Did you know Quota International of Grand Rapids has a Legacy Scholarship available to students at GRCC (Grand Rapids Community College)? You can find out more about it and read the names of our Legacy Members by clicking here.

This scholarship criteria is:

• for students taking 6 or more credit hours
• student must be hard of hearing, deaf or pursuing an education to assist the deaf or hard of hearing
• for a recipient whom will be chosen by the college
• requiring the Student to maintain a 3.0 GPA
• paid directly to the college for cost of the class

Quota will receive notification of the award and name of recipient. If the scholarship is not awarded after two years, the gift will be put on hold until such time it is awarded, whereupon the scholarship gift will be resumed.

February President’s Message

Crash!  I watched in horror as the beautiful plate my grandmother hand painted 100 years ago and my mother lovingly protected and saved for me for most of those years fell to the floor, propelled by my very own hand.  It was the first thing Monday morning and I thought Oh! What bad luck—it’s going to be a horrible week!  Then I calmed myself and realized that I was the one who put the plate too close to the phone and I was the one who decided I had to grab the phone as fast as possible without judging the proximity of the plate.  Then, I stopped to consider the concept of luck.  By definition, it is “a seemingly chance happening of events which affect one”.  Another definition could be “fate”.

Last week I was fortunate enough to be the substitute teacher for the Cool Cats at CA Frost.  At the end of the first day, Julie Swanson, a teacher and long-time friend/colleague looked at the kids and asked me, “Aren’t we lucky?”  My answer was a definite “Yes!”  What might follow that would be, “Aren’t we, as Quotarians, lucky to be able to share and, hopefully, help this group of wonderful young people?” Again, the answer would be “Oh, yes!” 

Is it luck?  We make choices in our lives.  We have chosen to share and make a difference.  We have chosen how to share by joining Quota.  We have chosen with whom we share.  We can thank Emily for making a connection with Cindy, Julie, and the Cool Cats.  Emily chose us and then she chose the Cool Cats.  We, as a group, have dedicated time and energy, but we receive so much in return.  Would you say we are ‘lucky’ choosers?

Of course, the Cool Cats are not the only recipients of our financial support, but they have become a focus of our need to make a difference and then see that difference in them through our activities together.  Not only do we need them, but are lucky enough to be able to learn so much from them.

February is a month when hearts abound to remind us of love.  We all have love to give and are lucky when we find someone to take it.  Fortunately, our ‘luck’ started when we chose to join Quota.

Happy loving February everyone!  You could be lucky enough to be at the Winter Camp on Feb. 11.

Pat

Click this link to see photos from Pat’s trip. She traveled to Gozo, part of Malta in the Mediterranean, from Oct. 24-Nov.8.  Here is what she says about Gozo:

“It is a Maltese island located in the Mediterranean south of Sicily and north of Libya. Several movies (The Gladiator for one) have been filmed there.  The scenery is stark, but beautiful.  I was visiting a friend who bought an anciend Roman ruin and she and her husband renovated it.  It was once a mill where flour was ground.  She lives there alone now and has a circle of friends most of whom are European, but I also met her Gozitan friends who are charming.  One brought over fresh goat cheese that she had made and she gave me two big bags of sea salt that her son had gathered from the family’s salt pan.  Fennel, capers, and arugula grow wild over the island.  It was a very interesting experience.  The people are friendly  and there is much history to be experienced.  I enjoyed it very much and would recommend it as a travel destination!”

This link is from her trip to Japan.

Please read the guide (below) to learn more about a BRANCH opportunity. We will be discussing this at the February meeting.

Branch-Guide

Did you miss the bookfair last Saturday? Here’s a peak at what you missed (hopefully you remembered to shop online). Thanks to Pat for snapping these photos!

Thank you to the Cool Cats (to their teachers and their parents) who came by and did an outstanding job performing and showcasing their talents.

They sang “Stand Up”, they danced and even performed a small part of their play.

We had plenty of activities to keep the shoppers busy. Wendy Docter helped out at the bookmark table.

We had story time with college students. The two ladies are from Baker Community College, the Interpreter Program. Mike Atwood is a student at Gallaudet University. They taught the listeners sign language.

We had a Scavenger Hunt with the Cool Cats…

Quoc Viet was the first to finish! He won a B & N gift card!

Thank you to Paws with a Cause. Several Assistance Dogs were in attendance and were on their best behavior.

Thanks to all who came out to volunteer!

A big thank you to Kim for her wonderful leadership in another successful fundraiser.

In case you missed Kim’s live interview on WGVU, click here to check it out.

Kim did a fantastic job sharing who we are! Share this with your friends and family before tomorrow for more book fair coverage!

January President’s Message

               Today is January 1, 2012.  Following tradition, I have been reviewing the year behind us to recall and reflect before looking forward to new beginnings.  I will dare to opine that 2011 was a very good year for our club.  The DREAM we had has sustained us and will move us into 2012.

We Donated.  Debbie and the Service Committee have been busy helping us disperse funds to answer requests from a variety of hearing impaired people in our community.  Among the help we have given are hearing aids for those in need, ski lessons for Cool Cats, a scholarship for Indian Trails Camp, a scholarship for GRCC, and, of course,  our DHHS Christmas party.

We Resonated.  Our Communications Committee under Maureen’s capable direction relayed our purpose with pre- and post-event news to all.  Thanks to Emily and Maureen for the world class blog we can call our own.  It is a source of great pride.  Oh, and this year’s Quota participation in the Santa Claus Parade made the local news!!

We Educated.  In February, we welcomed International President Gwenn Jackson to Grand Rapids for her Listen to Future Leaders program.  Kath Slagal hosted a marvelous Cool Cats cooking class and Sue Scharf contacted local high schools to speak to classes about prevention of hearing loss and healthy life style.  Pam G. and her program committee have done a wonderful job of obtaining informative speakers for our business meetings.

We Activated.  Pam H. and her Finance/Fundraising committee have paved the way for successful fun events such as the Walk for Hearing, the Shopping Extravaganza, and the Barnes and Noble Book Fair.  The Koeze partnership is alive and strong.  Our raffle event is imminent and, after several brainstorming sessions,  we are closing in on choosing a new fundraiser for the coming year.

We Motivated.  Elaine has worked to head the Membership Committee and we are proud to have welcomed three new members to our group.  Last year’s was a creatively presented Oscar night with Tom Rademacher as our speaker.  Kim and her committee led us to host our district conference in May that exceeded expectations with its well-planned theme, choice of venue, and inspirational programming.  It was amazing and we had a great attendance with several first-time members from our group.  The Junior Quota committee was formed there and is making contacts that look promising.

Each and every one of our members worked hard on each and every project of which we can all be very proud.  Thanks to all for our ‘very good year’.  Now, on to January and our two big events to start 2012!  I hope to see you at Barnes & Noble on Saturday, January 7.  It will be a wonderful way to start the year.  Then, we look forward with great anticipation to the January 19, ‘membership meeting’. I will see you and your guests at Centennial Country Club.  Remember, dreams are free and it is the activating of our dreams that makes us who we are.  Happy New Year!

Pat

5

 the number of competing

sounds it takes to

confuse the female ear.

Heard Mentality

You’re at a party when someone calls your name from across the room. You look around in confusion, trying to pinpoint the source. For help, try asking the guy next to you. A study in the journal Cortex found that women are less adept than men at zeroing in on discrete sounds in noisy environments. Next time you need to hear above the hubbub, tune in to these tips from Bruce Vircks, Au.D., President of the Academy of Doctors of Audiology:

• Stand close to a wall – the center of a room is generally the loudest spot.
• At seated functions, choose a high-back chair to block unwanted sounds from behind.
• In conversation, try positioning yourself next to the speaker so her voice goes directly to your ear. If that’s not possible, move to a well-lit area. Watching a speaker’s lips can provide clues to what she’s saying, even if the racket persists.

taken from BH&G, December 2011, pg. 190

Click to here to read the newsletter from our Central Area Director, Judy Walthers. You may have received the newsletter via email!

Q.I. has been given our new email address quotagr@gmail.com, as suggested by Judy.

She also mentions the changes being proposed. If you missed those, click here. Don’t forget to read President Chris’ message (you can find a link to it on Q.I.’s website).