*Note from the editor Have no fear fellow Quotarians! In case you have been living under a rock, or you’ve simply been out-of-touch with news; we are changing from Districts to Regions. District 20 will now be known as Region 4. Our Regional Director, Yvonne, is helping us leap “4-ward” into this change.
President Martha writes:
News & Views from the Port Huron Conference, 5/16/14 – 5/18/14
Here are the highlights of our great adventure to the last District 20 Conference!
Friday: After checking in to our rooms and at the conference desk, we dropped the suitcases off, put on our kitchen aprons, if we didn’t forget them (that would be Maureen and I), and headed to the rooms where we enjoyed yummy snacks, wine, soups, salads, and more wine. Kath S. and Cathy K. were donned in a flowered apron, and a Q stamped half apron, respectively. Very cute. HOWEVER, the stars of the event were Kim and Rachael, who plumped and primped outstanding versions of HOT babes in outrageously exquisite aprons complete with hats, plumes and strategically placed cupcakes on their full aprons. No scrimping here…Kim won first place and Rachael won second place with loud cheers and hoots. Congrats, ladies!!
Saturday: We enjoyed breakfast at the nearby Country Club and started with meetings, reports, and introductions of several of the members who have positions in their respective clubs.
Some stats that I saw were significant are:
Members attending: Flint, 10; GR, 6; Iosco County, 5; Kalamazoo, 5; Port Huron, 14; Traverse City, 5.
Members in each club are as follows: Flint, 31; Port Huron, 31; GR, 27; Traverse City, 13; Iosco Cty, 48 and Kalamazoo, 12. Collectively, the 6 clubs and 162 members raised $57,000 for the populations we serve along with special projects over the last year. Yahoo! We do make a BIG difference!
An entertaining, yet powerful presentation was given by a Port Huron organization that changes the lives of young people named Save Our Neighborhoods and Streets. As a non-profit outreach program, the director and his staff have successfully supported youth to obtain leadership skills, soft skills and manners, and encouraged them to stay in school. He challenges them to become respectful citizens and educated individuals. Quota has participated in their outreach and supports them when possible.
After lunch, we were divided into ‘food’ groups to discuss topics such as membership development, fundraising ideas, retention, and more.
The results of that session will be available for all of us, shortly, if Lisa Kent can read our notes! There were interesting perspectives from all conference attendees.
Tess Tompos, International Representative, gave us an update on some of the changes that will occur as we begin our mission with Region 4.
I won’t go into all the structural changes, like reducing the QI Board from 8 to 5, reducing other staff positions, but I will applaud that QI will now host all of our websites for FREE; only one delegate needs to go to the conferences and conventions so we can save money at the Club level, grant writing for larger sums of money to work with, and others. If you would like to review the Region 4 Bylaws and Rules of Procedure, I will be happy to share them with you.
Awards
Besides the significant awards given for the best dressed apron, the following awards were given to our Club
The Helen David Service Award for our partnership with Northview Public Schools for the support given by us in the production of the ‘Miracle Worker’.
Significant years of service awards were given to:
Sarah Glover – 15 years
Anna Moore Butzner – 20 years
Kathleen Slagal – 25 years
Gwen Powers – 25 years
Robin Keith – 25 years
Diane Friar – 30 years
Peggy Bishop – 30 years
Maureen Martin – 30 years
Cathleen Kaiser – 30 years
Eleanor Roberts – 50 years
Virginia Ebers – 50 years
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR UNENDING SUPPORT!!
Saturday evening’s entertainment was a young man, named Jason, who wowed the crowd with his hypnotic antics!
It was really funny and I’m so glad I wasn’t up there trying to remember my name, forgetting the number 6, or saddened by my cat. Rachael can tell you more!
District 20 is no longer (water under the bridge so to speak) and we are now Region 4, stronger, smarter, and ready to MOVE (or leap) FORWARD!
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