The largest yearly confab of Mensans anywhere, the American Mensa Annual Gathering started as a small, two-day meet-and-greet at the New York Belmont in 1963. The event now spans five days and features a sprawl of talks, games, and entertainment unlike any other.

An AG isn’t a spectator sport — it’s an opportunity to learn, to grow, to play, to socialize. Sparks of Genius will feature presentations, including interactive ones; the Spark! program for kids; tours for families and for adults, some active and some less so; games; tournaments; and more. Join us at the Nugget Casino Resort — a short drive from the Reno-Tahoe International Airport — and enjoy a Mensa experience you won’t want to miss!

Learn more about the American Mensa Annual Gathering

Thinking of joining Mensa? Already tested via some other program or assessment?

Submit your past test scores, and Mensa will evaluate them for free this September. US Mensa accepts scores from nearly 200 different standardized intelligence tests, so why not find out if you’re Mensa material today?

Find out more here: https://www.us.mensa.org/join/testscores/

Our Meeting of the Minds series continues, and this is going to be a big one...

• Date:  Monday, September 13
• Time:  8 PM
• Link:  check your email or the Facebook group
• Topic:  The craft of making miniatures
• Presenter:  Deb G

Deb G is from a family of crafters, and was inspired to make miniatures by her Aunt Diane. She will share some of the things she has made for her first craft show this November, along with a little demonstration of how to make miniature items out of everyday things from home. Mark your calendars!

This article accompanied a talk by Andrew Grant White, delivered April 12, 2021 as part of Richmond Area Mensa's "Meeting of the Minds" series.

An exert of the full article is published below, followed by a link to the full text.

The full talk can be found on Andrew Grant White's website.

Join us at 8pm on Monday, April 12th, 2021 for the latest in our series of short talks.

Members can check their email or the RAM Facebook group for the Google Meet link to join.

Your Renaissance

Life is what you make it. For 70+ years, we have increasingly lost the American Dream. However, we can still change our choices to reclaim it. Just 3 things (plus an honorary 4th) predict almost all productivity growth variation. Productivity flows from behavior. From productivity flows wealth and opportunity. From wealth and opportunity flows a real chance at Happiness – personally and nationally. We’re doing our Dark Age to ourselves. Choose time-tested behaviors to recharge your productivity to unleash much greater opportunity in your life. Create Your Renaissance.

About the speaker

Andrew Grant White has been an institutional and hedge fund investor for 25 years. During the late 1990s/early 2000s, he materially assisted in the turnaround of net new money flows at UBS in London as a global analyst (and at Citigroup prior). Following his return to the United States, he drove 25,000 miles through 48 contiguous states over 2 years to reconnect with America and write a book. Andrew has since operated hedge fund accounts at Timeous, Southridge, and Awaken Capital. Andrew is an Eagle Scout and holds a Bachelor in Finance, Master of Economics and the CFA designation. He also writes/speaks on economics, markets, and politics.

Ordinarily, we run in-person testing sessions so that interested candidates in the local area can see whether they qualify for membership. The pandemic has made that challenging, of course. But there is another way to test.

Since October 2020, there is a new way to qualify for Mensa membership.
In addition to Local Group testing and Prior Evidence submission, candidates can
schedule a private test session at one of the more than 600 nationwide testing facilities
available through a new partner, Prometric.

Cost: $99

Adding private testing is especially beneficial for groups like ours who have trouble
holding regular test sessions during the pandemic.

How will candidates schedule private testing with Prometric?

• Candidates will still sign up and pay for test sessions (both Local Group and private sessions) by visiting us.mensa.org/testing.
• From there, candidates will be invited to search for Local Group test sessions or schedule a date and time to take the admission test at a testing facility near them.
• Candidates who opt for private testing will sit for our standard test battery after scheduling a date, time, and location at a nearby Prometric testing center.
• Private test sessions will be processed by our staff within 72 hours of completion. Notices of results will be emailed directly to candidates (similar to how Local Group test results are announced).

Two Locations in Richmond area:

1. Prometric Testing Center
   Address: 11547 Nuckols Rd suite B, Glen Allen, VA 23059
   Phone: (804) 346-8777
2. Global Institute of Technology Services
   Address: 1311 Highpoint Ave, Richmond, VA 23230
   Phone: (804) 562-4798

You can find out more about our standard testing process on the join us page, and as ever, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch.

Greetings everyone! I hope you're all staying SAFE and SANE during these turbulent and tumultuous times. I know it's been really tough for some, but I hope that you have also experienced some positive change this year.

And speaking of positive change, it's time to elect a new Executive Committee (ExComm) for Richmond Area Mensa (RAM). And the positive part of this change applies to the President and Vice President positions, where you'll be getting an upgrade, as I am in the middle of moving state and Allan S did not wish to continue as Vice President.

Allan also volunteered as Social Media Coordinator and Proof Reader, so I'd like to thank him, along with all the other volunteers who are still staying on, for their service over the past years. I hope you, too, appreciate all they've done and continue to do for RAM.

We are a little behind schedule, but the ExComm has appointed a Nominating Committee (NomComm). This year, the ExComm appointed Catherine S, Aravind T and Brendan D as the members of the NomComm, with Aravind serving as the Chair.

A list of individuals willing to serve in each position has been determined by the NomComm, but additional nominations may be made by any member, in writing, by a petition signed by three RAM members and delivered to the Chair of the Nominating Committee. These petitions must be received by 11:59 pm on September 15, 2020 and may be mailed, or scanned and emailed. Members may nominate themselves, or may nominate other members (as long as they confirm that the other members are willing and able to serve in the office for which they are being nominated).

The following have been nominated by the NomComm (see the newsletter for the full names):

• President: Victoria M
  
• Vice President: Andrew W
  
• Treasurer: John C
  
• Member-at-Large: Deb G
  
• Member-at-Large: Fred D
  

Any petitions for additional nominations should be sent to the chair. RAM members can check the newsletter (see your email) for Aravind's mailing and email addresses.

Thank you for your time and consideration, Santi

There's a great article in the latest edition of Richmond Magazine, on how members of the Richmond Area Mensa chapter forge connections through games and fellowship. It looks at how our social gatherings have changed, under the current pandemic, and other ways that Mensa looks to bring people together.

Our thanks to journalist and writer Eileen Abbott.

Why not join our monthly games meet-ups? They continue in a virtual form, until it's safe to return to in-person meetings. Watch your emails for how to join us, or get in touch if you have any questions.