We had a great Holiday Party this year. Huge thanks go out to the Merrifields for opening their home to our merry band of party goers!
The annual St. Louis Area Mensa Scholarship auction is one of our most enjoyable events of the year. Members bring "white elephant" items to donate to the auction, and our esteemed auctioneer, Scott DeWeese, takes it from there. Scott's hilarious item descriptions and audience badgering definitely makes the evening a great time - and nets a lot of money for our scholarship program. This year, we made over $500. Memorable items were a bust of Caesar (at left), a wine flask made out of a cow's hoof, two Tivo boxes, an awesome hammock, home-canned pickles, and Magic House gift certificates...but those were only a few of the over 100 items offered. Mark your calendar for September 2013, pack away your unneeded items, and join us for next year's auction! The front page of the Springer's Creek Winery web page says, "Our winery is the perfect place to relax and have fun with friends, to just escape with a glass or bottle of wine. Meet the regulars and meet new friends!" We managed to do all of that on September 25th, and more! fSpringer's Creek Winery has free wine tastings, and we started there. The Riverland and Golden Girl were two favorites. Then, the ten Mensans took over the back porch and settled in for some great conversation and a lot of laughs. We were briefly joined by an incredibly large skink and a huge swimming bumblebee. We met some of the winery's regulars, and incorporated them into our group. One of the winery's owners, Sam Makler, led the wine tasting and interjected stories from his life and about the winery. Later, he came out with his guitar and gave us a personal concert of a couple of old favorites, plus some songs that he wrote himself. All in all it was a fantastic afternoon! Mensa is known as "The High IQ Society," but what does that really mean for us? Sitting around being smart is great - but what have you done with this gift? Take Ryan Lochte, pictured at right - he was born with the physical ability to become an Olympic gold medalist, but in order to achieve that level of talent, he had to team his physical characteristics with knowledge and perseverance - and at a very intense level. It's the same with intelligence. Richard Feynman was born intelligent, but without the will to learn and apply his interest and talents, he would have been just another guy on the street. St. Louis Area Mensa has many kinds of people. Most are hungry for knowledge, and full of ideas. Some own their own companies, some are artists, some are retired, and some are students. You'll meet a wide range of individuals when you team up with St. Louis Area Mensa. When you reach your gold medal level, we'll all be cheering you on! I took the Mensa entrance tests in 1987, and I still remember it in great detail. It was in the office of Ray Klauber, a psychiatrist who was also a local member. There were five other test takers, but we barely spoke to each other before or after the test, or during the break. It was a fun test to take, and as I left Ray's office, I had a distinct feeling that I had done well. I was apparently right, since it wasn't too long before I received an invitation to join...and the rest is history. If you think that you have what it takes, come to one of our testing sessions. They are scheduled every 1-2 month at the Washington University West Campus Conference Center (the old Clayton Famous-Barr building) at 7425 Forsyth Boulevard, Clayton, MO, usually in the evening. You must be at least 14 years old, The cost is $40, payable in cash or check. For more information and a schedule for upcoming tests, call Bob Smith at (314) 428-4811. Check out the information on the front page regarding our scholarship auction on September 15th. When I first joined Mensa, this was my first event. It's a lot of fun - you can get some great bargains and have a lot of laughs in the process. Some of my more memorable purchases include a helicopter ride, cooking lessons, a box of brooches, gift certificates at pennies on the dollar, a bag of owls, and an original oil painting. The auction is a blast, but it's not all fun and games. The Jack Garrett Memorial Scholarship was founded in 1995 in memory of an active and well-loved local member who took his own life. When a similar incident happened with another member years later, the scholarship was renamed the St. Louis Area Mensa Memorial Scholarship, and eventually The Healthy Minds Scholarship. It is our hope that the recipients of these scholarships - students in the mental health field - will help other people overcome issues that would cause similar situations. So, come out, have fun - and donate to a good cause! St. Louis Area Mensans came together at the July Monthly Gathering for an "Idea Bouce," an event pioneered at Washington University. Long-time and new members alike brainstormed for ideas about the upcoming SLAM year, and discussed methods and implementation. Some of the top ideas included a Comedy Night, "Show and Tell," getting speakers from Wash U on a variety of topics, field trips, learning a foreign language, cooking classes, going to a firing range, hiking, debates, and more. Watch your MSLaneous for upcoming events based on this wonderful Idea Bounce! Thanks to everyone who participated. This is the first day of the St. Louis Area Mensa year, and I've skipped town. Gary and I are heading to the Destin, FL, area to attend a wedding and spend a few days vacationing on the beach. In SLAM news, we have over 100 members from around the country registered for Mind Games...and the attendance cap is 300. Register early!!!! Head over to http://mindgames.us.mensa.org right now and register. There will also be volunteer spots for people who do not want to commit for the whole weekend and/or do not want to play games. These positions do not require registration. Contact Jackie at [email protected] for more info. The 2012 Mind Games is now a memory, and St. Louis Area Mensa is in the spotlight. We are hosting the 2013 Mensa Mind Games April 19-21, 2013. For more information, and to register, go to the national Mensa Mind Games web page. What's going on in Mensa -- and more specifically, St. Louis Area Mensa.
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Welcome to the SLAMblog!Barbara Kryvko, Archives
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