How one local chapter makes a tradition
of initiating their daughters

On a sunlit Indiana porch last May, six college daughters of Chapter AL, Shelbyville, Indiana, members were initiated into the P.E.O. Sisterhood. The event was a happy one for the aunts, mothers and grandmothers who attended the initiation as well as a labor of love more than three years in the making.

Liz Wheeler, member of Chapter AL and mother of initiate Sarah Wheeler, organized the daughters’ initiations. “All of the mothers are very close,” she said. “We started talking with each other about proposing our daughters’ names the Christmas before. Once their invitations were extended and they had accepted, we coordinated the initiations to occur the week before they began their summer jobs.”

After the names were proposed, each sponsor stood up and talked about her candidate, including where she was attending school. Three of the girls attend Purdue University, one attends Ball State University, one attends Butler University and one is a graduate law student at the University of Akron, Ohio.

Liz said Shelbyville is a small town where everyone knows everyone else so the girls were well known among the chapter members. “Our girls grew up surrounded by P.E.O.,” she said. “They would come home from school just about the time the meetings were over. Many chapter members had attended our girls’ athletic events and other school activities.”

Liz’s daughter, Sarah, is a fourth generation P.E.O. Liz served as president for the initiation and her mother, Carolyn English, took the picture featured in this article. Sarah’s great grandmother, Karlene English, was an active member of Chapter AL until her death at age 107.

In fact, most of the new initiates enjoy a rich P.E.O. heritage. Rebecca and Emily Borchert are third generation members of Chapter AL. Melanie Clark is a third generation P.E.O., too. Her mother, Shari Clark, served as treasurer for the initiation. Melanie’s grandmother, Susie Clark, and aunt, Kim Taylor, are members of Chapter P, Indianapolis, Indiana, and attended the initiation. Haley and Rebecca Warner both became second generation members of Chapter AL, joining their mother, Pam.

“Initiation day was a lot of fun,” Liz said. “The day was bright and beautiful and the moms all got a little teary-eyed. The girls were very excited–they finally got to find out the meaning of our letters!”

Chapter AL enjoys great age diversity, with members ranging from 18 to more than 90 years of age. Their method is simple—they expose their daughters to P.E.O. purposes and philanthropies long before membership is an opportunity. “It’s tradition, I suppose,” Liz said. “As a result, the majority of them have been initiated into a P.E.O. chapter somewhere.”

Five of the six new initiates are juniors this year so they won’t be attending Chapter AL meetings on a regular basis for awhile. Still, members understand that by initiating these young women into P.E.O., they have introduced their daughters to a world of friendship, leadership development and philanthropy that will last a lifetime.

“My daughter looks forward to attending chapter meetings whenever she’s home on break,” Liz Wheeler says. “She knows P.E.O. will be a great way to meet people wherevershe lives after she graduates.”