On Saturday morning of the 2011 Convention of International Chapter of P.E.O. in Saint Louis, I was one of 71 BILs who met with Dr. Judy Rogers, President of Cottey College and Dr. Glenn Rogers for “Coffee and Conversation.” A personal invitation to attend this meeting was sent to all registered BILs, and it was nice to be recognized as a BIL with an interest in supporting our P.E.O. wives and their college.
I found the discussion of the historical involvement of BILs presented by Dr. Glenn Rogers very interesting. I did not realize that BILs purchased 33 acres of land 
near the campus and in 1966, rebuilt a BIL lodge that had burned, or that in 1957 BILs raised money to build the Cottey Chapel. Recently BILs created the BIL Cottey Endowment Fund to honor their wives and daughters with a purpose to enhance learning experiences of Cottey students.
President Judy Rogers defined the growth plan for Cottey and the current five-year campaign to increase enrollment to 500 students with the associated programs to provide bachelor’s degrees in several areas of study. The financial needs will be met by the Defining Moment Campaign.
While we were not directly asked to give, it was apparent we could support our spouse’s contributions, and if we wished, we could contact Carla Farmer, Campaign Manager at Cottey.
During the meeting, BILs spoke up and mentioned ways of giving: bequests in wills, beneficiaries of life insurance, five-year planned pledges and dollar gifts to the campaign. Cottey needs to raise an additional $18 million to reach the goal. I am currently evaluating ways to show my support, and I hope other BILs will do the same. I know that if my granddaughter chooses to attend Cottey, she will receive an excellent education.
I hope we will receive an update of the BIL support at the next convention in Dallas. 
