Actions to Take & a Lesson on Calumny

Many people have asked what they should do to right the wrongs they see at the National Office. It is a fact, and one I still support, that the Executive Director has the authority to hire and fire staff as she sees fit, without consulting the AMC.

There is NOTHING members or the AMC can do to reverse her decision regarding Howard Prince.  Chanting “Bring back Howard” is useless and makes us all look like whiney petulant children.

The actions that will turn Mensa back into the organization the members want are fairly simple. Pressure on the elected officers should be applied, respectfully, so they act in a manner pleasing to the members they serve.

The AMC, and the ExComm in particular, need to be inundated with concrete actionable reasons to dismiss Pam as the Executive Director of American Mensa. 

Only after the AMC has hired a new Executive Director, who will presumably act more in accordance with the ASIE, Bylaws, Constitution, and wishes of the membership, can specific staff changes occur. 

Now, before you go writing to the AMC with all your thoughts why Pam should be removed, consider this:

"Acts inimical to the society" are defined as "deliberate acts that are harmful to, or result in harm to, Mensa." “Acts inimical” to Mensa shall include (though the definition shall not be limited to) the following:
Threatening, intimidating, coercing, calumniating or otherwise interfering with persons involved in the authorized activities of Mensa including volunteers, appointees, or paid staff members;

(there are other acts listed in the ASIE, but this is the pertinent one)

Calumniating, you may recall, is what Barry Levine did to Dave Remine that led to Barry's banishment from Mensa. So what is calumny? Basically a false and malicious statement designed to injure the reputation of someone or something.

So as long as anyone speaking out against Pam Donahue is willing and able to provide evidence for the veracity of his or her statements, it should not be considered an act inimical.

NOTE: The following examples are for illustrative purposes and ABSOLUTELY UNTRUE.

Calumny:

“Pam sacrifices puppies in the office.”

Not Calumny:

“I observed Pam with the remains of a dead puppy on her desk when I visited the office for the Finance Committee meeting on February 30th, 2010. Furthermore, I noted an increase in the budgetary line item for blood removal cleaning solution.”

Calumny:

“Pam’s a poopy head who believes she doesn't have to answer to the membership.”

Not Calumny:

“Pam said that she wants the AMC to butt out of how she runs the office, and here’s the IM conversation I had with her where she said that.”

Calumny:

“Pam spends Mensa’s money to buy booze for herself and her cronies.”

 Not Calumny:

“On April 31st, 2012, I was at dinner with Pam and observed her using her corporate card to pay for a round of drinks for her friends from ASAE.”

Calumny:

"Pam hires and keeps her friends on staff even if they are incompetent at their jobs."

Not Calumny:

"Pam hired Gilda Rosencrantz, who is tagged in FB pictures indicating that she went to college with Pam's daughter. Gilda was put in charge of making graphics for AML's Mental Games event and misspelled the banner image as 'Menial Games'. Gilda received a 5% raise at her review 6 months later."