2011 Annual Gathering of American Mensa
The 2011 Annual Gathering of American Mensa was held in Portland, Oregon at the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower hotel, with the nearby Doubletree and Nines hotels also considered to be official AG hotels. The downtown location and the extensive public transit system of Portland facilitated exploration of the town for members who so desired, more than the locations out in suburban sprawl of some other AGs. The dates were June 30 to July 4, which was Thursday through Monday instead of the more common Wednesday through Sunday due to Monday being the July 4th holiday. Michael Meagher was the chairman. 1650 registrations were reported as of May 6, 2011.
Hospitality was located in a converted parking garage (with carpets and curtains added) at a level beneath all the other activities, and served meal-quality foods at mealtimes (other than those which had a formal meal on the meal plan) with a few light snack foods at other times. There was an extensive selection of local beer and wines.
This AG continued the international exchange program begun the previous year, where some speakers from other countries, and some American speakers, gave presentations both at this gathering and at the 2011 European Mensas Annual Gathering in Paris to facilitate the development of Mensa leadership.
The new AMC, elected in a controversial election in which the initially-announced results were withdrawn and replaced with new results due to a tabulation error, took office during this AG. The election was one of the topics of discussion at the Annual Business Meeting, which had no official proposals on the agenda.
Expelled member Barry Levine could be seen outside the hotel near the smokers (as in many states now, smoking was banned from indoor public areas), wearing a bright orange shirt proclaiming his expulsion and handing out flyers detailing his struggle.
External links
- Official AG 2011 site. Includes city and event info plus online registration.
- AG & Visitors Info. Presented by Oregon Mensa. Includes "Top 10 Things to do in Portland" list.
- Yahoo Group Discussion list for members planning to attend the AG.
- Event list as a subscribeable ICS calendar
- Event Hotel Location. Google Map. Be sure to zoom in and use street view.
- Edited Google Map Highlights the three Downtown Portland event hotels and light rail stops.
- Portland's "Free Rail Zone" Schematic Map. The Doubletree Hotel is inside the Free Rail Zone, across the street from the Lloyd Center Max Stop.
- Portland's "Free Rail Zone" Detailed Map. The Doubletree Hotel is inside the Free Rail Zone, across the street from the Lloyd Center Max Stop.
| Preceded by: 2010: Detroit |
Annual Gathering of American Mensa 2011 |
Succeeded by: 2012: Reno |
