AG 2002: 5 MONTHS AND COUNTING

by Carol Young

AN OPEN LETTER TO NEW MEMBERS, INACTIVE MEMBERS AND THOSE OF YOU NOT PLANNING TO ATTEND THE ANNUAL GATHERING:

I hope that got your attention. If so, please keep reading. It won’t take long. I want to tell you what having an Annual Gathering hosted by your home group means for you.

The last time an AG was held in the Phoenix area, it was 1983. 1983! 18 years ago! Who know when – or if – we’ll have an AG here again. Maybe never. It’s the main reason I volunteered to be the Chair. I saw the possible final opportunity to throw the biggest, baddest party GPM has ever seen and I wanted to be part of it. I’m now inviting you to be part of it with me. Just don’t miss it.

What exactly is an AG? Think of it as: 4 parts Monthly Forum, 2 part Games Night and 2 parts Salon/Membership Party. Then mix in 1 part Waterworld and place it all in a setting that is breath-taking. A setting where you can go swimming or sit outside in the shade and listen to a nearby waterfall. Where you see either a bunny rabbit or a saguaro almost everywhere you look. Now you have a good idea of what your Committee is working on. There is truly truly something for everyone. AT past AGs, attendees sat in Hospitality and people-watched, gone to more forum-type sessions than they could in a year of membership, played games for 4 days, made life-long friends, did jigsaw puzzles, did all of the above, did none of the above.

I once went to an AG by myself. I wasn’t very involved in Mensa activities at the time and I didn’t really know anyone there. It was scary and I was still shell-shocked from the dissolution of a bad relationship. Didn’t really want to go, but I didn’t want to stay home so I took a deep breath and plunged in. I found my personal safety zone volunteering at the registration table for 2 days and met friends I’ve checked in with at every subsequent AG. You can create your own experiences, ones that will never leave your memory.

Getting down to specifics, we’ve got some activities planned to cover all ranges of interest.. If you want to venture outside the hotel, we’ll offer a tour to the Grand Canyon, one to Sedona, one to Mexico, an early morning horseback ride in the nearby (and still undeveloped) desert area, a tour to Desert Botanical Gardens and Heard Museum, a night tour to Taliesin and an outing to Bank One Ballpark, where we’ll take over a luxury suite and watch our World Champions (and beloved) Diamondbacks whomp the LA Dodgers.

If you don’t want to leave the hotel grounds, you’ll enjoy a wide variety of programs, hear David Gerrold speak, laugh at the musical satire of Guilt by Association, show off your costume depicting your presentation of “royalty”, dress up like it’s Prom Night and dance to a live band. Or you can sit poolside and sun, relax in the Jacuzzi when the sun goes down, go down the waterslide as many times as you want, or float on an inner tube while watching a movie one evening. Interested in the inner workings of American Mensa? The AMC will be here and is open to all. In between, you can socialize with other Mensans while enjoying 3 gourmet meals for only $79 or dine at the resort’s fine restaurants at a 2-for-1 discount.

It will all be here, wrapped up with a bow and presented to you on a silver platter. What are you waiting for? Fill out the application and send in your registration fee like 700 Mensans from AZ and throughout the US (and some foreign countries) have done. Then be prepared to have the time of your life right here in your own backyard.

Carol Young
carolrants@home.com
602-243-0480

Got Games?

We need donations of games, jigsaw puzzles, puzzle books, trivia books, etc., for the games room at the AG. Any and all types and levels are needed.

Used items are all right, as long as they are intact. Please give me a call if you have something to donate. Thanks for your help. Barbara Bradley
623-931-0879.