On the evening of February 8^th, Erin and I got the privilege of attending the Valentine’s Dinner of Rockingham Union Lodge in Harrisonburg, VA. It was our first time meeting the Masons in this Lodge. We arrived and got a tour of the Lodge which was built in the 1700s. The Lodge is full of history of America and they are currently doing renovations to get stained glass windows which look spectacular. After our tour, we got to meet all of the Master Masons and their wives. We enjoyed our dinner talking with them about school, goats, and firefighting. The dinner was delicious and it was cool to see how excited they were to meet some Rainbow Girls. In the picture is the Worshipful Master Russell Pence.

Brigitte
Grand Worthy Associate Advisor
Richmond Assembly #10

On Saturday, January 25th, we had Richmond’s Installation of Officers! The Worthy Advisor for this term is Melanie and she has a sparkly term! This is her second term as Worthy Advisor and she really knows how to sparkle! Her charity is about sending all of us to Supreme this July! Wow! How exciting is that?

My term as Worthy Advisor started in July of 2013. My theme was ‘Dreams’ and my charity was Operation Smile.

Operation Smile provides surgeries to kids born with a Cleft Lip/Palate birth defect, which is a split in the upper lip and roof of the mouth. Unfortunately, some families can’t afford the surgery for their child, and without the surgery, 1 in 3 kids will die before their first birthday or find it difficult to talk, eat, and socialize. This charity was really important to me because I was born with a Cleft Lip and I got my surgery from Operation Smile when I was only a few months old.

To kids who receive their surgery, Operation Smile is a dream come true. So, during my term, I had a lot of different kinds of fundraisers like carwashes, carnivals, face painting, and dinners. I also received donations from people and groups and the Phoebus community merchants even helped by collecting change from their customers. My goal was to raise $1,500, enough to pay for six kids whose families aren’t as fortunate enough to be able to afford the surgery.

After all the hard work with the help of the girls of Hampton Assembly No. 2, the fundraisers (just about every other weekend) and help from my sister who raised $528.97 during her term, I managed to not only meet my goal but exceed it. I invited representatives from Operation Smile to an open meeting on January 19, 2014 and presented them with a $2,750 check. They were very grateful and told me that was enough to pay for over ten (10) surgeries.

Julia
Hampton Assembly #2