Frequency of RVC Replacements

I'm feverishly working to finish up my background paper regarding RVC replacement solutions. Here's one of the bits of data I dug up:

Out of 88 RVC terms (Region 10 was added in 2000) since 1995, there have been 10 mid-term vacancies. Of those, 5 left office before the first year was over.

Ignoring the term that just started this summer, in the past 15 years, just over 6% of RVC have needed to be replaced within 12 months. Nearly 13% have needed to be replaced at some point during the two-year term.

Holiday Cards vs Facebook

I was raised to write long holiday letters every year, and hand address and sign hundreds of cards. Last year I just didn't get to it. No one noticed. I've noted a steady decline in the numbers I receive, and yet I feel like I'm more up-to-date with friends and family than I used to be. I think the on-going updates and interactions via Facebook, blogs, and other social media have supplanted the old tradition. And for once, in a good way.

I think it's so much nicer to keep up in little bites through out the year instead of reading paragraph after paragraph of bragging about how the kids are doing in school, what vacations we took, home improvements, etc.

Serif or No Serif?

I've been an editor for a long long time, and always heard and believed that serif fonts were more legible. But I believed without researching beyond swallowing whole the conventional wisdom in a few old graphic design texts I learned from.

The quick brown fox

jumped over the lazy dog.

This article changed my mind. Hope you enjoy it!

RVC Replacement Pros & Cons Needed

Any of my readers have a list of the pros and cons of the  previously suggested solutions? If so, please drop me a line.

The RVC Conundrum

The bronchitis is lifting, WeeM is over, and I'm trying to get my motivation back to work on Mensa projects.

In my last report to the AMC from the Governance Blueprint Task Force, I specifically requested  "A statement from the AMC indicating this project is important, and that they are inclined to actually consider structural changes would do much to encourage our efforts." Since then, I have heard nothing, not even from the AMC members of the task force. I sent out an email to the committee, asking some questions and trying to nudge some action on some of the small governance issues we're hoping to tackle. I asked for some specific actions, such as "We need someone to gather up and list the options [for RVC replacement] considered and the basic pros and cons of them." I received one response from one committee member supporting an idea already discussed (regarding advertising for appointed positions), and utter silence from the rest.

To say that I'm frustrated is an understatement.

Ok, so I already knew that Mensa leaders are not in a "change is good" mood. I get that. So I'm not going to pound my head against a wall in hopes of making sweeping changes. But there are a few that can be made now, and one in particular that MUST be made now-- the RVC Replacement problem must be solved.

So, finding myself being the little red hen, yet again, I'm taking it on and preparing a background paper in hopes that a solution we haven't thought of will leap out. The good news is, I am seeing a shimmer of an inexpensive solution not yet proposed. I prefer not to describe my idea here yet, since I have more facts to gather first and may yet discover that I'm way out in left field.

I've been combing through the bylaws pulling relevant set sections regarding AMC  appointments and RVC elections.

I've been interviewing people —current and past RVCs and LocSecs— to create a thorough  description of what an RVC really does or is expected to do (fascinating and eye-opening, by the way— and yes, I'll blog it later).

Today I'll go find the New York law and section that is hanging us up regarding not letting the AMC or LocSecs appoint replacement RVCs with voting rights. I have a good notion of what it says, but I need the actual words. 

So there you have it— I'm working to make progress, in tiny tiny stages.