April 12, 2000

Quota Club honors Wilma Lemcool

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
       When a routine Quota Club meeting transformed into an episode of 'Wilma Lemcool: This is Your Life,' she finally got suspicious.
      As family member after family member came in the meeting room to share a favorite story about her, Lemcool was deeply touched. And amazed at all the planning and conniving that had gone on behind her back to pull off such a feat.
      "I was totally surprised," said Lemcool, who is a retired teacher and an active volunteer in other service clubs in the area. "I have worked with the club in so many ways, they are very satisfying activities."
      A faithful attendee at the meetings for the past 22 years since she joined, Lemcool has served as treasurer of the club for 13 years and on the board of directors for 20 years. She had been integrally involved in most the club's projects during that time, from fundraising and the newsletter to leadership and a host of committees.
      Because of her extensive leadership and history with the Quota Club, the board decided to recognize her for the many contributions.
      "The board instigated this because she had done so much for us over the years so we decided to make her a lifetime member," said June Neal, foundation chairperson for the group. "Then we decided why not celebrate it, too."
      When they decided to make the acknowledgment party a surprise, the phone calls and clandestine arrangements began. As members of her close, extended family agreed to come, the pieces fell into place. Even her 97-year-old mother, who Lemcool cares for at home, came despite having not left the house in months.
      "It was very hard to do with her at all the meetings," said Nancy Templeton, a past president of the club. "We made a lot of phone calls. But she is the one person we can rely on to get all sorts of information from the past."
      At the Wednesday meeting the group made her a lifetime member of the Quota International and read her congratulatory letters from the district governor and international president.
      "Wilma is the one I can call when I say 'I need a letter yesterday!'­" said Patty Schaap, a member for 20 years who is running for international treasurer of Quota International. "I never had to approve it because it was always perfect."