Here are answers to questions I've heard from members (in person or online) in no particular . This adds to my candidacy materials found on the us.mesna.org Election Portal found here. You'll need to sign in to access that information, but please check it out!
I've been on the AMC for three years now, which is in addition to a previous term many years ago as Membership Officer. Mensa service is pretty important to me and I also have a long history of volunteerism, when it comes to running gatherings (HalloweeM in Chicago, TORG in Denver and AGs in Birmingham in 2007 and Kansas City in 2024) and other leadership roles with local groups. At present, I have a solid institutional knowledge of how the AMC works, why policies were passed (or not passed), the budgeting and financial processes and more. Plus, I have a background in corporate auditing and consulting across companies like Northern Trust, Chase Bank and others. The Treasurer role is sometimes difficult to fill and, if I can use my background, experience, knowledge and dedication to help Mensa in a financial role, I'm happy to take it on!
There's no requirement in Mensa that says any one position MUST be filled with a candidate with particular experience. Of course, it helps! My personal opinion is that any candidate for Treasurer should have some type of financial background - if that's financial planning, accounting, auditing or various other financially-related skills. Personally, I have experience as a corporate auditor and have worked with large companies such as Northern Trust and Chase Bank.
Mensa has a Chief Financial Officer (and staff) who do a great job of setting a budget, financial strategy and more for our organization on an annual basis. As Treasurer, I'll work with the National Office to monitor and pass the budget, with the help, guidance and insight from a Committee, made up of AMC board members and others. This team adds a member perspective on our organization and how it should be run financially!
Additionally, did you know I used to be a Director for a non-profit, that was structured extremely similarly to Mensa? This is relevant because I bring a unique perspective to AMC roles in that I can understand decisions and their implications not only from a staff perspective but also, of course, from a member perspective. This is a pretty rare combination and I feel it helps me not only make the best decisions for our organization but also interact productively with the National Office staff.
Kind of, but not really. My duties as RVC are ongoing, but I've had three years to get good at them. At this point, my biggest role is training Curt, who has been declared elected since his candidacy wasn't contested. The AG Chair responsibilities take most of my time now, but I also have a really good team of committee chairs, so the work is shared! And keep in mind, anything related to Treasurer won't be decided until the election period ends (May 15th) and, if elected, I wouldn't take office 'til July 1st at the AG. So there's not a lot of overlap here, or conflicts.
I'm happy answering questions! Obviously...by this list. As Treasurer, I'm also happy answering questions, providing insight and sharing more information behind financials or a decision / motion (as long as it doesn't violate confidentiality in something like executive session). But, be prepared, you might receive more information than you want! I mentioned in a recent candidacy statement that good questions are never simple to answer. As one example, members asked about the recent dues increase and why we have no policy to peg dues increases to inflation or require annual increases. This suggestion was actually made by a Treasurer years ago (and maybe multiple Treasurers, I just remember being on the board as Membership Officer when the then-Treasurer made the suggestion). The path was not pursued and, in concern, the membership swung the opposite direction to require two consecutive votes for any dues increase. You can read more about this in our Bylaws, but I hope this starts to provide the history behind a decision and why pursuing a particular path is complicated.
I absolutely respect both of those goals, but it's tough to do more with less. We need to spend appropriate funds to continue innovative marketing AND provide compelling reasons for members to join! I personally feel putting this out there will show increases in membership, but only combined with all of us doing a great job planning events and welcoming those members!
The AMC Treasurer leads the Finance Committee, made up of AMC members and other members like you! This member perspective provides important balance to Mensa's finances through suggestions and recommendations to the paid staff. More specifically, the Finance Committee reviews proposed budgets not only for the organization but also for large events like the Annual Gathering. They identify irregularities, inconsistencies, issues and more that staff may not catch, especially with such a detailed understanding by attending events in person.
I voted yes for the dues increase, and did so for several reasons. First, many Treasurers in the past proposed increasing dues annually or pegging dues increases to something like inflation. I'm a supporter of an easily-understandable method like this, but unfortunately it didn't happen in real life. Given Covid, we hesitated to increase dues for several years and now we're behind the times, in a situation that required a larger increase to bring us back in line.
Second, this dues increase brings us back in line. If we look at inflation, where we need to be in 2025, etc., I feel this dues increase was the right move, right now. Some other AMC members voted no, but some of those votes were hedged with "sure I'd vote for it if the increase was only to $99" or some such. If we did that, we'd be right back where we were, with having to take another increase to meet inflation and/or our expenses.
And third, speaking to expenses, I've reviewed our budget in detail, specifically as it relates to marketing, staffing and other costs. If you haven't noticed, costs have increased! We may not agree with it or we may hate it, there's not much we can do about it. We need to remain relevant in a marketplace that's competing for our consumers' social dollars. And if our consumers have a few dollars to spend on this social club or that event, I sure as heck want to make sure we're doing the best we can to make what we offer (e.g., products, discounts, benefits, gatherings, events) the best it can be!
Finally, I balanced my decision to vote for this dues increase with the knowledge that the cost will be difficult for some members and we may lose some members. You've seen in my bio and other materials that I met my best friends in Mensa. It's sad to think I may not see some of them as much in the future due to this decision. But there's a balance of pros and cons, benefits and risks, to every decision. I like to think, as your Treasurer, I'll do my best to consider all factors and make the best decision for the future of our organization.
I have many personal thoughts on this election and candidates that I'm voting for. I'd be extremely happy to share these thoughts and selections with you, in case it helps you sort through the large amount of information out there! However, I don't think it's in good form to make those thoughts known on a public platform like this. As such, feel welcome to email me (bethanne.demeter@gmail.com) and I'll be happy to share!
Um, not really. AMC members aren't "paid" for their work. The most we receive (outside of a hefty thanks, right?) is reimbursement for expenses. You can find this policy and specific guidelines detailed out on our site, navigating through the LEAD tab and clicking on Officer Handbooks. The first one is the AMC Handbook and Expenses start on page 9. To condense, AMC members can expect to be reimbursed for the least expensive flight, a minimum number of nights (usually 2 for AMC meetings), necessary transportation (e.g., Uber from the airport to the hotel) and up to $65 per day in meals. This increases only slightly for the AG with 3 nights because we're asked to attend meetings on multiple days. Everything beyond this is up to us to cover, including personal expenses, additional travel (sometimes I stay to meet with clients or friends), nicer meals, alcohol and more. And oh yeah, I work weekends so I need to make sure my business and clients are covered before I leave, which sometimes includes giving up income. Travel to RGs is the same way and RVCs have an extra discretionary fund (now $2,000 but soon increasing to $3,000) to travel to RGs and local groups, host LDWs, share funds to start RGs or cover expenses (e.g., as RVC7, I cover some groups' Zoom subscriptions) and more. Considering all these expenses, the funds don't go that far. And, if you see some RVCs "not using" their discretionary spend, they may be a little better off financially and choose to cover these expenses themselves, never requesting reimbursement from American Mensa.
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Copyright © 2024 Beth Anne for Mensa Treasurer 2024 - All Rights Reserved.
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