Membership Party Was a Big Hit! |
The GPM membership party held November 3rd was a big success with
over 110 attendees. The 110 attendance figure is truly impressive when you consider
that the Diamondbacks were playing the Yankees in Game #6 of the World Series
at BOB the same night. But perhaps more important than the sheer numbers, is
the fact that the party succeeded in attracting all kinds of attendees to a
GPM function; young people, new members, prospective members, and Mensans not
seen in years.
And everyone seemed to have a good time. I left the party at about 1:00AM
and some diehards were still going strong. The expanded festive indoor/outdoor
seating arrangements made it easy to mingle and socialize. Special thanks to
Laura Oliveira, Carolyn Robinson, Mel Anderson, and John Perez who led the efforts
to make the party a big success as well as to Eileen, Maynard, Carol, Gene,
Mike, Bruce and all the rest who pitched in to help make it all happen.
Great job guys. Let’s do it again next November!
The membership party was not the only recent success for GPM. On Mensa National
Testing Day, held this year on October 20th, 44 people in Phoenix
took the Mensa qualifying exams. This is the largest Mensa test crowd ever in
GPM history, and it probably ranks as one of the larger crowds for American
Mensa as well. Although we thought we had ample room in the hotel amphitheater,
we were pleasantly surprised by the number of walk-ins and practically ran out
of test seats.
This year GPM tried something new at National Testing Day (NTD). To attract
more young people to take the Mensa qualifying test we offered them a special
“Student Discount”. High School and College students were allowed to take the
test for only $10 (GPM subsidized the balance). Well our gambit paid off! Of
the 44 test takers at NTD, 20 of them were students. This NTD success bodes
well for future GPM’s efforts at getting more young people involved in local
Mensa activities. I will have more to say about this topic in future issues
of the MAAM.
And we owe a special thanks to Barbara Bradley who bravely stepped into the
breach to function as Proctor during NTD when Greg Webster, our regular Proctor
was not available. Things went smoothly under Barbara’s turn at the helm. Also
thanks to Howie and Steve who helped Barbara keep a watchful eye on the large
crowd of test takers.
The large turnout was due in large part to the fine PR efforts of Steve Broe who spread the word about Mensa National Testing Day to the local news media. One of the most dramatic (and important) results of his PR efforts was a large article that got published in the local Tribune Newspaper on October 18th (complete with snazzy graphic). It gave a very positive impression about Mensa, GPM, and NTD that appeared days before the test.