P.E.O. Record
Overseas Members Have Exciting New Way to Communicate
An exciting new resource is now available for P.E.O.s living abroad. A Yahoo! Group named P.E.O. Overseas Members has been established by the Executive Board of International Chapter to encourage P.E.O. gatherings and communication. A Yahoo! Group is a free online forum where people with a shared interest meet, get to know each other and stay informed. The group gives members instant access to shared message archives, photos, group event calendars and more.
The P.E.O. Overseas Contacts have long been a valuable asset for sisters all over the world and the Yahoo! Group will complement their continuing efforts in connecting expatriates with one another. Widening the net of P.E.O. support, this group will provide a safe online space for members living abroad to share their experiences and challenges with sisters in similar situations.
Proposed by Janice Thomson, a member of Chapter CQ, Chicago, Illinois, living in Belgium and serving as overseas contact, the Yahoo! Group will make it easier for overseas members to get in touch with each other and will allow them to meet more members who are also living far from their local chapters. The executive board thought it was a wonderful idea and worked with Janice to initiate this program. Janice and P.E.O. Elaine Unsworth, BO, Spokane, Washington, also living in Belgium, created the group and will act as moderators.
Janice is an experienced participant and organizer of online groups. She explained how it works. “After a sister becomes a member through a simple registration process, she can post a message and everyone in the Yahoo! Group can access it. That way, she can reach many people at once with only one message, as opposed to trying to reach each individual by email.”
Members can also post documents, pictures, links, etc. on the main site. When they register, group members have the option of signing up to receive email updates or they can take it upon themselves to periodically sign in to the group to look for messages.
There are already lots of great ideas about how the Yahoo! Group can be utilized. Janice said, “What I thought it would be most useful for are travel suggestions for our members living abroad – places to visit and hotel and restaurant suggestions. P.E.O.s could talk about places they live and places they’ve recently visited.” One advantage of the online group is that nobody has to respond, so nobody is put on the spot. And, added Janice, “Since the suggestions are from P.E.O. sisters, we can trust them!”
Newcomers to any foreign country will find the group a great resource. P.E.O.s who are moving abroad or expats moving from one foreign country to another can join and post questions about life in a particular area. As more and more people join the network, posters could theoretically get responses, suggestions and advice from more than one person.
Posting information of general interest to American and Canadian citizens will also be encouraged. For instance, Janice has used other online groups to learn about taxation and voting issues. “We could also post what we are doing to organize P.E.O. get-togethers and maybe inspire others to do the same,” said Janice. “I could even imagine an ambitious P.E.O. tracking down a former IPS recipient and inviting her for coffee. That would be cool to hear about!
Invitations to the Yahoo! P.E.O. Overseas Members Group, along with instructions on how to join, have been sent out to all P.E.O.s living abroad. Anyone who believes they should have received an invitation but did not should send an email to overseas_members-subscribe@ yahoogroups.com. (Please note that it is overseas_members with an underscore) or to Janice at janicethomson@skynet.be.
The executive board sees this new Yahoo! Group as a great way for our members living abroad to feel the P.E.O. connection while living far from home. They’re encouraging all overseas members to join the group to take advantage of all the terrific benefits it has to offer.