The P.E.O. Record May-June 2022 (public)

GALLERYOF presidents

Wendy james Alabama Live in a P.E.O. World. Imagine Wendy James and her husband, Bill, have called Louisiana and Hawaii home before moving to Alabama. Bill, now a retired architect, is an accomplished watercolor artist. Their lives are rich with Beaux Bear, their beloved Chow Chow, one son, three grandchildren and one great-grandson. Operating a bed and breakfast in a classic Victorian manse in beautiful historic Mobile, Wendy and Bill enjoy greeting guests from all over the world. Guests often ask about the picture frame that reads “P.E.O.? Please let me know!” Wendy shares a P.E.O. card with them as a reminder of the P.E.O. mission and website. Initiated in 2010, Wendy considers Chapter C, Mobile, the epitome of the P.E.O. Sisterhood. Their love, support and encouragement are the reasons she chose to join the state chapter of Alabama. Accepting any position in P.E.O. can be intimidating, but her sisters from across the state have proved that there is always, yes always, a loving sister willing to guide her through any P.E.O. process. And as so many sisters will attest, it is also because of the love and support of her BIL that Wendy has been able to devote as much time as possible to her beloved P.E.O. sisters.

Barbara Kraft Alaska P.E.O. Visionaries See it – Be it

Susan Detmer Alberta-Saskatchewan Fostering Sisterhood Susan Detmer joined Chapter D, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in 2011 when she moved there to start her faculty position at the University of Saskatchewan. She had just completed her Ph.D. in comparative medicine and pathology at the University of Minnesota, where she had previously earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 2003 and residency in anatomic pathology in 2009. Her area of research is diseases of swine, including influenza at the human-pig-interface. P.E.O. is a family tradition for Susan with her sister, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother as members before her, and Susan appreciates their “gift of P.E.O.” When Susan became a Canadian citizen in January 2019, her Chapter D sisters came to the ceremony to celebrate with her. Born in Nebraska, Susan last lived there when she was a mixed animal veterinarian in Oakland, Nebraska, and a member of Chapter EL. Having lived in and around Saint Paul for half of her life, Chapter CC, South Saint Paul, Minnesota, was her home for 12 years following her initiation in 1998. Loving travel, Susan attends international knitting retreats to learn Fair Isle, Sanquhar, double moebius MOMO and advanced cable techniques. She started quilting in 2020 after over-accumulating fabric to make masks.

Barbara Simpson Kraft was born in Lewiston, Idaho, and grew up in Seward, Alaska, (1978 valedictorian). She graduated from Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, (1982; Bachelor of the Arts—technical journalism; minor in economics; completed honors program). She is a second-generation P.E.O. and 1983 charter member of Chapter M, Kenai, Alaska, with her mother and sister (now Chapter R, Seward, Alaska). She married Mark Kraft in 1983 and joined Chapter L, Anchorage, Alaska, in 1984. She received her juris doctorate from the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, (1988; Order of the Coif), is a partner with Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, and served as co-chair of its national real estate practice group from 2017 – 2021. She is top ranked by Chambers, Martindale-Hubbell, SuperLawyers and Best Lawyers. Barbara has held various local chapter offices, and she assisted with QBE before becoming Alaska State Treasurer in 2019. Other volunteer activities include various PTSA offices (1996-2010), trustee of Alaska Dance Theatre (2003-2010) and Anchorage Project Access director (2013-2020). Her family includes BIL, Mark and daughters Aubrey Kraft, EL, Berkeley, California, and Rowan Kraft, L, Anchorage, Alaska. Her interests include hiking (Machu Pichu, 2017; Chilkoot Trail, 2018), reading, traveling, cooking and building a retirement home.

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May–June 2022 | THE P.E.O. RECORD

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