2008 Annual Gathering of American Mensa

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Program book cover

The 2008 Annual Gathering of American Mensa, "Rocky Mountain High-IQ", was held in Denver, Colorado at the Sheraton (formerly Adam's Mark) hotel downtown from July 2-6. Tony & Kim Jackowski were the chairpersons. Attendance was 1954, though registrations were reported as exceeding 2000.

Unlike with last year's contentious AG-related politics, this gathering attracted little serious controversy related to the gathering itself, which was widely liked by attendees, one of the most common complaints being that there were too many interesting events, often scheduled opposite one another, requiring difficult choices of which to attend. Notable speakers included Randy Cassingham of the Internet publications "This Is True" and the "True Stella Awards", and Bruce Cameron, author of 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter (which was turned into a TV sitcom starring the late John Ritter). The latter speaker was the focus of some minor criticism for the fact that the talk was part of the Saturday banquet requiring a separate reservation and fee, and was not otherwise available to AG attendees. Another subject of minor criticism was the remote location of the hospitality suite from the rest of the events, requiring either crossing a street or navigating labyrinthine corridors, elevators, and escalators with a complex topology; this was explained as necessitated by fitting in the way Mensa wished to run hospitality with hotel rules limiting what could be done in the main areas near the lobby.

Annual Business Meeting

Some non-AG-related Mensa politics took place during the AG, as some contentious proposals to restructure the hearings committee and the function of Mensa's Ombudsmen were debated (and mostly defeated) in the Annual Business Meeting (though some defeated proposals re-emerged, in slightly modified form, as petition proposals on the following year's ballot, and some finally passed), and the expulsion of Barry Levine from American Mensa (in a recent hearing) was affirmed by the American Mensa Committee. (This resulted, controversially, in an attempt on the part of the National Ombudsman to strip him of his fully-paid-for AG badge a day before the end of the gathering. Although he refused to give back his badge, he left the building and hung out and talked with the smokers outside in the street.)

Registration and hotel fees

Registration for the 2008 AG was $70 for Mensans, 80 for non-Mensans by 12/31/2007, $85 for Mensans, $95 for non-Mensans by 5/31/2008, $100 after. The per-day rate was $40. Young Mensans were free up to age 4, $40 for ages 5 to 12, $55 for ages 13 to 20, or $20 per day. There was a 3-meal dining plan for $99. The hotel room rate was $99.

External links

Official reports

(require American Mensa member login)

Meeting reports

(require American Mensa member login)


Preceded by:
2007: Birmingham 		Annual Gathering of American Mensa
2008 		Succeeded by:
2009: Pittsburgh


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