1.1A Senate resolution
1.2honoring Elvera "Peps" Neuman on her contributions to basketball.
1.3WHEREAS, Elvera "Peps" Neuman, who started playing basketball as a young girl using
1.4a hoop attached to her family farm's dairy barn, is known to many, especially those in the Eden
1.5Valley-Watkins area, as a pioneer for women's basketball; and
1.6WHEREAS, Peps became instrumental in helping to develop the Girls Athletic Association
1.7for Eden Valley-Watkins during her senior year in 1962; this group was one of the first to set up
1.8girls sports exhibition games with neighboring districts like Paynesville and Grove City; and
1.9WHEREAS, she went on to play professionally with the Texas Cowgirls and the Arkansas
1.10Shooting Stars, formerly known as the Arkansas Lassies; and
1.11WHEREAS, in 1973, Peps and teammate Linda Yearby formed and played on their own
1.12professional team, the Arkansas Gems, which was headquartered in Minnesota and was in operation
1.13until 1988 when she retired from professional basketball; and
1.14WHEREAS, to celebrate the mark she made on both the school and the sport, members of
1.15the Eden Valley-Watkins school board have dedicated the high school's gymnasium to her; and
1.16WHEREAS, the ceremony took place during halftime of the last regular season conference
1.17girls basketball game between Eden Valley-Watkins and Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa on February 24,
1.182017; and
1.19WHEREAS, the Elvera "Peps" Neuman Gymnasium will feature a large plaque with an
1.20overview of Neuman's professional career, which will be hung next to the glass display case full
1.21of Neuman memorabilia near the entrance to the gym; and
1.22NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the State of Minnesota that it
1.23congratulates Elvera "Peps" Neuman on her contributions to basketball, her school, her community,
1.24and her state.
2.1BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is directed to prepare an
2.2enrolled copy of this resolution, to be authenticated by the Secretary's signature and that of the
2.3Chair of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, and transmit it to Elvera "Peps" Neuman.

Cal R. LudemanSecretary of the Senate

Paul E. GazelkaChair, Senate Committee onRules and Administration

Michelle L. FischbachState Senator, District 13

Jeff HoweState Representative, District 13A