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Quota International District 20 Conference report

May 18, 19, and 20, 2012

Radisson Hotel, downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan

In attendance from the Grand Rapids club were Kim Savoie and Emily Uebbing, delegates, and Maureen Martin, alternate.   There were 44 in total attendance of which 16 were voting delegates.  Grand Rapids sold one Quota Event sign for $25 at the club sales area.  The check from the Flint Club was mailed to our treasurer.

Friday night was registration and the Kalamazoo club hosted us at a spa retreat.  We enjoyed facials, neck wraps, cooling eye pads, foot rub treatments, and lots of enjoyable refreshments and conversation with members from the other clubs around Michigan.

Saturday was a time of ceremony and welcome greetings.  Then we heard from Bill Hop of Hearing Loop Systems of Holland, Michigan.  I followed up with an email to the club representatives, attaching the article from MLive.com on the Loop Systems which Robin Keith had forwarded to our members recently (and you can read by clicking here).

We had reports from the Credentials Committee, approved minutes from last year’s conference, heard the roll call of delegates and then the Nominating Committee presented the slate of district officers: Kathleen Holt from Flint will continue as Governor, Yvonne Babe from Iosco County was elected Lt. Governor, Ann Kraft from Flint will continue as Secretary/Treasurer, Lisa Kent from Traverse City, and Rebecca Roth from Port Huron were elected as directors.

We heard from Shiela Morris, our International representative.  Her presentation was “Go for the Gold”.

Next were the Standing Committee Reports.  The Audit Committee proposed that a mid-year audit of the District’s financial records be done so that any problems or questions might be identified and corrected before the end of the fiscal year.  The Budget was accepted with the words Revenue deleted from the total line, and removal of the line item for expenses for the host club of the district conference because the host club covers any expenses they have for fun night, and the conference itself is supposed to be as close to breakeven as possible, with any gains sent to the District as miscellaneous revenue.   That $700 line item that was listed as expense for the host club for conference was added to the line item for Governor’s travel since $1700 is more representative of the actual expenses; this leaving no change to the total expenses.

Lunch ended with the Past Governors collecting funds for Hand-In- Hand World Service.  The Collection raised $411.00 and the Governors decided to contribute that to the club in Iloilo, Philippines.

The conference adjourned for the day.  As is typical however, there was an important strategy session after the conference closed for the day.  The group reviewed the proposals to be voted on at the International Convention in July that would change the structure of Quota International.  More on that later in this report.

The Installation banquet was held Saturday evening.  District Awards were presented:  the Helen David award went to Traverse City; the Kathryn Homan award went to Kristi Hazard from Port Huron, the Vivian Ingraham award went to Kate Sawhill of Traverse City.  Lisa Kent accepted on her behalf. The Jane Peth award went to Marian Charters from Iosco County, the Betty Hollingsworth award went to Yvonne Babe from Iosco County.  The District Quotarian of the Year was awarded to Barb Rumbel from Flint.  The Entertainment for the evening was Bill Hoffman, Mental Magician who presented Fact, Fiction, and Fakery.  It was a fun time.  An honorarium will be presented in Bill’s name to the Quota International We Share Foundation.

An impromptu auction was held after the Banquet which raised $575.  (The proceeds of which were understood to be used to fund the coffee break at the International Convention in District 20’s name, per the budget approved earlier.)

On Sunday, we heard reviewed the clubs’ longevity: Flint, 68 years, Grand Rapids 67 years, Kalamazoo 67 years, Port Huron 60 years, Iosco county 58 years, and Traverse City 35 years.  Traverse City was awarded the Mileage Award.  Marilyn Doyle received the Intrepid Traveler Award.  The 50/50 raffle raised $175, half for the District and half for the winner whose name I did not note.

We had some final business to conduct.  A proposal was made that the District add $425 to the auction proceeds to donate $1,000 to the Wanda Frey Joiner fund in District 20’s name so that it carries on even after the expected change in Quota International’s structure that will not include districts.  After the second, there was much discussion.  The budget which was approved the day before had $500 revenue listed to fund the International Convention coffee break along with a matching expense for the same.  It was understood that the revenue would come from the auction held at the Installation Banquet.   During the discussion, it was discovered that the $500 listed on the budget as an expense was actually meant to come from the general fund balance which included money that was raised at last year’s district conference for the coffee break.  So that revenue item was removed from the budget and revenue reduced to $7549.00 with the total ending balance being $2,989.  It was voted that the district would send $1,000 to Quota International for the Wanda Frey Joiner fund in the District’s name.

We received an invitation from Traverse City for the District Conference which they are hosting in 2013. (We have a video/link that we will be sharing, for now, pack your bags for the cruise of a lifetime!)

I received details on a Trivia Night fundraiser that was successfully used by the Flint and Kalamazoo clubs.  I will pass this along to the Fin/Fun Committee.

Regarding the Bylaws proposals to be voted on at the International Convention in July, there are 3 proposals to consider.  This information is assuming that no change to the proposals have been suggested at other District Conferences and then forwarded to International, as we are doing after our Conference.

Proposal 1 will create Regions and eliminate the Districts and Areas.  Our District members agreed that we did not feel a likeness or cultural kinship with the other District clubs with which we are currently grouped.  We can, and voted that we will, petition International to allow us to move to Region 2 which is made up solely of clubs from Ohio.  The Ohio District has been asked their feelings on this request and they welcome us to join their Region.  Also, according to the International representative at our Conference, there is no reason to assume that International will not grant this request.

Proposal 2 changes the club establishment requirement to 7 members.  It also establishes a Member-At-Large category to anyone interested.

Proposal 3 restructures the International Board of Directors.  It currently reads that it will be a 5 members Board consisting of a President, President Elect/Treasurer, and 3 Vice Presidents.  District 20 is forwarding advance notice to amend the proposal to read: The elected officers of Quota International shall be President, President Elect, and 3 Vice Presidents.  The Vice Presidents shall be made up of one representative each from North America, The South Pacific, and all other areas of the clubs of Quota International.  One of the Vice Presidents will be appointed by the Quota International President to oversee the financial activities of Quota International.

We believe this amendment will open up the President position to a persona who is not necessarily interested in the treasurer position and skill set.  It will also allow for diverse representation on the Board from the entire world represented by Quota International

Respectfully,

Kim Savoie, President

Quota International of Grand Rapids