By Mark Hutchenreuther
RG overload, good news, resolutions, and RGs. As I write this I am in the midst of an RG haze or daze. I spent Thanksgiving weekend at the San Francisco RG, the following weekend in Washington, DC, at the AMC meeting and RG, and am resting up to attend the Las Vegas RG two weekends hence. This is the second time I have attended three RGs in three states in four weeks, and I can only recommend it for professional gathering attendees.
The big news for the region is the acceptance of a bid by Hawaii Mensa for an International Board of Directors and International General Council meeting in October of 1998. Stay tuned for more information on this.
It is the season for resolutions and I would like to suggest that we all adopt a few as the new year approaches. I will list a few below to get you started. Adopt as many as you can, add to the list, and modify them to better suit your own needs, but do think about our extended family called Mensa:
1. Resolve to attend one Mensa event each month. You may be very busy with other activities, or you may have never attended a local event. Make the time, and take the plunge. You will be surprised by what you have been missing, and it may be just what you need.
2. Resolve to contribute something to your local newsletter. It can be as simple as a letter to the editor, or it can be more substantial such as an essay or article.
3. Resolve to add an event to the local calendar. It need not be an event in your own home, it might be an offer to organize a visit to a local museum or art exhibit, a nature walk, or involve getting together a group for a concert or speech.
4. Resolve to help out in some small way. This might include offering a ride to a local event, offering to help set up for a local event, or offering to help with the monthly mailing.
5. Resolve to be generous to those in need. We have no official fellowship program, yet we have members who are not able to pay their dues. Some are students who are struggling with the costs of education, others are unemployed.
6. Resolve to contribute to MERF. You can make a donation at the national level, or even to your local scholarship fund. And it need not be money; MERF needs items for various auctions throughout the year.
And do not forget to attend one of our upcoming RGs. Las Vegas will be over by the time you read this, but it will be followed quickly by Phoenix and then Los Angeles. If you have not tried an RG, you might resolve to do so. Take the plunge and fill out a registration form for Phoenix before it is too late. I'll meet you there and I know it will be a great one as always.