Quota International's 90th Anniversary
6 February 2009
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you all to Government House this morning.
In the spirit of reconciliation that we wish to see fully expressed in our State, so that we may enjoy true harmony in our communities, I acknowledge, with respect, the traditional custodians of the land on which we are gathered, the Jagera and Turrbal peoples and their descendants.
What a wonderful day this is for Quota International - and for you all, as you celebrate 90 years since the founding of this remarkable organization. I know this morning tea is only one of a number of celebrations being held over a number of days, but I am particularly pleased that I was able to host this function for you on the actual date of the anniversary.
This came about because your own Governor wrote to me last October, drawing my attention to this special anniversary and suggesting that the support of the Governor of Queensland for the celebrations would be very much welcomed by the members.
As you can imagine, I receive hundreds of requests every week to support worthy organisations or causes, to attend events, open exhibitions and buildings, present awards, receive visitors or host functions here at Government House. It is not possible to respond positively to all of them: invariably there are clashes of dates and competing claims - and there is only one of me, only seven days in the week and our budget -as in any household, even that of the Head of State -is limited. So we must be selective and weigh carefully the merits of each invitation or request. Usually - and I believe reasonably - organisations of which the Governor is Patron take precedence (and on last count, these numbered 151), but on this occasion my decision was quickly made. I know Quota International: it is a particularly worthy organization: obviously known as such by you, its members, but one which does not have as much visibility in Australia and perhaps here in Queensland as it deserves. I wonder how many people in the wider community know that it was the very first women's international service organization? And that in the 90 years since it was founded, it has touched and made a difference in literally hundreds of thousands of lives around the world? Some do know - notably the disadvantaged women and children and the hearing and speech-impaired individuals and their families who are the focus of much of your assistance - but your work to help others is usually done quietly and without fanfare, with little or limited public recognition. And the demands of your busy lives - of which your membership and involvement with Quota International is only a part, I know - also usually leaves little time for pause to reflect on the significance of what you do, on the worth of your work , on your achievements and that of the organization as a whole.
So today's function, for me, is not simply a celebratory morning tea to mark a 90th Birthday. Although it is meant to be as happy an occasion as any birthday party, whether chalking up 9, 90 or 102, like Anna Smith!: it should be much more. I see it as an important opportunity for reflection - about Quota International, its genesis and its evolution over nearly a century of activity; about its future and about the concepts of service and sharing with others that it upholds and promotes - concepts and ideals and values that we all need to do more to instill in younger generations. It is also an important opportunity for me, as the representative of the State and people of Queensland, to say thank you to you all for the commitment you have given to the community and to assisting others.
On the reflection side - at the risk of keeping you thirsty a little while longer - I'd like to take a few moments to talk - and for us to think anew - about Wanda Frey Joiner, the remarkable woman who founded Quota International. You probably all know her history far better than I: how following her father's death, she emigrated from Russia to the United States with her mother and brother at the tender age of nine, how she grew up and married Robert Parks Joiner and after only three years of marriage, was left a widow.
We talk constantly these days - in the midst of a still unfolding global economic crisis - about uncertainty: but there she was, at the dawn of the twentieth century - a time when opportunities for women were far more limited - a widow, alone and with a truly uncertain future. She didn't wait for others to come to the rescue: instead she enrolled for a business course at Caton's College in New York, joined the Buffalo Plate Glass Company in that same city, as a filing clerk, and rose to the position of comptroller.
The histories and biographies of Wanda Frey Joiner often rattle through this part of her history - understandably perhaps, because she fitted so much into her life, and accomplished so much, that it is tempting to speed through the early events to get to what might be termed "the good bits". But I do think it is worth hitting the pause button, so to speak, on these very early events, because they tell us much about her character, and in turn the character of the organisation she founded. You will also appreciate that I see her experience as having considerable relevance for today and the way we might respond to contemporary challenges.
Faced with devastasting personal loss, she didn't descend into self pity, nor look for someone to blame, nor seek another protector. Instead, Wanda Frey Joiner decided to take her future in her own hands, and to shape her own destiny. With characteristic plain speaking, recalling those early days, she said:
"You see, I began at the bottom myself ... I hadn't any influence, no one to push me ahead and it was perfectly plain to me that if I were ever to be conspicuously successful, it would have to be my own work and efforts, so I settled down to study. I became a billing clerk .. and I kept on going from one job to another, until I finally became a member of the board of directors."
I suspect she must have edited quite sharply her experience of promotion through the business - I doubt it was as straightforward as she implied, given the times and the difficulties that women have historically confronted and still confront today in advancing to positions of influence - but then that too, was characteristic of Wanda Frey Joiner: she did not complain, or explain - she just kept going.....and when she found something awry or lacking, she acted to change things.
And so it was after attending that Christmas Kiwanis "ladies night" party in 1918, when, impressed by the fellowship and service of the then men-only Kiwanis club, she didn't complain about the exclusion of the women; she didn't express resentment: she simply went to work, contacting other women executives in Buffalo and worked quickly to establish what was to become the first international service club for women.
I wonder what she would think today - 90 years later - to see this organization now linking 6,000 members of all ages, occupations and nationalities in a world-wide network with members in fourteen countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
Frankly, I think she would be pretty surprised and pleased.
When she started on her great project, her personal situation had been secured, but the world itself was a very uncertain and precarious place. World War One was still underway: millions had died or been injured; rationing was a fact of life. When she and the four pioneers of Quota - (Florence M. Smith, Alice C. Sauers, Ora G. Cole, Jean Ware Redpath) convened in 1919 to sign its articles of incorporation, the war had just ended, and the world was still in many ways in flux, as the great changes forged by conflict were still unwinding. In these grim and difficult circumstances, dealing with the aftermath of a catastrophic conflict, their faith that individuals could make a difference to the world was touching and their conviction that by combining their talents and efforts they could create something much greater than they could achieve singly, summed up in the organisation's motto "We Share", projected an optimism that was not, in fact, shared by many others at the time, who were more daunted and discouraged by the challenges surrounding and ahead of them.
Yet slowly, gradually, their work and their message took hold, inspiring others to join them, continuing on through the years and decades to this day, 6th February 2009, when we honour you, both as the inheritors of this history and as the persons who keep those ideals of service and sharing alive today.
I thank you for this commitment, for your contribution to our State and our community. I know you are involved with many different projects - and can't talk about them all, but I do want to single out your work to assist the deaf and hearing-impaired as an area of particular achievement here in Queensland. I know that Quota members lobbied energetically, tirelessly (probably even irritatingly to some of those being lobbied!) to achieve universal screening of all newborns for hearing acuity, and then to secure funding for the testing equipment, helping to ensure that coming generations of Queenslanders received the earliest possible diagnosis and intervention. This was a terrific cause and achievement, as was the creation of the annual Hearing and Speech Scholarship to a student who is hearing and speech impaired. Through such practical and purposeful actions, you have been a force for positive change and I thank you for this most sincerely. It is an expression of gratitude which is more than one of personal admiration for what you do - it is made on behalf of the entire community
I wish you all a very happy Birthday and trust that these celebrations will renew your enthusiasm to live your lives with optimism and a sense of purpose and that you will continue to find personal satisfaction and fulfilment as you work to fulfil the Mission of Quota International and to live up to the ideals and ambitions that inspired its founders:
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To serve country and community;
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To promote high ethical standards;
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To emphasize the dignity of all useful occupations;
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To develop good fellowship and friendship; and
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To advance the ideals of righteousness, justice, international understanding, and good will.
Thank you for your attention and have a wonderful day.