Area PEO members attend state convention

Gloria Croce ME, Catherine Fouts AO, Past President Iowa State Chapter, Danette Botts LC, Linda Geisenhoff HS, and Judy Manusos AO attended the 129th annual Convention of Iowa State Chapter P.E.O. Sisterhood held June 4 in Des Moines. With the theme “Imagine, Create, Inspire,” Carrie Wilkinson, Chapter OP, Cedar Rapids, presided over 400 delegates and visitors. Twenty-nine chapters from southwest Iowa served as the hostess group for the convention. This committee was headed by Barb Nelson, CH, Villisca; Sarah Smith, HB, Red Oak; and Dana Wenstrand, DN, Shenandoah.

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 2022-23 executive board officers headed by president, Carrie Wilkinson, OP, Cedar Rapids; vice president, Christin Smith, HL, Dubuque; organizer, Lisa Reindl, MB, Fairfield; treasurer, Pam Schulz, KK, Cedar Rapids; and secretary, Rachael Buresh, GO, Decorah.

P.E.O. is a philanthropic organization where women celebrate the advancement of women; educate women through scholarships, 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 one of the largest state chapters with 359 chapters and more than 14,000 members.