REGIONAL GATHERING PLANNING

REGIONAL GATHERING PLANNING
by Travis Hardin, LocSec
Originally published in the newsletter of North Alabama Mensa, March 2009

I asked Shirley Sims-Shepard to be the coordinator and point of contact for the RG committee at North Alabama Mensa, the committee that will work with Central Alabama Mensa in planning this August's regional gathering in Birmingham, and in 2010 in planning a gathering in Huntsville. Shirley said yes.

The committee is Shirley Sims, Louise Hardin, Bob Ward, Martha Feld, Larry Bauer, and Jerry Brookshire. If interested, please contact any of them.

The tentative date for the Birmingham RG is August 7-9 at an airport hotel. Joint planning meeting is March 14 following a museum visit.

FULL DAY IN BIRMINGHAM MARCH 14

This is from Leann and Steve Porter, RG planners at Central Alabama Mensa:

Tom is here and we've discussed details about March 14th. If you have questions, don't hesitate to call us at 205/824- 8090.

The link for the Southern Museum of Flight blurb is http://www.southernmuseumofflight.org/Calofevents/index.html and the exhibition we will be attending is the second one listed, "60th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift".

We're planning to meet at the museum at 2:00pm. Laurel ("Marion" by Laurel Coleman Steinhice) will be accompanying us on the tour and talking with us while we are touring. Admission to the museum is $5. Conversations, questions, etc. can continue at our house. Laurel is excited about talking with us and we're excited about the program.

We'll have RG Planning at 6:00pm and Games Night at 7:00pm at our house. I'm attaching a pdf file with a map. We'll furnish a couple of different types of chili and lettuce and tomatoes for salads. If folks would like to bring other items for a salad bar or a dish or snack to share that's great, but certainly not mandatory. As I said earlier we will be very happy for folks to spend the night if they would like to do so.

We have another opportunity for a joint event on April 25th at Rickwood Caverns. I've already got information on that so it won't be so last minute. One of our members, Scott Fort, is a park ranger there and he is setting this up for us. I'm figuring we can talk about this on the 14th.

OTHER NEWS

Scholarship Chair Dwight Maxwell and his volunteers have finished judging scholarship essays--about 24 this year.

The Nominating Committee is expected to have a slate by this time next month. The new officers begin on May 1.

MEMBER NEWS

Martha Feld reports that long-time member Jimmy McWilliams and his wife Sarah are both ill.

CALENDAR EVENTS:
March monthly dinner meeting will be March 15 at 6:30 at Taziki's -- a Greek restaurant at 4855 Whitesburg Drive in Huntsville. It's on the northeast corner of Whitesburg and Airport Rd. in front of Publix supermarket. They have dinners and sandwiches. The sandwitch prices average about $7 and dinners $9. No speaker is scheduled yet.

ARE YOU SMARTER THAN AN ALABAMA FIFTH-GRADER? Thursday, March 12, 2009, 6:30 at Von Braun Playhouse. Adults $15, students grades 1-12 $5. Please attend and cheer for the Mensans who will act as "lifelines" or "cheats." The event is by and for the Alzheimer's Association.

March 14, 2 p.m. Southern Museum of Flight, joint with Birmingham. 6 p.m. RG Planning. 7 p.m. games night, both at the Porters' house at Hoover. (See map)