AMC Minutes Capsule

In the last regular issue of Going Forward, we presented some items of concern in the agenda for the September 2003 AMC meeting. This article is how your AMC acted when it met. The text of the motions is verbatim from the minutes, which may differ from the originally published agenda.

7. Moved Communications Services Committee and Membership Committee that for the purposes of campaigning AML shall release member contact information only to candidates for AML office.

After a great deal of discussion on this motion, it was finally tabled. The discussion centered on whether the motion gave an advantage to AML candidates running simultaneously in international Mensa elections. The situation of candidates for local office was apparently not considered. Several officers in each local group routinely receive local rosters, something unavailable to non-officer members. Which matters more to you? As noted in this space before the meeting, the proposed action would also have the effect of further limiting non-officially mediated contact between members.

8. Moved KUYPER, seconded SEIGLER, that the Community Services Committee be changed from a Standing Advisory Committee to a Standing Action Committee.

This motion passed unanimously without any reported discussion. It allows the Community Services Committee to act on its own on behalf of the AMC. This action is a shift in favor of the continuing effort to realign Mensa as a service club.

10. Moved COONTZ, seconded VASILIAUSKAS to amend ASIE 2003-012 as follows:

[Full outline of handbook development process omitted]

DISCUSSION: COONTZ said that these corrections are to clarify the intent of ASIE 2003-012.

Changes are as follows:

II. Change AMC approval to "AMC Chair approval."
II A. Add "or appointees"

This motion also passed unanimously with no discussion reported beyond the above summary of the changes. It creates yet another arena in which the AMC as a body opts out of an important part of its function. Those who favor the present Chair should recognize that the next Chair may not be to their liking. Placing sweeping control of committee appointments in the hands of the Chair amounts to king- (or queen-) making.

13. Moved WERBA Seconded SOPER that the AMC has determined that special promotions in connection with targeted markets, events, or activities do not constitute a change in the dues rate as defined by the Bylaws and therefore do not need to be placed on two consecutive agendas. Special promotions may be proposed by the Development Officer, Membership Officer or Executive Director to the Executive Committee or AMC for approval depending on time constraints.

DISCUSSION: WERBA said that this gives us the option to start exploring the market and opportunities, and that we just want the option to explore any possible options that might give us other ways to increase revenue, and bring in new members. Donahoo offered an example of offering a special promotion in dues if a person, for example, joined today only, with a coupon. This motion is to clarify that these special promotions would not be the same as a change to the dues.

The order of priorities is worthy of note: " . . . options that might give us other ways to increase revenue, and bring in new members." Which matter is more important to Mensa? Another item of interest is the open-ended nature of the motion. Though the discussion implies that this action would be used to market Mensa to prospective members, there is nothing that bars an ongoing "promotion" to a region, group or other subset of the membership. Even within the averred purpose of this motion, there is room to skew promotions to "desirable" populations as judged by as few as four officers (one proponent and a majority of the Executive Committee). Careful wording of motions is not an unreasonable expectation. Before we leave this topic, consider, please, does Mensa really need dues "sales"?

Items 16 and 17, presented as bylaws "housekeeping" to fix inconsistencies with the bylaws changes approved in 2003, passed unanimously without substantive discussion. Recommendations to amend the bylaws' rules for scheduling the Annual Business Meeting also passed. All were unanimously sent to the 2005 ballot. That said, here is item 15 (emphasis added).

15. Moved Bylaws Committee: The following proposed amendment to the American

Mensa Bylaws is passed to a referendum of the membership at the 2005 regularly scheduled election cycle:

In Article V, section (4), delete the current language in subsection (a) and replace with the following:

In the case of elective officers, a period of two years, beginning on the July 1 following their election and ending on the June 30 two years later. However, if the successor to an elective officer has not been certified before the July 1 following the election, such officer shall remain in office until a successor is certified.

DISCUSSION: BAKKE said that a problem with having AGs in different months is that, under the current bylaws, AMC terms begin and end at the Annual Business Meeting. If ABMs are in different months, then one officer term might be longer (or shorter) than the next. This motion addresses this issue by de-coupling the officer terms from the ABM, in that it makes the officer terms exactly two years long starting on July 1 and ending on June 30. JACKOWSKI asked who would preside at the Annual Business Meeting, and BAKKE responded that would be whoever is Chair at the time. WERDELL said this could be problematic for the Treasurer, who reports on the fiscal state of the organization. It might be difficult for a new treasurer to report on the state of the organization after only a couple weeks or so in office. BECKER asked the Bylaws Committee to study this issue of who is funded to the ABM and could be done by ASIE so that the outgoing treasurer could make the report. WERDELL said it is a distinct advantage to have the terms on AML be the same as MIL.

So here we have a proposed change to the bylaws sent on to the membership with a known flaw! This beggars any additional comment that could be made.

Finally, item 22 in the minutes proposes a change in the AML certificate of incorporation to formally allow mail ballots. New York, where AML is incorporated, requires by law that 100 percent of members participate in order for a vote outside the Annual Business Meeting (ABM) to be valid. A proxy campaign, allowed by law to resolve this issue at the next ABM, is underway. The proxy solicitation on the AML website offers only one option: "Yes." Regardless of the merits, this is a corrosive way to ask the members what they think about an issue, especially one of this importance.