Rick Magnus
CAM LocSec