Well, the Granite Gathering is inching ever closer; I hope
that you’ve registered!
I would like to call your attention to two events in
particular that are not only mainstays of our gathering, but also important
factors in our fundraising for scholarships: the Book Sale and the Silent
Auction. We are eager to receive donations for both, and hope you can help
us. You do not need to be attending the Gathering to assist us with
donations to these two vital fundraisers (although we hope you do!).
If you’re like many (most? all?) Mensans, you may be
drowning in books. Donate some of your surplus to our Book Sale! The best
part of donating these books is that you don’t need to take them back when
the Gathering is done; what hasn’t sold by Sunday morning is heavily
discounted for “fill-a-bag” sales, and the ultimate leftovers move on to
another chapter for assistance in their fundraising activities.
Our Silent Auction runs from Friday afternoon through
Saturday evening, and is vital to our fundraising efforts. I’d like to call
on everyone reading this article (all three of you... just kidding) to
donate something new/never used to the auction. Do you have a favorite
restaurant you frequent? Perhaps you can ask the manager to donate a gift
certificate to us (or buy one yourself for donation). Do you quilt, crochet,
do woodwork or another kind of craft as a hobby? Perhaps you can donate
something that you’ve made. Did you receive as a Christmas gift a brand-new
tie that you’ll never wear or a DVD that you’ll never watch? We’re the ones
to donate them to!
To arrange donation of books for our Book Sale or items for
our Silent Auction, please email the RG Chair.
Your generosity is appreciated!
Switching gears for a moment, I would like to give a special
thank you to the following editors from other Mensa chapters in Region 1:
Lynn MacDonald (Boston Mensa), Paula Grey (Rhode Island Mensa), Judy Keating
(Northeastern New York Mensa), Jim Mizera (Southern Connecticut Mensa),
Angela Tremain (Mid-Hudson Mensa) and Jeane Thompson (Vermont Mensa). I
submitted to my fellow Region 1 Editors information about our Granite
Gathering with a request that they consider publishing it in their January
newsletters. Our friends listed above were kind enough to grant us space,
and we are forever grateful! Thank you!
One month to go... See you there!
as of 12/18/2005
In early December, many
members of the RG Committee toured the
Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nashua, site of
Granite Gathering 2006. I daresay our attendees will be pleased with the
hotel! We hashed out a lot of details such as the locations of specific
essential spaces (Games, Movies, Music, etc.), and ideas were sprouting by
the minute! One about which I’m rather excited is the prospect of having a
medieval ball following the Saturday evening banquet. Stay tuned for more
details as they become available.
Adam has some great ideas
up his sleeve for Games this year, and I’m fiddling with the idea of a
special GenX event. I’ve received a lot of wonderful suggestions for
speakers, and I am sure there’ll be something of
interest for everyone!
We’ll be having another RG
planning meeting on Saturday, January 7 at 12:00 noon at the Rainbow Buffet
at 80 Storrs Street in the Capitol Shopping Center in Concord. All are
welcome to join us, to provide input, or simply to eavesdrop!
Our slate of volunteers is
filling out nicely, and I would like to thank those who are already on
board:
Darlene Alleman as
Assistant Chair
Deb Stone as Registrar
Elizabeth Becker as Hospitality Chair
Devin Starlanyl, Gail Meinhold, and Sue Barnes assisting in Hospitality
Adam Smargon as Games Chair
Bill Alleman as Biermeister
Jim Barnes as Icemeister
John Bauman as Beer Tasting Coordinator
Bromley Baril as RG Primer Workshop Leader
Walter Wakefield and John Lewicke as Newbie Shepherds
Bob Oxford as Music Room Co-Chair
Rich Conde as Movie Room Chair
Please forgive me if I’ve
overlooked anyone! I still need to solidify volunteers to run the
Children’s Room, Silent Auction, and Book Sale; find some Speaker
Escorts and more Newbie Shepherds; and get Bob Oxford a Co-Chair for the
Music Room. Plus we can always use extra hands in Hospitality!
If you can volunteer, or have anyone in mind for these specific jobs, please
email the RG Chair.
If we haven’t seen you in
a long time, this would be a great event to attend
to see what’s new with your Mensa chapter. If you’ve never attended a local
event, you can’t go wrong with this being your first! I do hope to see you
in February...
as of 10/16/2005
Here you will find the
registration flyer for Granite Gathering 2006 to be held at the Crowne Plaza
in Nashua, NH on February 17-19, 2006. Be sure to register before
November 15, 2005 to get the best price!
The theme of the Gathering is “Return to
Middle Earth,” and Medieval or Tolkiensian garb is encouraged. Rentals will
be available, with all proceeds to benefit our scholarship fund.
Hello everyone!
Our kick-off planning meeting for
Granite Gathering 2006 was held on October 15th. In attendance were Claire
Natola, Gail Meinhold, Sue and Jim Barnes, and Elizabeth, Mark, and Nicholas
Becker. Because all the volunteers present will be handling Hospitality,
decisions regarding Hospitality took center stage. You can expect to find
many returning favorites next year: the Chocolate Orgy, Shrimp and
Champagne, Make-Your-Own Sundaes, and Irish Coffees, among others.
I would like to thank those volunteers
who have already stepped up to the plate for 2006. Any volunteers from last
year who may not have solidified with me their intent to volunteer again are
urged to do so. Shortly I will publish a current list of our slate of
volunteers, as well as a list of areas where we still need assistance.
Members of the RG Committee
will make a “field trip” to the Crowne Plaza in Nashua in
November to check out the facilities. The date of the visit has
yet to be determined; if you would like to come along, please
email the RG Chair so I can keep you
informed of the date and time. All are welcome!
as of 10/14/2005
Many thanks to those of you
who have committed to serving on the RG Planning Committee in
the following capacities:
Darlene Alleman as Assistant Chair
Deb Stone as Registrar
Elizabeth Becker as Hospitality Chair
Devin Starlanyl, Gail Meinhold, and Sue Barnes assisting in Hospitality
Adam Smargon as Games Chair
Bill Alleman as Biermeister
Jim Barnes as Icemeister
John Bauman as Beer Tasting Coordinator
And Jerry Mathers As "the Beaver"
The October issue of Momentum was the
first issue to contain an RG registration form. Previously, we distributed
some at the Cape Cod Mini-RG and at the AG in New Orleans, but I expect
registrations will pick up now that it's been in Momentum. Deb Stone will
also be providing me shortly with a list of past registrants so we can mail
them forms with reminders to take advantage of the early price break, which
expires in November. And I'll be feeding the registration form to other
local editors for inclusion in their newsletters.
Claire Natola
