President’s Message

2002-2003
International President
Beatriz Doran-Scoop

December 2, 2002

Dear Fellow Quotarians,

We have reached the special month of December, a time for festivities with family and friends and for helping people in less favorable situations in life. December also is the season for taking stock of what we have done in the year that is coming to an end.

Looking back at our Quota year, we have covered a lot of ground.

In 2002, your board of directors spent more time meeting together than any other board has in the past 20 years. The discussion of Quota's future was deemed so important that the 2001-2002 board scheduled two additional meetings in order to discuss options for ensuring a viable future for our organization. The 2002-2003 board continued this discussion, devoting almost all of our mid-term board meeting time to analyzing what we have heard from our members during recent district conferences and making decisions concerning our future. As a result, the following actions have been taken:

• The Quota calendar of meetings is changing. District conferences will be held March through June 2004 so that club and district leadership terms coincide. (Districts are welcomed to plan an additional, optional "mini" conference in September or October 2003). Beginning in 2003, Governors Seminar will now be held in conjunction with the opening of convention.
  
  
• The board has sent a proposal to the Bylaws Committee recommending a change to permit biennial conventions effective in 2004.

As 2002 ends, plans for an exciting 2003 are in the works. In March 2003, we are launching a new international initiative—the first in Quota's history: Quota Cares Month. I sincerely hope that every club will seize the opportunity to be internationally united in service in one single month and produce the publicity that this type of activity generates. (For details on Quota Cares Month and to print a planning kit, click here.)

I plan to do the official launch with a project of my own club here in Curaçao, and then I will visit several other countries during Quota Cares Month. My first stop will be Holland; then I will travel to India, where we will do a ceremony around the extension of Quota Home for Disadvantaged and Destitute Women. I will also participate in the South Pacific Area Meeting and visit our project in Fiji.

For those of you who still may be thinking about a project, please consider planning a Diabetes Awareness Program. The HHS has launched a new national campaign for America called "Small Steps, Big Rewards." The campaign targets millions of Americans at risk for developing Type 2 Diabetes, providing education about modifiable risk factors—such as being overweight and having a sedentary lifestyle—plus delivering tools to help address those risk factors. For details about this program, which I have adopted as my 2002-2003 Presidential Initiative, please click here.

And then, of course, we will meet at Convention 2003 in July in New Orleans where we will:

• Officially begin the new Quota calendar year modifications with our first "combined" (North American and South Pacific) Governors Seminar.
  
  
• Discuss the ramifications of what we have heard regarding our calendar of conventions and make decisions accordingly.
  
  
• Celebrate our unity in service and share our Quota caring.

I hope you plan to attend! (To learn more about Convention 2003, please click here.)

But first, let's celebrate this special month of December. I wish you all "Happy Holidays" amongst your loved ones and a very fruitful New Year.

Beatriz Doran-Scoop
International President

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