November 2024

RVC Column – November, 2024 – Michael Eager, RVC 8

The process of hiring a new Executive Director for American Mensa is continuing on schedule. The first step is to hire a temporary Interim Executive Director while a permanent replacement is found. American Mensa has contracted with a professional placement firm with experience in identifying the best candidates for this kind of position. It’s good that we are taking time to do this. American Mensa is different from the usual non-profit where directors are usually focused on fund raising.

The newly created Technology Committee, which I chair, had its first meeting. We have posted a call for volunteers to join the committee. Additionally, we may bring in Subject Matter Experts as needed. We distributed a survey which we hope will give us a better idea of what local groups need and what technologies (software, hardware, and services) they are using. I’ve also been working to understand what technologies are being used by the National Office. We are hoping to have a visible impact on member experience and local group support. While we are moving forward quickly, it will take time. As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Last month I mentioned the Governance Task Force (GTF) and the Strategic Planning Committee (SPC). Although I mentioned that I hoped to be appointed to the GTF; that will not happen. Mensa has a wide range of governance issues that need to be addressed, but the GTF does not appear to be the best way to consider them. In the past, the majority of these issues have been ignored. We are looking at ways to formulate solutions to these governance problems, but have not created a mechanism as yet.

One of the governance issues is siloing. Access to documents and reports is limited to members of each committee. I can see reports in the Communication or Marketing Committees, but not Membership or Strategic Planning. The AMC members who are not on the Technology Committee cannot see our meeting minutes or any proposals we have drafted. It’s not that they are confidential, or sensitive, the problem is that there is simply no way for us to share this information. Sharing with the general membership is even more difficult: there is currently no place to put this information where it can be accessed by members. Part of this is a technology issue, which the Tech Comm will try to address, but this is a policy decision by the AMC or more accurately, the failure to create a policy.

As I write this, planning is being wrapped up for the San Francisco Regional Gathering on November 22-24. One change from past SF RGs is the creation of a Gifted Youth track which will have a number of young Mensan participants. The small project that I kicked off to offer free testing to non-Mensan parents of Mensa Youth has enjoyed moderate success. I’m looking forward to the Regional Gathering and expect that it will be a great success.

The AMC is planning for the December 7 AMC meeting. This will be a virtual-only meeting. We are hoping that we will be able to improve member access and participation in this meeting. Please keep your eyes open for announcements.

If you are reading this column in November, I hope you enjoy the late fall and the trees changing color. If you read this in a December newsletter, I wish you a happy holiday season.

Drop me a note at rvc8@us.mensa.org with questions or comments. Past RVC columns and more can be found at https://mensa.eagerm.tech.