Local P.E.O. chapters attend 124th Iowa State Convention in Des Moines

Deb Sinclair, delegate from Chapter Original A; Betty Lowe, delegate from Chapter NZ; and Janice Jones, delegate from Chapter OX attended the 124th Convention of Iowa State Chapter P.E.O. Sisterhood held June 4 and June 5, in Des Moines.

With the theme, ?Wild About P.E.O.?, Kathy Wilke, Chapter DS, Odebolt, presided over the 700 delegates and visitors.

Attendees participated in workshops and heard from recipients of P.E.O.?s six philanthropies and the Iowa P.E.O. Project Fund, Inc. The convention concluded with the installation of the 2016-2017 executive board officers headed by president Cathi Fouts, AO, Newton; vice president, Pat Shipley, CH, Villisca; organizer, Kate Raun, OR, Norwalk; treasurer, Bev Templetom, FN, Garner; and secretary, Sue Aanes, EV, New London.

P.E.O. is the philanthropic organization where women celebrate the advancement of women; educate women through scholarship, grants, awards, loans, and stewardship of Cottey College; and motivate each other to achieve their highest aspirations. There are approximately 6,000 chapters in the United States and Canada with nearly 250,000 members. Iowa is the second largest state chapter with 382 chapters and over 17,000 members.

P.E.O. is one of the pioneer societies for women and was founded on Jan. 21, 1869, by seven young women at Iowa Wesleyan College, in Mt. Pleasant. Originally a small campus friendship society, P.E.O. soon blossomed to include women off-campus. Today, P.E.O. has grown from that tiny membership of seven to almost a quarter of a million members in chapters in the United States and Canada. The P.E.O. Sisterhood is passionate about its mission: promoting educational opportunities for women. The sisterhood proudly makes a difference in women?s lives with six international philanthropies: P.E.O. Educational Loan Fund; P.E.O. International Peace Scholarship Fund; P.E.O. Program for Continuing Education; P.E.O. Scholar Awards; P.E.O. STAR Scholarship, and the ownership of Cottey College in Nevada, Mo. The International headquarters of the P.E.O. Sisterhood is in Des Moines.