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

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

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 ([email protected]) 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

Winter greetings RAMmers! Boy, it’s cold!  I hope everyone is keeping warm and staying safe as we get hit with some of coldest days that I can remember in the Richmond area.  Or do they just seem colder?

Anyway, I hope you are willing to venture out this month as it’s time for Richmond Area Mensa’s Annual Gathering / Meet and Greet.  We’re still in the midst of finalizing some of the details, but we wanted to try something different this time around.  Instead of having a 3-4 hour event, we’d like to offer our members a bigger window to come out and enjoy each other’s company, including a variety of activities.  So, this month’s RAM AG/M&G will start at 10:00 am and run until 9:00 pm on Saturday, January 27, 2018.

Since it runs all day, this event also includes a lunch potluck and a dinner potluck, so please bring a drink, dish, or dessert to share – that way we can keep the food and drink flowing from morning ‘til night.  The clubhouse has a kitchen with a refrigerator, regular oven, and microwave oven.  If you are attending, please let me know what you are planning to bring, for either lunch or dinner (or both), so we can plan what food and drink RAM provides accordingly.

The agenda above will take a few folks to pull it off, but the more volunteers we have, the better it should be. Also, since the intent is to hold an event that would result in your attendance, the agenda is subject to change based on the kind of responses we get. Is there an activity not listed that you wish would be included then please let me know? For example, if you have a subject you wish to speak on, that would be great - we could fit that into the schedule.  Or, if you want to teach the group how to prepare an awesome dish, that would be great too.  If you'd like to lead an activity or just help, please let me know.

Finally, some of our members have commented that it would be great if these gatherings provided some way for their really young kids to be watched while they enjoyed themselves for a little bit.  If you’re one of those parents then let me know and, if we get enough of a commitment, then we’ll arrange that.  As always, this is a family-friendly event, and members may bring guests; all we ask is that the size of the drink, dish or dessert you bring matches the number in your group.

To keep tabs on the latest agenda, check our Facebook group page regularly or look for email updates as the date gets closer.  Please respond by January 21st.  For those responding on our Facebook page, please change your "Maybe" response to a "Going" or a "Can't Go" by January 21. On Monday, January 22, a "Maybe" will be considered "Can't Go". And if you mark yourself as "Coming" and then have an emergency that prevents you from attending on the 27th, I'll understand that life sometimes doesn't work out as planned.

I hope I see you on the 27th, whether you come for an hour or two or for the whole day.

Thank You,
Santi