Early in May, the British Columbia Provincial Board wrote letters to several Canadian government officials, including the Governor General of Canada, the Prime Minister of Canada, The Premier of British Columbia and The Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, telling them about the 100th anniversary of P.E.O. in Canada, what P.E.O. has offered women over the years and how it would be appreciated by Chapter A and the Sisterhood to receive recognition from them. All of the government officials responded with 
certificates of one kind or another, but the proclamation declaring August 28, 2011, “Philanthropic Education Organization Day” was totally unexpected.
The Proclamation was presented to Chapter A president Maureen Brynell by Honorable Colin Hansen, British Columbia Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly for Vancouver-Quilchena at the home of P.E.O. Ruth Fowlis on the evening of September 20, 2011, prior to Chapter A’s business meeting. I was there as Chapter A’s board buddy and Provincial President.
Now I take a laminated copy of the proclamation with me when I give International Convention reports to local chapters and I talk about how proud we felt when Elizabeth Garrels mentioned the proclamation in her introduction of the Canadian Centennial Celebration on Friday afternoon at International Convention in Saint Louis. 
