"Lifeblood"

The Charlotte/Blueridge Mensa LocSec wrote an interesting column on page 8 in the May issue of IdioM 

I LOVED it, in no small part because I was the one who put the "Local Groups are the lifeblood" line on the list of the self-limiting beliefs in the GTF Report. I only wish I had had his words of explanation at the time, because I think he hit it spot-on.

Self-limiting beliefs may or may not be true, but when accepted as premises without deeper consideration or research, they limit effort to try other approaches... even the warmest of fuzzies can handicap an organization.

Do I think Local Groups are important— of course. They're the vehicle for most of the services members want and need. Would there be no Mensa if there were no Local Groups as we currently know them? Hmmm...maybe. I'm not sure it would be better, however. It would be different, for sure, but would there still be enough provision of stimulating intellectual and social environment for its members?

On the other hand, is there enough now, in ALL Local Groups? Too often I see hesitation by "National" to step in and tamper with the actions—or inactions— of a Local Group.... resulting in harm to the members. We let a Group go for months and months and months without holding a meeting or publishing a newsletter, and then all we do is cut off their funding—how will that increase member services? Actually giving up on a moribund Group takes nearly a year— a year of sub-par service to members! We never tell a graying ExCom that they need to appoint a new editor to bring a fresh and youthful flair to their newsletter. We don't mandate that a Local Group have an updated Web site, even though we all know that younger members depend on the Internet as their main source of connection. We don't give more money to Groups that can and want to do more because we want all Groups to be treated equally. We "save" the Local Group.... at the expense of the members.

John wrote that he came to the conclusion that members are the lifeblood of Mensa.

Members— yes yes yes! Members are the cells that carry the intellectual and social nutrients for us.

Members— not just the governance structure that categorizes them geographically— should be the focus of all of us leaders, at every level.

Thank you, John, for all you do for your Group's members and for making the effort to think beyond your first reaction. We should all do that more often.