SLS 22RS-1351 ORIGINAL
2022 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 153
BY SENATOR HEWITT
COMMENDATIONS. To commend and congratulate Philanthropic Educational
Organization for 100 years of service and to welcome members to the 75
th
state convention
in June 2022.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend and congratulate the Philanthropic Educational Organization (P.E.O.) for 100
3 years of service and to welcome members to the 75th state convention in Shreveport,
4 Louisiana, in June 2022.
5 WHEREAS, the Louisiana state chapter of the P.E.O. was organized with seventeen
6 members in Shreveport, Louisiana, on May 15, 1922, and the sisterhood has grown in
7 Louisiana to over 1,800 members and more than fifty active chapters throughout the state;
8 and
9 WHEREAS, Louisiana's P.E.O. chapters are part of the larger organization that is
10 active throughout the United States and Canada; and
11 WHEREAS, founded on January 21, 1869, at Iowa Wesleyan University, the P.E.O.
12 Sisterhood is one of the oldest women's organizations in North America; and
13 WHEREAS, the organization was established as a college sorority by seven college
14 women who had a desire to preserve their friendship and it quickly transitioned into a city
15 organization; and
16 WHEREAS, P.E.O. is an international, philanthropic, educational organization
17 dedicated to women and has a North American membership of over 225,000; there are active
18 members in P.E.O. chapters throughout each of the fifty states, six Canadian provinces, and
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SLS 22RS-1351 ORIGINAL
1 the District of Columbia; and
2 WHEREAS, the members of P.E.O. take tremendous pride in their mission to
3 celebrate the advancement of women through scholarships, grants, awards, and loans, as well
4 as their stewardship of P.E.O. owned Cottey College, a baccalaureate-granting liberal arts
5 and sciences institution for women located in Nevada, Missouri; and
6 WHEREAS, Cottey College was founded in 1926 by Mrs. Virginia Alice Cottey who
7 was 78 years old when she received an invitation to join Chapter DW of the P.E.O.
8 Sisterhood; though she thought she was too old to become a new member, the educational
9 purpose of the organization appealed to her and she thought she might add value to the
10 sisterhood from her many years of experience in founding an institution of higher education;
11 and
12 WHEREAS, in November 1926, the chapter's education day program revealed the
13 extent of the organization's philanthropic contributions that were all dedicated to women and
14 it was at that moment when Mrs. Cottey received a revelation that P.E.O. would be the
15 perfect steward of Cottey College; and
16 WHEREAS, on the platform of the 1927 convention of the P.E.O.'s Supreme
17 Chapter, Virginia Alice Cottey Stockard presented her life's work to the Sisterhood
18 proposing that P.E.O. accept the deed for Cottey with no debt; and though her proposal was
19 met with shock and surprise, it was announced that a majority of the delegates, realizing the
20 opportunity for greater service, voted to accept her offer; and
21 WHEREAS, for more than 90 years, the College, its alumnae, and the P.E.O.
22 Sisterhood have worked together to realize Virginia Alice Cottey Stockard's assertion that
23 women should have excellent educational opportunities; and
24 WHEREAS, more than 116,000 women seeking opportunities in higher education
25 have received hundreds of millions of dollars through the projects of the P.E.O. Sisterhood;
26 and in addition to offering financial support, P.E.O.s are passionate about motivating women
27 to achieve their highest aspirations, setting out to empower women, and promote world
28 peace through education; and
29 WHEREAS, in June 2022, the Louisiana P.E.O. chapters will gather for the 75th
30 state convention in Shreveport, Louisiana, to celebrate 100 years of service in Louisiana; and
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1 WHEREAS, at the 2022 state convention, the business of the state sisterhood will
2 be conducted, ideas will be exchanged, and objectives will be made for the next generations
3 to build upon.
4 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
5 does hereby commend the Philanthropic Educational Organization Sisterhood upon the
6 occasion of its centennial anniversary and congratulate the Louisiana P.E.O. chapter on its
7 75th state convention.
8 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
9 Louisiana Chapter of P.E.O.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Kenyatta M. Honeycutt.
DIGEST
SR 153 Original 2022 Regular Session Hewitt
Commends P.E.O. for 100 years of service and to welcome members to the 75th state
convention in June 2022.
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