AWARD-WINNING | ideas
Fishing S I S T E RS
Sisters in Chapter E, Anchorage, Alaska, know that fishing is a great way to get out, visit and fill your freezer while social distancing!
Marci Everson (left) with Martha Service (right)
Meredith Service Johnson (left), Marci Everson (center), and Connie Service (right)
“ The c ho i c e s o f women a r ound u s wea ve i nv i s i b l e ne t s o f l ove t ha t ca r r y u s when we ’ r e wea k and s i ng w i t h u s when we a r e s t r ong . ” — SARK , “SUCCULENT WI LD WOMEN” Founders’ Day provides each P.E.O. sister with the opportunity to reflect on the wonderful legacy of service, commitment and education we have been provided through the foresight of seven founding women. Having been initiated into Chapter F, Damariscotta, Maine, in 2019, it was my charge in 2020, along with two newer sisters, to present a Founders Day Program. The three of us, Jane Junkert, Nancy Aho and I embarked upon this charge with eagerness and the goal to exceed the expectations of our P.E.O. chapter as we presented our talents to our chapter sisters for the first time and honored our founding sisters. New to both the Sisterhood and to each other, we moved forward with this task with ease and trust as we were fortified by the tenets of P.E.O. Researching each of the sisters; sharing our findings, laughing and becoming true P.E.O. sisters along the way. We developed a presentation. We were nervous. We timed our various parts. We edited. We laughed at some of the findings and deemed some necessary regardless of the time frame. The day came to present, and once in the presence of our sisters all worries and fears of making “the presentation” melted away into the warmth and trust we felt from our fellow sisters. Our presentation featured a frame, which became a loom. The warp represented each of the founding sisters and weft each trait for which they were known. As our sisters entered the meeting, they were presented a strip of cloth to weave into the frame. Then as the three of us presented a capsule of each of the sisters’ lives, we wove the final strips. We concluded the presentation using the analogy of weaving to our lives as sisters and the value and essence of P.E.O. Our collaborative presentation was a success and opened enthusiastic conversations over lunch, regarding our chapter’s history, growth and future. We are humbled to have been offered this opportunity to become a member of the P.E.O. Sisterhood and exhilarated to be members of Chapter F in Maine.
How Three New Members Wove Themselves into P.E.O.
Julie Niedhamer Tenan, Nancy Aho, Jane Junkert
by Julie Niedhamer Tenan
36
THE P.E.O. RECORD | May–June 2022
Women helping women reach for the stars
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