Tom Gannon
It occurs to me that it's been more than a year since I've thanked some of the RI
Mensans who've made my task as editor easier, mainly by contributing to the newsletter.
There have been times this year when I've had to scramble for space to include all the
contributionsalways a better problem than having to fill blank space.
Mensa may not have any opinions, but our own Alan Weiss more than makes up for this. Agree
with him or no (and I do more often than not), his essays are consistently literate and
readable. I also enjoy his free monthly newsletter, Balancing Act, which can be accessed
via his web site at summitconsulting.com.
Myrna Lamb, radio host and writer, also has been a regular contributor to
M'Ocean, often on the topic of astrology. Not everyone believes in
astrology-quite the opposite-but I suspect some readers grant it a measure of
credibility, at least enough to read about it occasionally-especially when it concerns
their own sign.
Arlene R. Ten Eyck has been tireless as chair of the Sunshine committee and also as RIM
historian. I'll leave it to Arlene, and her 'angels', to thank the many other RIMs
who help the cause by hosting parties, games nights, outings, etc.
This year, some of our officers, notably LocSec Mona Blais and Membership Chair Carol
Pawlak, have begun mini-columns, which I believe helps open communications between the
executive committee and members. And Margie Zeller, who reproduces much of the newsletter
on our RIM website (plus much more), has added a new dimension to our communications. If
you haven't logged on yet, check it out at rhodeisland.us.mensa.org.
I almost forgot Betsy Burke, our Regional Vice Chair, who represents several of our local
groups (in case you didn't know) on the American Mensa Committee. She's our vote on the
national level and I don't know of too many other ways to communicate with the powers that
be.
Last month, I wrote about how newsletter editors across the country have been complaining
about not receiving sufficient funding from AMC to meet our printing and postage costs (a
system-wide problem, it turned into a local spat this year at RIM). The national finance
committee has proposed increasing local funding by 30¢ per member per year. While some
editors have angrily denounced this as insultingly small, I think it's a step in the right
direction and hope Betsy agrees, too, when the national budget is voted on shortly. If you
have an opinion, please e-mail her.