On July 30th, we attended Hampton Assembly No. 2’s Installation of Officers with Brittany going in as Worthy Advisor. The girls from Norfolk who went were Phoenix, Pia, Jordan, our pledge Sarah, and me.  Phoenix was asked to be Installing Musician for Brittany. Brittany’s Installation was so beautiful and I enjoyed every second of it!  To tell you a little bit about her term, her theme is Southern Charm and to go along with it, her symbols are boots and bows.  Her charity is the ROC Solid Foundation which builds playsets for children who have cancer.  Brittany’s colors are blue, white and purple, her honor stations are Religion, Drill Leader and Faith, her flower is the daisy and her mascot is adorable little Eeyore©.  When her amazing and beautiful Installation came to an end, we went downstairs for the reception and I was asked to say the prayer before we all had some food.  When I finished my prayer, Brittany told me that I did beautifully and thanked me for doing it.  Again, this was a beautiful Installation that I had the pleasure of attending and I cannot wait to see what Brittany will have in store for us and her Assembly on her term as Worthy Advisor.

On July 23rd, our Worthy Advisor, Phoenix, had her last meeting as our Worthy Advisor for this term.  At this meeting, we were happy to have two guests attend.  We had the Grand Royal Matron of Amaranth, Honored Lady Virginia Gillikin and Grand Lecturer of Amaranth, Honored Lady Daron Gregory. It was great to see these special ladies here because it helps us see how many people will come out of their way to support our Assembly.  Honored Lady Virginia was so thoughtful during our Good of the Order and it made me feel so great to have heard how proud she was of our Assembly and how happy she was to attend.  Overall, it was a fantastic last meeting for our Worthy Advisor because we got to see these wonderful women, and I can’t wait to see what our next Worthy Advisor, Pia, has in store for our Assembly. 

On July 22, our Worthy Advisor, Phoenix, her cousin Asia, Rainbow Sisters: Sarah and Lisa, our Mother Advisor, Christi Reed, my sister, Sarah, and I attended DeMolay’s Conclave.  There, I was able to see our DeMolay brothers, our Jobie and Rainbow Sisters, and our Grand Worthy Advisor, Libby Whitehouse.  The dance was so much fun to attend!   I had so much fun dancing with everyone there!  I also got to meet one of Florida’s past Grand Worthy Advisors, Mrs. Kristy Hajimihalis on our way there.  Overall, I was so happy to attend DeMolay’s Conclave because I was able to have a fun experience with my whole family. 

On July 14 – 16, Virginia Rainbow had their 24th annual Grand Assembly!  It was amazing to see so many guests attend along with seeing our Supreme Worthy Advisor, Mrs. Susan Rennagel.  Virginia Rainbow also got to be there for our Grand Worthy Advisor, Rachal Murray’s Grand Year of “The Light Within.”  The Norfolk Girls, along with me, were able to enjoy a fantastic Grand Assembly.

On July 13th, our girls, Phoenix, Kayla, Haylee, our Mother Advisor, Christi Reed, and I helped out with setting up the Grand Assembly room for Rachal.  We all went up to the storage unit to gather up all of the Grand Assembly supplies along with some of our Manassas Sisters and some of our DeMolay Brothers.  It took a lot of teamwork in order to load up all of the supplies into the truck.  Finally, we went to our Grand Assembly at the Doubletree Inn were we started to put together our Grand Assembly.

On July 14th, everyone started coming up to attend Grand Assembly.  I was able to see all my Rainbow Sisters from other Assemblies.  Also that day, we had a lot of practices before Opening Night.  I had to go to Grand Flag Bearer, Grand Representative, and Book of Memories practice.  While some of the practices were going on, the rest of our Norfolk group, Tommy, Pia, Alyssa, Relena, Jordan, Sarah, Lisa, Cecilia, and Paula, came up to join us.  We also had Dad Rowland get his Grand Cross of Color, the highest honor, that same day before he had to go back to work.  Later that day, we had our Opening Night of “The Light Within” Session.  All of the Grand Officers, Grand Representatives, Grand Flag Bearers, and Grand Pages were introduced.  We also had the introductions of guests from other Masonic organizations.  After introductions, Mom Casey Humphries announced the winners of the Rose Lecture and the Lambskin Apron Lecture.  We were all super excited that the people who won were both from Manassas Assembly!  After Opening Night, everyone put on their Rainbow casuals and had some fun playing games and dancing downstairs in the Grand Assembly room.

On July 15th, we had our Initiation of two girls.  The Grand Officers did so beautifully on their ritual work and the new initiates did very well.  We also had the Majority Service after the Initiation.  Hanna and Madeline got their Majority.  Later that day, we had the Memorial Service given by Manassas Assembly to honor all of the Rainbow family members who have passed away.  Then we had the Book of Memories for all of the Grand Officers.  It was a very emotional time for Rachal and all of our Rainbow family.

On Saturday night, we had our Grand Banquet.  The table was set with all things Harry Potter.  We even got to take home little pens that looked like little flying broomsticks.  The food was fantastic and we were able to have a little fun while we were eating.  Assemblies and adults were making funny chants back and forth to each other.  During the Banquet, scholarships were handed out by Nancy Martin.  Many of the Grand Officers, including Rachal, were given these scholarships.  Also, Rachal and Casey Humphries gave out the awards for the House Cup, Grand Representative’s Posters, scrapbook, and Assembly of the Year competitions.  In our Assembly, Phoenix was awarded second place in the Rose Lecture and our Dad Boyd got third place in the Lambskin Apron Lecture.  Pia got first place in the Grand Representative’s poster board competition and I was able to get second place.  Our Assembly was also awarded second place in the scrapbook competition, third place in Assembly of the year and finally, we were awarded the House Cup.  I was so proud of my Assembly and my girls because of all the things we were awarded and how our new Assembly was able to accomplish all of these things in the past year.  Finally, we had the announcements of the new Grand Pages, Grand Flag Bearers, Grand Representatives and Grand Officers by Mrs. Linda Jenkins, our Supreme Inspector.  In my Assembly, Kayla, Haylee, and Alyssa were announced as Grand Representatives.  Phoenix, Pia, Relena and I were announced as some of the new Grand Officers.  I was also happy to congratulate Kensley on becoming the next Grand Worthy Associate Advisor.

On July 16th, we had our Grand Installation.  The installation was beautifully done by Libby’s installing team.  Phoenix, Pia, Relena and I crowned Libby as Grand Worthy Advisor.  Libby’s theme for this year is “Sail into Rainbow”. Her mascot is a shark named Finley and her Charity projects are Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Supreme 2018.  Overall, I thought this was a spectacular Grand Assembly with Rachal’s term of “The Light Within” session.  She did a fantastic job during her year and I can’t wait to see what Libby’s year will has in store for Virginia Rainbow.