AMC and MIL elections underway

If you haven't yet, you should receive your ballot for both of these elections soon. Please note that the election for AMC and the two AML bylaws amendments will be voted on the WHITE ballot (or done electronically), while the election for MIL and the three constitutional questions (comprising a total of seven amendments) will be voted on the BLUE ballot (no option for electronic).

http://www.us.mensa.org/lead/amc/elections/voting-instructions/

Please vote for me, Jared Levine, for Secretary. And vote "yes" on both of the AML bylaws amendments. Once I read through the materials for the constitutional questions, I'll give you my opinion/rationale on how to vote on those.

Mind Games 2013

For those who missed out on Mind Games this year, you missed out! As always, it was a good time. Sure, we were in a tent (yes, really), but it worked out just fine, IMO.

What were the five winners?
Forbidden Desert
KerFlip!
Ghooost!
Kulami
Suburbia

What were the duds? Ask me (or any of the other attendees) individually? It's not quite right for me to post which were clearly the worst games submitted. But there were a handful of true "gems" in this category.

Mind Games

How many games will be "on tap" at Mind Games this year? (Only a few currently know the answer to that.) Which five of them will be ranked tops to earn the Mensa Select (r) seal? (Find out on Sunday.) What other games from the full list are good enough to want to buy? (Time will tell.) And the most amusing question: which game is just a big ol' dud? (There's always at least one that is roundly panned by everyone in attendance. It's entertaining to see how quickly that consensus grows and spreads.)

Campaign Statement and Q&A thread

Below is my campaign statement that was sent out in an e-mail blast on April 11. Please use this at least as the initial thread for Q&A, until something else potentially more pertinent to you is the base post.

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My name is Jared Levine, I am running for Secretary, and I would appreciate your vote in the upcoming AMC election.

You can see my writing on my qualifications, history within Mensa, and some Mensa-philosophical items in some local group newsletters, the official campaign material that will be mailed out soon, and on my blog at http://boxmasterscorner.blogspot.com. The focus of this brief missive, however, is on increasing trust within the organization – not only trust of the membership in the AMC, but also AMC being more trusting of the membership than some current impressions (accurate or not) would seem to be.

Frequently, members of past AMCs have done several things to undermine the essential underpinnings of trust with and by the national board, even if that was not their intent. Being overly secretive about actions being considered, providing only minimal information on certain situations that have arisen, taking what appear to be rash and/or ill-considered actions, and pooh-poohing rank-and-file member concerns and/or criticisms sowed the seeds of distrust. All it takes is one or two instances of this and then members are more inclined to “assume the worst” and ascribe motives to AMC members, the AMC as a whole, and the continuing “institution” of the AMC regardless of its constituent membership, even when there will be as much turnover as there will be with this election, regardless of who wins each race. These actions on both sides feed a cycle that is very difficult to escape.

While trust certainly can't be re-established overnight, building it back up is vital, and something for which I will strive with every AMC meeting held, every set of minutes I write and disseminate, every communication I put forth in my role as Secretary. I will push for providing as much information as possible to the membership. At the same time, I ask that those of you who ascribe motives and assume the worst in people's thoughts and actions take a step back and recognize what you are doing. With members on both sides of this “divide” working to better relations between the AMC and the rank-and-file membership (and similarly on the local level in local groups where there is such a divide), we can begin to heal some of Mensa's institutional problems. With increased trust and open minds, we can all help to make American Mensa something we can all be proud of.

Again, go to http://boxmasterscorner.blogspot.com for more of my Mensa-specific writings and background. Send a comment to the blog and let's carry on a conversation. Or, if you want a more private conversation, e-mail me at boxmaster@alumni.williams.edu. And please vote - Jared Levine for Secretary - when you get your ballot in the mail in the near future.

Thank you.

Official Mini-Minutes released

Mini-Minutes
American Mensa Committee
23 March 2013

The budget for the 2013-2014 fiscal year was approved, with an estimated excess of revenue over expenses of $127,287.

An administrative fee of $20 to be added to the 2014 AG registration rates was approved.

The minutes of the March 6, 2013, teleconference and the January 21, 2013, teleconference were approved.

The next meeting of the AMC will be a teleconference to be held before May 31, 2013.

Respectfully submitted,

Heather Poirier
AMC Secretary

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You can compare the above mini-minutes to an unofficial version of mini-minutes I put out on March 25, two days after the meeting:
http://boxmasterscorner.blogspot.com/2013/03/unofficial-mini-minutes.html

Just over One Month to MWM's RG

It's been a fast-paced year. Believe it or not, Matrix V: Superhero Edition is almost upon us. Come join us at the Hyatt Dulles in Herndon, VA from May 17-19. Like us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/superheroedition) and peruse (and subscribe to) our blog at http://superheroedition.wordpress.com. Go to the Register tab to register for the RG (currently $94 for adults for the full weekend, $55 for 17-and-under for the full weekend; partial weekend rates also listed) and to purchase a souvenir t-shirt! Lots of Program information is available and an ever-increasing list of games, too.

Come Marvel at the DC RG!

Tell the AMC to vote NO...

At the March AMC meeting, among other last-minute items put forward by the Nominating Committee was the following bylaws amendment proposal (emphasis added mine):

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1a.  Moved BECKER , MARK AND REIGER:  The following is passed to a referendum of the membership on the next regular ballot after the 2013 election:

Article VI, section 3 of the bylaws of American Mensa are amended as follows:  In the first sentence, "No later than the October 1st preceding each election" is changed to "No later than one month before the deadline for submitting candidate petitions";  also in the first sentence, "the nominees(s) for the position of Chairman" is changed to "all nominees for Executive Committee positions"; and in the second sentence, ", and the list shall be published" is added at the end of the sentence; and the third sentence is deleted.  The resulting section will then read:

(3) No later than one month before the deadline for submitting candidate petitions, the Nominating Committee shall nominate one or more candidates for each of the elective offices of American Mensa Ltd., of whom all nominees for Executive Committee positions shall (unless no individuals with the requisite qualifications are willing to run for that office) be members of the American Mensa Committee then in office, or have served at least one year on a prior American Mensa Committee. The Nominating Committee shall submit a list of the nominated candidates to the American Mensa Committee and to the Election Committee, and the list shall be published.

EXPLANATION:  This is the first of two motions to implement a recommendation from the Nominating Committee Process Review Task Force.  It allows the nomination and election process to be shorter than it is currently.  It also extends the requirement of at least one year experience on the AMC to the entire Executive Committee.

FINANCIAL IMPACT:  The cost of putting a bylaws amendment on the ballot and tallying the votes.
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Given how close to the meeting itself this and the other Nominating Committee-originated proposals came out, the AMC only had a brief discussion on the items, but voted to postpone an up/down vote on each of the proposals until their next teleconference, sometime before May 31.

I strongly urge you to contact the AMC (at least your RVC) to ask them to vote AGAINST this proposal.

It goes the wrong direction with respect to requirements for nomination. Currently, the bylaws require that candidates put forward by the NomComm for the position of Chairman must either be serving on the AMC at the time, or must have previously served at least a year. This precludes people who have relevant outside experience from even being considered by the Nominating Committee. This also assumes that the only way to have good knowledge of AML is to have served (or be serving) on the AMC itself. While it certainly gives you *more* insight than you would have otherwise, it isn't necessary to have that, in my opinion.

And, rather than removing this requirement (like MIL did with a similar requirement that used to be in the Constitution), this proposal would expand it, applying to the positions of First Vice Chairman, Second Vice Chairman, Treasurer, and Secretary, too.



Also, it seems like the timeline would be narrowed *too* much. (Some is certainly welcome.) As it currently stands in the bylaws, the candidate petitions are due on Feb. 1. Therefore, the list from the NomComm (per above) would be due on Jan. 1 and published. While there are lots of people who would be able to see any e-mail/online notification, there are plenty of members who would not, and would require seeing it in hard-copy. The amount of time they would then have to collect signatures on petitions (either for themselves or someone else, prompted by seeing one or more names they think should be run against) is unduly short. Sure, in the ideal world, people would have already been gathering signatures before the announcement, but there are times where it is only the knowledge of the nominated candidates that galvanizes some people to take action.