Great to see some academic success news

Dear editor:

Every week, I see lots of news about local students who are in football, golf, softball and basketball teams. Granted, these students deserve these journalistic accolades, not only for their self-esteem, but also to make their parents proud of them (not that they shouldn't be, already). It's better to see their names on the sports page, rather than Page Two.

However, to my surprise, last week's paper had on Page 7, almost a full half-column, on a young man, by the name of Nick Duvall, upon his admittance to the high-IQ society, MENSA. It is nice to see our local home paper acknowledging heights of intelligence, as well as sportsmanship!

This, as far as I know, is the second member of MENSA in Mountain Home that I know of. I am a member of that society, as well. Not only is it a NATIONAL society, it is an INTERNATIONAL one, with societies in a multitude of countries, around the world. Should Nick decide to travel to any of these countries, there are coordinators who stand ready to welcome him, guide him to any MENSA functions going on, and provide lodging. A nice 'perk.'

We also have within our national membership, organizations called, 'Special Interest Groups,' or 'SIGs.' These range from chess by mail, science fiction, military interests, and dozens of others.

What is the purpose of MENSA? Basically it is to get together with like-minded people, and enjoy discussions of all sorts of subjects. Another one is to get together every so often and test games, to investigate how they would be accepted by the ones playing them.

At any rate, our Southwestern Idaho group meets several times a month in Boise, and I welcome Nick Duvall to our group!

Everett K. Thompson