Desert Messenger

March 4, 2020 www.DesertMessenger.com 27 Quartzsite Catholic Community at Queen of Peace Mission Located north of Exit 19 on 5005 E. Mockingbird Dr., Quartzsite • 3/4 mile east of ARCO MASS SUNDAY 4 PM Covenant Lutheran Church 270 E. Cowell St, Quartzsite, AZ 85346 (928) 927-4113 Sunday Worship Service 9:30 am All Are Welcome! Community Bible Church "Come join our Family where the Love of Jesus is preached" SUNDAY WORSHIP: 10am & 6 pm 375 E Sunrise St. Quartzsite 928-927-5035 Memories are made of this... By Jackie Deal And more memories are to be made next year. The QIA (Quartzsite Im- provement Association) looks back on many pleasant productive years and also looks forward to many more. Let's recap just a bit. The QIA was birthed in 1965 when Quartzsite had …..nothing. No entertainment other than home movies, card playing and gossiping. (We still have the gossiping!) The fi rst meetings were "Bring your own chair and a coffee cup." This progressed to fundraising for chairs but still: "bring your own cup." We have come so far and there's farther to go. Last year saw the busiest entertainment year ever. Maybe too busy. The faithful volunteers are worn out (Help! Help!) We had eight (count 'em, eight) BIG shows; that's outside name-entertainment brought in "for your listening pleasure." Not every show pleases everyone; we're an amalgam of various likes and dislikes. The chal- lenge is to appeal to everyone with something. We had numerous "local" entertainers: the bands that play for dancing, the local singers and players. We appreciate them all and the crowds, ranging up to 200, showing their approval. There were charity events, fundraisers for veterans, students and others we could help. Dinners, lunches, breakfast: we eat, oh, how we eat. Craft shows and classes; and Bingo, don't forget bingo! The Off-Road group outgrew their meeting room and kept on growing. And then our two big shows: The Pow Wow and the Gold Show. For many people who come only for a short stay, the Pow Wow IS the QIA. It's our largest endeavor and our biggest money maker (helps fund other things that cost more then they bring in.) You have to attend the Pow Wow and the Gold Show to realize their scope. Because the Pow Wow is such an important part of the QIA, let's give them their say. For many years the Pow Wow was managed by Sandy King and many vendors have fond memories of dealing with her. The new group of Pow Wow Promoters is headed by "Wiley," the ancient, miniature greyhound. All seven pounds of her can usually be found in the arms of one of her "parents" Mike or Carolyn Zinno. She has become the love of the offi ce volunteers. Mike and Carolyn have introduced new websites and online systems for all of the QIA (not just Pow Wow). They've made "fi eld improvements," enlarging the vendor area from 575 to 625 sites. The sites have been renumbered for more uniformity. Next year they hope to increase sites, streamline the application process more and have the fi eld guides done by Christmas. They want to add advertis- ing in the fi eld guides to earn revenue to cover expenses. Though there are lots of returnees, they have room for new vendors and more "special items." Mike stresses the importance of the "three V's: vendors, visitors and volunteers." Linda Curtis, the Vice President of the QIA put in many hours working on the events and entertainments for the past year. Next year she's talking about having only "one really big show" and showing off more local talent. Also un- der discussion is the possibility of having some afternoon shows, since every evening in Quartzsite has something happening somewhere. Another possi- bility is getting a "military band" for a free concert. Keep posted! Richard Trusty, the President, stresses the importance of the "younger crowd" that he wishes to attract to the QIA. He promotes having more "mod- ern" music. (We tease him we're going to get Bon Jovi!) He would also like to see some educational offerings, perhaps in the afternoons. Danny Thompson, the new Kitchen Manager, is toying with the idea of hav- ing the Pancake Dinner followed by a free movie. Movies were a big part of the early Quartzsite entertainment, have we "outgrown" them? Perhaps TV has replaced them? The Custodians have the whopping job of setting up and tearing down the theater room sometimes several times a day. Chairs and tables go up and down. And we learned that show performers need time to set up before a per- formance. (Some were scheduled too tight. We'll improve on that.) Oh, it wasn't a perfect year and next year probably won't be either. The QIA isn't perfect. It was designed by imperfect people for imperfect people so let's all relax and enjoy it in all its imperfections!

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