2026

Jon Gruebele's Mensa Bulletin Articles from 2026

January 2026 – It's Our Turn

Past American Mensa leaders and volunteers have done some rather remarkable things.

Eighty years ago, two guys on a train conceived of Mensa: an organization where intelligence could find community. Our predecessors:

Grew American Mensa membership over fifty-fold from just 50 in 1960. Worldwide, membership exceeds 160,000 and is still growing.
Empowered Local Groups through national office support, Regional Vice Chairs, funding, and leadership development. SIGs deliver so much value that some members say they wouldn’t renew without them.
Launched Annual Gatherings. This year we welcomed 1,736 attendees.
Built a professional staff to support and strengthen our operations.
Led us through the leap from snail mail to the internet, creating our web presence and moving to digital communications.
Evolved the Mensa Bulletin into a publication consistently rated by our members as a top benefit.

This is the legacy we inherit: generations of innovators who turned nothing to something genuinely remarkable.

Yet not all is well in the Mensaverse. We’ve lost over 20% of our members over the past fifteen years. Some members distrust our Board of Directors (AMC) members. Our online communities aren’t always welcoming – undermining member confidence. That’s our reality, and our call to action.

Now, It’s Our Turn.

At the December AMC meeting, the newly reconstituted board confronted these hard truths. We didn’t always agree, but we always listened. We worked together, found common ground, and committed individually and collectively to meaningful change.

Our top priorities included:

Improving Mensa’s culture – in person and online
Developing “personas”: profiles of our key member types. They will help us tailor offerings to improve member value, assist us in reaching potential new members, and guide our digital marketing presence.
Updating our strategy to reflect the post-pandemic world and plan for our future

We also need progress in other areas, notably gifted youth. These members are our future.

To succeed, we need your voice, your ideas, and your energy. It’s your organization. Volunteer. Speak up. Encourage a friend. Attend a Gathering. Contribute to a SIG. Together, we can go beyond what our predecessors built for us. We can reinvigorate our community, redefining what Mensa means – for this generation and the next.

It’s Our Turn – and I’m deeply exited to see what we’ll build together.

Comments? Email me at chair@us.mensa.org. Thanks!