Persistence Pays Off

Lately, I've been pushing the need for a Gifted Children's Coordinator, so that we can provide some events and other support to our youngest members. I recently got contacted by the mother of one of our newest child members (and he being 7 years old). We just talked earlier, and her enthusiasm and prior experience putting on some really neat events for her son at his school very readily came through the phone. So, assuming that the ExComm formalizes the appointment on Sunday and everything proceeds apace with the requisite background check from National (no reason to believe there will be a hiccup in either process), it looks like we're about to finally have a new Gifted Children's Coordinator.

Now for the next big push -- growing our cadre of proctors.

Sunday's ExComm Meeting

We should have a finalized version of the agenda shortly. Currently on the agenda are ratifying the online vote to approve the RG contract and budget, appointing a new SIGHT Coordinator, re-appointing the ombudsman whose term ends March 31, and discussing possible bylaws changes to iron out and put before the membership. If you are an MWM member and would like a copy of the agenda when it is finalized (by Wednesday), please let me know.

Snowball RG

Looking forward to attending Snowball this weekend. I've always had a good time there, largely in the games room, but also enjoying a few programs (like Monster Trivia and the (IMO) very evil Spelling Bee). This year, I'm also looking forward to Harry Ringermacher's talk on Dark Matter and, naturally, the Meet the Candidates session that will take place after the RVC Rap Session.

Hope to see y'all in NJ.

March AMC agenda imminent

Looking forward to seeing what is on the agenda, especially the proposed budget. The agenda is apparently scheduled to come out tomorrow, Feb. 28.

Gifted Youth Program

There are lots of resources related to the Gifted Youth Program within American Mensa. To list some:

--mensaforkids.org website

--MERF scholarship program (not restricted to Mensans)

--BrightKids e-list (open to both Mensans and non-members)

--Newly hired Gifted Youth Specialist to implement model program to be emulated around the country

--Gifted Youth Program Mini-Grants to the local group (to assist in putting on gifted youth-oriented events)

--Gifted Youth Coordinator awards (which recognize individual members for their service to American Mensa's Gifted Youth Program)

--Items featured in the Gifted Youth section of the AML website (and accessible to non-Members, I believe):

--Book list for parents of gifted children

--Facts on being gifted

--Fred: The Magazine (approximately quarterly magazine)

--Gifted children FAQ

--Gifted resources (lots of links to different websites related to children children)

--Is my child bright? (list of commonly observed characteristics)

--Parent/Teacher resources (includes educational activity plans, various lesson plans grades K-12)

--Article on succeeding in school

Here in MWM, we are currently looking for someone (preferably a parent with kids with elementary or secondary school) to be our Gifted Children Coordinator. We're in the process of trying to arrange a get-together with "gifted children families", will have a presentation regarding "Whole Family Activities" at our upcoming Leadership Development Event, and are seeking other ways of getting out the word and stirring up interest.

Are you a Mensan with a gifted child (regardless of whether they are a Mensa member)? Interested in helping to organize and lead events for your kid to be involved with others of his/her intellectual peer group? We've got a couple of people who are great informational resources regarding gifted children, but who aren't able to organize and attend activities any longer.

If you're a member of MWM and have any interest (even if it's only "hey, can you tell me a bit more? it seems too vague to me"), please drop me a note or reply to this blog.

Get the Lead Out - Prepare to Take the Lead

Our Leadership Development Event is coming together. We will be reserving a meeting room so that we can hold the LDE at:
Tyson's-Pimmit Regional Library
7584 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, VA

Date: Saturday, May 21, 2011
Time: 10:30am - 4:30pm (library opens at 10am and closes at 5pm)

Preliminary order of presentations to be given is as follows:

Running Effective Meetings
Dispute Resolution
Getting People Involved
Whole Family Activities Programming

The event is FREE to Mensa members and food and drink will be provided; RSVPs are required, though, for planning purposes. Keep an eye on the newsletter for more information.

Cross-referencing documents

There have been intermittent calls from a couple of LocSecs to index the Local Group Charter with the various documents and ASIEs that are referenced so that when any of those source documents is amended or updated, it can be properly reflected in the charter, and vice versa. This would help prevent changes in one document from getting lost in the cracks in a different document that references it. I thoroughly agree with this proposal. Alas, it has not managed to gain steam.

If elected AMC Secretary, I will take on this task to make for more useful/user-friendly documents.