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