Heavy words, those, but I understand them.
The next two AGs will be in Las Vegas (2004) and New Orleans (2005). In 2006, we won't have an American Mensa Annual Gathering. Instead, we will be hosting an International Mensa Gathering in Orlando, Florida — home of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and (ahem) Goofy. In fact, the latter gathering won't be held in our usual July time slot, or even within the bylaws-mandated time frame for the Annual Business Meeting (ABM) that must occur at the AG, but in mid-August of that year. On the September AMC agenda, there is a motion to put to referendum a bylaws alteration that would accommodate holding the ABM in Orlando.
All three upcoming AG locations have the potential of becoming media circuses, getting some members and the name of Mensa into the big spotlights. Why else would we be holding these gatherings in such hyped-up cities if not because tourist destinations ensure better access to the media? Sure, we always get some AG media coverage — maybe 30 seconds on a local news program, an article or two in local papers — and usually garner a few more members from it. But in future years will we be getting national press coverage? Might we make the cover of Newsweek or — gasp! — Rolling Stone? And, most important, do we even want such exposure?
Why would any Mensan care what the outside world thinks of AGs? These gatherings are for us — the members of Mensa! In my opinion, the focus of the AG should be on the members that we already have. Bring us together. Let us interact. Let us unwind and be ourselves, among people who truly understand us. The AG is an opportunity to meet others, to take part in stimulating conversations, attend interesting lectures, discover new games to play and challenge our minds. It is also an opportunity for local officers to share ideas in order to enrich our own local groups. Any two Mensans can find a crevice for conversation, but the maze of TV cabling just might be the Labyrinth. Every Labyrinth has a Minotaur; this one would eat our space and trap us in corners.
If external publicity is not our latest primary AG goal, why not choose locations that are not tourist destinations? Plenty of smaller cities have good airport service and hotels that could accommodate us. We have been using overflow hotels for many years, so why not choose a smaller city?
My own local area, the Quad Cities, has many facilities that would create an AG ambiance that is agreeable — and more affordable than the three upcoming locations. There are several hotels and a big convention center (River Center) with a large, multi-level parking garage adjacent to it. There are interesting places to go — should anyone want to get out of the hotel for a few hours — including three casinos, many appealing restaurants, the Putnam Museum and IMAX theatre, concerts at Leclaire Park, walks along the Mississippi River, a boat ride on the Mississippi, a side trip to the Amana Colonies and a host of other attractions. If the Quad Cities can welcome 20,000 runners for the Bix 7K race every year, surely it can accommodate a few thousand Mensans!
And what about other cities around the country? St. Paul was wonderful. Scottsdale was fantastic. Long Beach was lovely. They were away from the hustle and crowd, and we still had fine lodgings and activities. How about Boise, Idaho, or Albany, New York, or Eugene, Oregon? They are all fine places. Any Mensan can think of other possibilities.
So why, oh why, do we have to deal with Las Vegas, New Orleans and — the super circus — Orlando? Is it within the Big Game Plan of those in charge of site selection and AG organizing that we spend less time at the AG itself and more time wandering about Fantasyland? Are there cost benefits that override those cities' more expensive hotel rates? Are AG organizers planning to trim down the programs, promoting more time outside the AG venue? Are they planning to trim Hospitality expenses this way? We don't know — and the imagination boggles.
When I go to an AG, I rarely leave the hotel, except for organized excursions where I'm still in the company of Mensans. I'm too busy attending meetings and lectures, playing games, talking and laughing with the many friends I've gotten to know over the years. I just don't have time for slot machines, expensive French dinners or Tinkerbell. And I don't want to spend energy avoiding cameras or microphones, nor do I want to vacate a room for someone else's PR purposes.
Annual Gatherings — as I have known them in the past — have fulfilled all my fantasies. Don't destroy them in the future with externally imposed ones.