The RAM Writing Contest has been extended to November 20, 2019! Gather your words and give us your fiction, your non-fiction, anything you’d like to share in the Richmond Area Mensa Writing Contest.  Send in your best 1,500 words, but be sure to follow these guidelines:

1. All entries are due no later than midnight on November 20, 2019 by electronic submission to mensanewsrva@gmail.com. Use the PDF format if at all possible. If not, an RTF file will do. If you’ve already submitted your work, there is no need to resubmit unless you’ve made any changes.
2. Keep it clean folks! We’re a family-friendly group. No excessive violence, sex, or generally offensive material.
3. Watch your spelling, punctuation, and grammar.  This can hurt or help your entry.
4. Every entry should be double spaced. A Cover Page with the author’s name and contact info should be included. The author’s name must not appear on any page of the entry other than the cover sheet. Once the entry is received, a coded number will be assigned and put on all of the pages. Judges will be given the coded entry without the cover sheet to preserve impartiality.
5. Winners will be announced in the Winter Newsletter. The Grand Prize winning entry will also be published in the Winter Newsletter as space permits.
6. There will be five prizes:  Grand Prize is $50, First Prize is $25, Second and Third Place will each receive $10, and an honorable mention will receive $5.

Good luck!

by Santiago Osorio
Richmond Area President

Greetings Everyone! I can’t believe half of 2019 is already history.  I hope it’s been a great year so far.

I’ll get right to the point – WE NEED VOLUNTEERS! Like everybody else, RAM volunteers have life-changing events that affect the amount of time they’re able to dedicate to “optional” activities, such as volunteering. Several of us have had life-changing events and can’t serve at the level we would like, so we have a few open positions. They are:

• Membership Chair
• Gifted Youth Coordinator
• Dining Out Coordinator

If you are even remotely interested in any of the above positions, or any volunteering position (we also have some volunteers that are getting ready to move on), please contact me and I will happily answer any questions you have.  Even if you are interested in volunteering temporarily, please reach out to me because a time-limited volunteering stint helps us too.

Speaking of volunteers, I’d like to thank Allan Sanders for stepping up and taking on the Social Media Coordinator duties, on top of his duties as Vice President and Proofreader. Also, thanks to our Web Master, Brendan Dodds, for not only reviving and maintaining our RAM website, but also for organizing the RAM Board Game SIG. I hope to see you at the next one (see our Events calendar for details).  And once I start thanking volunteers, I can’t help but express how much I appreciate all of them, so thank you John, Deb, Victoria, Lynnette, Stephanie, Jodie, Catherine, Fred, and Lorne for your contributions.

Finally, I’d like to remind you that any RAM member can arrange an event.  RAM welcomes and encourages this, so please contact Victoria Mikula if you need any help with arranging or advertising an event. And if you anticipate that you or other members will need reimbursement, then please estimate what the upper range is and provide that estimate to Victoria, as any funding by RAM has to be pre-approved by theExComm.

Thanks for your time and consideration,
Santi

Join us for good company and conversation! Hope to see you there!

June 29 at 2 PM
503 Sophia St
Fredericksburg, Virginia

RSVP to Victoria Mikula at recsecretary@richmond.us.mensa.org.

Please join us March 23 at noon for a post-St. Patrick's Day lunch. We can share stories of our St. Patrick's Day and meander to other subjects. We look forward to seeing you!

See menu at website Irishbrigadetavern.com.

Colonial Tavern Home to the Irish Brigade
406 Lafayette Blvd, Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401

RSVP to recsecretary@richmond.us.mensa.org.

Give us your fiction, your non-fiction, anything you’d like to share in the Richmond Area Mensa
Writing Contest!

Send in your best 1,500 words, but make sure to follow these guidelines:

1. All entries are due no later than midnight on June 30, 2019 by electronic submission to mensanewsrva@gmail.com.
   
2. Keep it clean folks! We’re a family-friendly group. No excessive violence, sex, or generally offensive material.
   
3. Watch your spelling, punctuation, and grammar. This can hurt or help your entry.
   
4. Every entry should be double spaced, with the author’s name and contact info on a separate cover page.  The author’s name must not appear on any page of the entry other than the cover sheet.  Once the entry is received, a coded number will be assigned and put on all of the pages.  Judges will be given the coded entry without the cover sheet to preserve impartiality.
   

Winners will be announced in the Fall Newsletter. The Grand Prize winning entry will also be published in the Fall Newsletter.

There will be five prizes: Grand Prize is $50, First Prize is $25, Second and Third Place will each receive $10, and an honorable mention will receive $5.

Good luck!

By Santiago Osorio
Richmond Area President

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope 2019 is the best year for you yet.

RAM kicked off the year by testing prospects on January 10, 2019, and I would like to thank all the members that donated their Testing Vouchers so that the prospects could take the test for free.  I strongly believe that it gives the prospects a very warm welcome.

In case you haven’t used your Testing Voucher, please consider sending it to our Testing Coordinator, Deb.

So, how do you find your test voucher? A few months ago, you should have received an email from American Mensa (noreply@americanmensa.org) with a Subject line of:  Invite a friend to qualify for free (I received the email on September 21, 2018).  The email should have contained "Your Mensa Voucher Program Code", which a friend or family member can use to take the Mensa Admission Test or submit prior evidence for free.  Since I didn't have anyone to give it to, I sent it to Deb.

Again, thank you to all the members that have already donated their unused testing vouchers so that prospects can test for free.  And thank you to those that will.

With much appreciation,
Santi

Coming to the RAM Member Appreciation Day on December 15th? (And why wouldn't you be!) At 2pm, Brendan Dodds will give a short talk about board gaming, and introduce a new special interest group (SIG) for Mensans in the Richmond area.

We're all familiar with the classics like Monopoly and Risk, but in recent years board gaming has been undergoing a major revival. We'll take a look at some games you might not have heard of, and that will truly put your intelligence to the test.

Settle feudal France, a newly discovered land or maybe even Mars. Save the world from a deadly pandemic, quest for the holy grail or collect forbidden texts for your monastery library. Adventures await...

The new SIG will always be welcoming to beginners, and learning new games is part of the fun, so no experience is required.

Interested in joining? There'll be a sign-up sheet at MAD. Can't make the event? Add your name to the post below, to the comments on Facebook or use the contact us page on this website.

Caught the bug? Various games will be at MAD for you to play during the day. More info on MAD here

The holiday season is here, and we are fortunate to live close to a world-class event, the Grand Illumination at Colonial Williamsburg. Tidewater Mensa is inviting Richmond Area Mensa to attend. Outdoor fires are lit, hospitality abounds, cannons are fired, entertainment surrounds you and fireworks top off the evening. Annnd, we are going to be a part of this special day.

Join us at Paul's Deli on Sunday December 2nd at 3 pm for a late lunch and fellowship. We will all gather there as a meeting point and venture forth into the restored area to take in all this celebration has to offer.

Particulars: Dress warmly. Parking is usually tight; carpooling is recommended. There is no charge for this event. RSVP not required, just show up, and leave when you feel you've had enough. Celebrations start at 5 pm, but there is a lot to do before then.

The deli is located at 761 Scotland street.