In the spring of 1996, a group of local women got together to learn about the world of high finance.
The Elite Investors Investment Club featured 13 women — all of whom were a part of the now-defunct Business and Professional Women’s chapter in Iola — who were eager to learn about stocks, bonds and other ins and outs of the money markets.
Fast forward 26 years, the four remaining remembers are ready to cash out.
They met for the last time as a chartered organization Thursday morning to officially dissolve the club.
“It’s been very fun, but we knew the time had come for us to disband,” said Sandy Ellis, one of the remaining quartet. She gathered with Charlene Levans, Ann Morrison Houk and Aileen Wilson at Iola’s Landmark National Bank to fill out the remaining paperwork.
The other charter members were Margeret Bryson, Marsha Burris, Mary Clark, Debra Cooper, Barbara Culbertson, Nelda Cuppy, Barbara McCrate, Teri Porter and Bernice Smart.
The investment club’s rules were simple enough. Members chipped in $25 a month, and pooled their assets for a variety of investments in stocks, bonds and securities.
“We wanted to be diverse,” Ellis explained. “We tried to keep it in different markets, in case one wasn’t good.”
The strategy paid off handsomely.
“I think we only purchased one stock that didn’t do anything,” Levans said, “And we sold it.”
They met monthly, usually just prior to BPW meetings until that organization disbanded years ago.
“It was a social event, but we were learning the market,” Levans said. “It has been interesting to learn how funds work.”
