2007 Annual Gathering of American Mensa/Porters' Letter, June 21

The actual text of the Porters' e-mail of June 21, 2007 is as follows:

It is Wednesday, 20 June, and since Friday, 15 June, we have done the following things:
1.  We (Steve and LeAnne) have each worked 9-1/2 hours every working day at our real-world jobs. An  
AG can be done by volunteers working full time jobs; it cannot be done with the additional time 
demands by staff/AMC interference or stonewalling.
2.  Finalized information for the printed program for delivery to the printer, and conducted the 
various communications and processes that were necessary to complete this.
3.  Finalized games tournament winner counts and ordered trophies for prizes.
4.  Communicated with the company in charge of tours to get details and dates for 
cancellation/go-ahead dates on the tours.
5.  Monitored the AG Message list.
6.  Interfaced with numerous volunteers regarding their questions pertaining to scheduling, hotel 
space, handicapped accommodations, AV availability and accessibility, interfaced with GenX about 
various GenX last-minute matters, clarified some Boutique matters with Joe Zanca, finalized Bazaar 
matters with Donna Jadis, dealt with questions from the AG Volunteer Coordinator, and answered 
numerous e-mails from AG attendees. Today, 20 June, we have participated in five AG-related 
meetings and have hopes that a solution is in sight.
7.  We have spent 45 minutes writing this.
You wrote “Given your long and dedicated service to Mensa, I am leaning over backwards to buy you  
the necessary time, but I also need to stress that we are at critical mass here.” 
Even now, under adverse conditions, we are working very, very hard to maintain the enthusiasm of 
ourselves and over 400 volunteers – and all the while in limbo about your intentions. Our 
dedication to Mensa does go back a long way and has been consistent over the years. When the 
volunteer who was supposed to produce the program for the World Gathering quit at the last minute, 
we answered the committee’s request for help and got the program completed and ready to be printed. 
We spent five weeks producing an issue a week of InterLoc when Mensa’s postal permit was in 
jeopardy because no InterLoc had been produced by AMC’s appointee for about four months, and thus 
saved Mensa’s mailing permit. When AMC failed to get a 1997 AG bid, we encouraged Central Alabama 
Mensa to submit a bid, and the 1997 Birmingham AG was the second most profitable AG in AML’s 
history. 

We did not create this situation, and many volunteers would have simply walked away when it 
developed. We asked for help. We haven’t gotten it. Instead, our efforts have been diluted by Pam 
and yourself, and we have had to spend extra hours undoing the ‘help’ you’re giving us. Standard 
business practice requires that a single voice carry out negotiations.  
Russ, either we are in charge of implementing this AG, or you are. If you are going to take over 
responsibility for this AG, please do it openly. You have two options: fire us or return full 
charge of this AG to us. We must know by noon central time Friday, 22 June. It is not fair to the 
members to let this situation continue.

LeAnne and Steve Porter