Rehoboth Beach resident Dianne Deming is new P.E.O. state president

Recently installed as Delaware's P.E.O. state president, Dianne Deming has lived in Rehoboth Beach since 2003. She is a fourth-generation P.E.O. member, having been initiated into this women's philanthropic organization in 1975. In addition to her new role as state president, Deming is a member of Chapter L, Lewes.

Deming has served in every local chapter office and in 2009 was elected to the Delaware State Board. She rotated through the offices each year and now is president.  She says, "Serving on the state P.E.O. board has been a true honor and a most enriching experience. It is something I've wanted to do for many years and is one of the highlights of my life." Deming has chosen Sisters in Harmony as the theme for her year as president, emphasizing the power that comes from working together, and the joy and support P.E.O. members find in one another.

Involved in many Rehoboth Beach community organizations, Deming is an ordained Presbyterian minister active at Westminster Presbyterian Church where her husband, the Rev. Dr. Frank S. Deming Jr., serves as pastor. Currently, she works as a listing agent and the marketing director for The Debbie Reed Team of RE/MAX Realty Group. She plays the flute in the Rehoboth Concert Band and is a member of the board of directors of the Boardwalk Buddy Walk. The Demings are proud parents of two grown sons. Scott is a seventth-grade language arts teacher at Milford Central Academy. John, a May graduate of the University of Delaware, will start a year with the City Year Teach America program in August.

P.E.O. is a philanthropic organization dedicated to providing financial assistance to women as they reach for their goals of higher education. It was founded in 1869 by seven young women who were students at Iowa Wesleyan College in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, P.E.O. now has a membership of nearly a quarter of a million women in chapters throughout the United States and Canada. The P.E.O. Sisterhood supports six philanthropies including Cottey College in Nevada, Mo. To date, over $248.5 million in financial assistance has been provided to more than 93,000 women. Several of these recipients are from Sussex County and have been sponsored by Chapter L, Lewes.

For further information regarding P.E.O., visit www.peointernational.org or call Deming at 302-381-6620.