Members of Toulon, Chapter BY, were recognized at the recent Illinois P.E.O. Convention held at the Chicago-Lombard Westin Hotel.

Organized in 1925, BY is part of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, which includes 308 chapters in Illinois and nearly 12,000 members throughout the State.

Chapter BY celebrated its 100th anniversary earlier this year with an open house at the Toulon Bistro.

“We have a great group of members,” said Alice Webster, BY’s Corresponding Secretary. “And so proud that our BY member Karen Steward served a year in each of the state offices, culminating in her role as Illinois State Chapter President from 2011 to 2012.”

The P.E.O. Sisterhood is a philanthropic educational organization with a mission to help women around the world advance through education.

“A variety of grants, scholarships, and low-interest loans have helped thousands of women complete technical, college, and university degrees,” she said. She also noted that the Sisterhood owns Cottey College, a four-year liberal arts college for women in Nevada, Missouri.

P.E.O. was founded on January 21, 1869, by seven female students at Iowa Wesleyan University in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. According to its website, “This circle of kindred spirits – bonded by their enthusiasm for women’s opportunities – eventually expanded to include women off campus as well.”

It now includes over 200,000 members throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The first state-wide convention was held in Monmouth in 1903. Since that time, various cities have hosted the convention each year, including Peoria, Chicago, Springfield and Rock Island.

Three hundred delegates and chapter guests attended this year’s convention, many of whom hosted the three-day session, bringing the number of attendees to 500. In addition to the Toulon chapter, members from local chapters CS, Kewanee, BR Galva, OL, Oneida, NL, Wyoming, E, and LE, Monmouth and W, MG, NH, and AN, Galesburg were represented.