2007-Our Diary

Washer and dryer given to Moore House

Quota Founder, Wanda Frey Joiner

Hats off to Quota!

QUOTA MS GULF COAST FOUNDER'S DAY CELEBRATION, FEBRUARY 14TH

On Feb. 6th, Quota celebrated its 89th Birthday! To join in the celebration, we had a Birthday party... complete with HATS! Congrats to Cindy, Betty and Paula for their creativity! It was a very special and fun meeting!

BARNES & NOBLE BOOK FAIR - A REAL "FUN"DRAISER!

"JINGLES" (aka Sarah Morrison) was a big hit at the Christmas bookfair. While she read Christmas stories to the children, Vicki painted snowflake faces. We will be receiving a check for over $1,200! Thanks to Barnes & Noble Booksellers!

How blessed we are to be able to help these groups!
At the October Program meeting, we presented 4 Gulf Coast non-profit agencies a total of $2,000.00. Representatives from the Women’s Center for Non-Violence, The Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse, Hope Haven Children’s Home, and the deLepee Deaf Center were guest speakers at the meeting. Shown, left to right: Betty Shaw (Quota Service Chairman), Kay Harris (Special Programs Director, Women’s Center for Non-Violence), Michelle Shows (Director, The Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse), Karen Aderer (Asst. Director, Hope Haven Children’s Home), Greg Crapo (Director, deLepee Deaf Center) and Tamara Morrison (President, Quota MS Gulf Coast).
WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS PARTY!

We gathered at that magical, mystical wonderland - Paula's house, of course! Lots of delicious food provided by the members, a "Dirty Santa" game and a hide-and-seek game with Santa's clothes, made for a fun evening, we won't forget! Here are just a few snapshots...

Our "fund-raiser" at Barnes and Noble on Dec. 15-16th was a complete success!We raised $1,123.68! We are planning another Book Fair in the Spring...stay tuned!

Tamara calls the meeting to order with our "new bell"
Tamara presented the club with a Quota bell that she found and purchased on EBay. It was engraved with “Fergus Falls, 1955”. We hope to find its origin! Thanks for the wonderful gift, Tamara!

Thank you Beau Rivage!
Our 2007 Grand Marshal, George Corchis, is shown here with President Tamara, Parade Chairman, Lois West and "St. Patrick". George was a special guest at the August 9 meeting, to present the club with a $10,000.00 check to start our own QI Gulf Coast Foundation. This money will go a long way in helping disadvantaged women and children on the coast, as well as the speech and hearing impaired! After the meeting, George's lovely wife, Amy, announced that she was joining! How wonderful to have these two people part of our Quota family!
MS GULF COAST QUOTA CLUB JOINS WITH JACKSON QUOTA, TO HOST A SOCIAL AT THE MS REGISTRY OF DEAF INTERPRETOR'S CONFERENCE, OCT. 26

Dinner at Denny's - Great time!

We provided cookies and punch for this very important conference held at St. Martin High School. Jackson baked over 400 cookies!

Everyone enjoyed the cookies
It was a wonderful opportunity to introduce Quota to those folks working directly with the deaf in the state. In fact, we met some folks from Hattiesburg, who are interested in starting a Quota club! On Saturday morning, we held a brunch at Sherry's house for a social time with our sister club in Jackson.
We were honored on Thursday, Sept. 27th, to have as our Guest Speaker, Frances Alsup, Program Director for the Jackson County CASA program. (Court Appointed Special Advocate)

FRANCES ALSUP, CASA DIRECTOR
Frances was a dynamic speaker, and told us how CASA serves 400 children in the Jackson Cty area. She sent her special thanks for the school supplies we sent for their Moss Point Back to School Rally. They helped 1500 children!

Karen Waugh
Our guest speaker for June was Karen Waugh, Membership Director for "efitness and Wellness Center". She explained the benefits of excercise to relieve stress, and told us about the center, scheduled to open in September.

Welcome Kerry Stoddard!

Welcome Mike Reader!
Welcome to our two newest members! With his joining, Mike Reader is our first "male member"! Let's hope that this starts a trend! Kerry has already "hit the ground running"! We're very lucky to have them both!
Jennifer reports that Sandy Denham and Ditte Holland are rejoining. Welcome back Sandy and Ditte!
Congratulations to Darlene and Vicki! They were recently welcomed as new Board of Directors for the DeLepee Deaf Center. Congratulations also to Peggy Bosma! As of July 1, she will assume the position of Associate Director of the DeLepee Deaf Center.

Circus Camp Day Was Unforgettable!
DEAF CHILDREN TREATED TO A SPECIAL CIRCUS CAMP, THANKS TO QUOTA!
Photos can be viewed by clicking on the icon on our home page
THE DAY THE CIRCUS SHATTERED THE SILENCE

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was scheduled to run at the MS Coast Coliseum the last weekend in June.After coordinating dates and transportation issues, it was agreed that Quota Club would arrange for up to 35 deaf children to be special guests at a “behind the scenes” Circus Camp just for the hearing impaired!
Once inside, their eyes were immediately transfixed at the 40 foot red velvet curtains, flanked with golden statues of horses and mythical creatures.
But their curiosity was interrupted, when out of nowhere, appeared a tall, colorfully dressed clown with a red derby that seemed just a little too small for his head. The children giggled, as he drew closer, seemingly shy to meet them. He never spoke a word. He didn’t use ASL. He didn’t have to. He drew his audience in with his expressive face and hilarious antics. It was a universal language, that transcended the boundaries of hearing. The chaperones found it difficult to choose from watching the clown, or watching the absolute joy on the children’s faces.
As the clown withdrew, he bowed to another surprise visitor… the ringmistress of the Circus! Decked in sequined covered tails, she explained many aspects of the circus, as Quotarian and Professional Interpretor, Peggy Bosma signed. After answering the seemingly endless questions, she drew the children’s attention to the ring.
Standing in the center ring, was a lovely pony-tailed blonde young woman introduced as the master juggler of the circus. The children were invited to move closer and sit on the ring’s skirt, as the young woman and her son juggled pens, rings, balls…and made it all look like second nature.
Everyone gathered for a group photo, and was ready for their morning to end, when to their surprise, the ringmistress invited all of them backstage to view the performing elephant and horses – a privilege reserved for the very few!
After their special tour ended, the children were treated to lunch served by Doris Mahalek, Lois West and Mike Reader. As they munched on their apples and sandwiches, the special guests enjoyed watching the horses run through a rehearsal for the night’s performance. At the end of the tour, all children were given a guest pass to attend the performance of their choice.
It was an unforgettable morning!

Quota MS Gulf Coast & "Quotation Mark" Tom
VICKI MILLER RE-ELECTED DISTRICT 21 GOVERNOR, 2007-2008The District 21 Conference was held in Port Arthur, Texas, with the MS Gulf Coast well represented! Vicki was re-elected as District Governor. We won a first place award for our Scrapbook! Paula will serve as District Secretary again as well. Attendees from MS Gulf Coast included: Lois West, Tamara Morrison, Sarah Morrison, Cindy Lahaie, Nancy Fobes, Paula April and Vicki Miller. Check out some of the photos by clicking on the icon left.
QI MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST RECEIVES ANOTHER INTERNATIONAL AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

Reunion Party - Excellence in Membership
It was a night that Joyce was Wanda, old friendships were rekindled and new friends were made. The result of our Reunion Party in February was 7 new members. The Judges of the Quota International Awards of Excellence were impressed enough, that we were just bestowed the highest honor a club can achieve for Membership Recruitment! Congratulations to everyone who made this a great program!

MS GULF COAST QUOTA MOURNS THE LOSS OF A GOOD FRIEND

Elvin Raymond - Nov. 17, 1931 - July 15, 2007
Vicki Miller's father, Elvin, passed away peacefully on July 15th. Many of our club will remember how he helped us with Spiderman visits and Shoeboxes of Love after Katrina, despite losing his own home. He will be missed by many."Daddy loved Quota, and was always ready to help with any projects, states Vicki. "He even took the winning Quota International Photo! And there were few Shenanigan's Parades and after parties he missed."
THE PAVILLION DEDICATION at the DeLepee Deaf Center was held Saturday, June 9th at 5pm. The club donated the money to provide refreshments. Several members attended the celebration.

The Program Meeting on May 24 was a great start to our year. Our feature guest speaker was Greg Goldman, State Coordinator of Interpreters. Greg spoke on the new Mississippi law concerning interpreters. Many members will remember Greg from District Conference in Jackson last year.

Greg Goldman

Other special guests at this meeting included:

Heather Stover and Ashley Nuss, 2007 Quota Scholarship Recipients

District 33 Governor, Marlene Owen and her husband, Gary
Marlene was on vacation, and wanted to stop in our area, and see if there was anything her club could do to help us with continued relief efforts. Thank you Marlene! We were honored to have you as our guest!

Socks & Pockets
Socks and Pockets visited the Biloxi Library in their temporary home on July 11th.