Below are the notes that I took during the various committee meetings held last weekend, preceding or following the AMC meeting.
March 2011 AMC: Planning Committee Meeting
This committee meeting focused on coming up with some more mega-issues, several of which were written onto Post-Its during Item A1 of the AMC meeting the subsequent day. All the committee members in the room, staff (Pam and Howard), as well as any observers (I was the only one), were encouraged to mention some of the issues/problems facing AML which should be addressed. The following is a list of those questions, suggestions, and comments that came out during the brief meeting.
- How do we build more leadership? How do we encourage people who have no connection to the AMC but do have relevant skill sets to volunteer for/apply to be on committees? (There was mention of a new Volunteer section on the upcoming redesign of the AML website which will enable creation of a volunteer base locally, regionally, and nationally.)
- There are some volunteers who are not at all suited for the task they are volunteering for. How can their energy be redirected/refocused into something they are more apt for without offending them?
- How can the AMC best communicate with the Local Groups?
- How can the AMC inspire the Local Groups to mentor possible leaders – locally, regionally, and nationally?
- How can the AMC or Local Group ExComms motivate inactive members to come out and do anything with the Local Group?
- The AMC needs to “walk the talk” and set the example that it wants the Local Groups to follow, making sure to proactively address problems rather than let them fester, increase positive communication, etc.
- There were many concerns re: membership numbers and testing talked about. How do we encourage more proctors? How do we get more people actually testing? Are we reaching out to the public in sufficient numbers? Is the economy to blame for our lower testing numbers or are there other factors more at play?
- Many people drop out of AML because we aren't what we say we are. We don't provide intellectual stimulation.
- There is a fine line re: getting peoeple to do something. There are many people who have absolutely no desire to do anything other than be secure in the knowledge that they qualified for membership and maybe even receive their various newsletters. How much time and energy should we really spend on those members to change how they get value out of their membership to more closely match what the more active people see as getting value out of their membership? Agreed that there should be some energy devoted to bringing people out of the shadows who have an inkling of wanting to get involved in some way but, for some reason, don't. Again, though, how much time and energy should be put into that effort as well?
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March 2011 AMC: Site Selection Committee Meeting
Las Vegas is looking to host the December 2011 AMC meeting within the confines of their RG. They have been informed that by putting it as part of the RG, that the Local Group itself will be responsible for all of the financial aspects of the AMC meeting, as the room would be provided as part of the rooms they contract for for their RG. The Site Selection agreed by consensus to Las Vegas hosting the December 2011 AMC meeting.
There will be a blast e-mail sent out to the LocSecs soon about bids being accepted for the March 2012 AMC meeting.
Letters of Intent for the 2015 AG are due May 1. Despite that, there was conversation regarding one consortium bid which is being put together but that hasn't formally submitted the Letter of Intent yet.
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March 2011 AMC: Finance and Audit Committee Meeting
It was noted that there would be an in-depth description at the AMC meeting the next day about the relationship between the membership totals and the total income. It isn't precisely a matter of setting a number for membership and then calculating income based off of that. (Though, given my observation of the explanation during the AMC meeting, it's not so far off from that.) Rather, the membership total figure was said to be “backed into” based off of the total income that is budgeted.
There was a brief conversation of how the budget should be explained at the AMC meeting.
Just as in the Planning Committee meeting, there was a longer-than-expected conversation about the testing process and proctors, whether this is the best system we can have to generate members, or if there is something different that should be done. Several issues about lack of test takers, how to reach them, frequency of proctored tests, etc. were raised.
There was an in-depth discussion regarding Frost Bank's proposal as far as the AMC considering investing up to 15% of our funds in equities, in order to grow our principal, and because equities have risen a lot in the past couple of years. Suggestions were made as to how to adjust the language in the proposal, many questions were asked. While the original intent was to have this policy proposal turned into a motion for the AMC meeting, there was insufficient time to do so, so the unstated motions were going to turn into a discussion item, with a motion to be drafted for the July AMC meeting. It was noted during the discussion that if we do this that we will have to be willing to weather “down” markets, lest we “realize” the losses on paper – do successive AMCs have the stomach for that?
Question was raised about why not invest in corporate debt, many of which are AAA-rated bonds. They have more return than our current bond investments and are less risky than the equities that are being considered.
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March 2011 AMC: Governance Blueprint Task Force Meeting
The personalities, expertise, knowledge, skills, and abilities of the people who will be on this task force are important. They need to know what is going on and what the cultural hurdles in Mensa are. There can also not be anyone with a “dog in the fight” as a member of the committee. Several names of possible candidates for people to appoint to the committee were raised. If Robin didn't know who the person was, she asked for a brief description to get a feel for whether that person might have what she is looking for. There are about a hlaf-dozen or so people who Robin will contact in the near future to discuss this possibility with them and inquire as to their interest in joining the committee. Her ideal number of committee members is approx. 7 or 8.
There had been a question raised as to why more of the membership beyond the confines of the committee can't be involved with this process. Robin noted that they have been previously and that they would be again, but that at the moment the AMC needs to direct what the task force is to look at and consider.
Looking at her proposed timeline for the work of the committee, the timeline regarding getting bylaws on the ballot was pointed out, and how it was unlikely that the committee would accomplish its goal early enough to get it out in time for a Special Election that would need to be held before the entirety of the next election cycle. Given that, the time pressure should be removed somewhat, so that any such amendments could be placed on the 2013 ballot to take effect for the subsequent election cycle.
Robin also envisions having yet another committee formed to explain to and involve the membership in the eventual proposed changes.
There was a question about what was meant by a NomComm “with teeth” and what the appopriate role of the NomComm and the petition process is and should be.
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