Flat Bill Visits Bethel #42

Hi! It's Flat Bill again. Dad Bill is letting me blog about our visit to Bethel #42 yesterday.

I was so excited on the way there. Mom Christi let me sit in a booster seat, so I could see out the window. That was really nice.

When we got to 42, I went straight to see Mom Marta, since she was the one who invited me to come. She gave me some chili cheese fries from Hardees. YUM!!!!!!

I said hi to the girls and watched as they had initiation and honored the Masons and Eastern Star. Not only did they have almost every station filled, but they also had girls in choir. One of the choir members protemed 2nd Messenger for the Initiation and did AWESOME!!!

There were also a TON of visitors, which included 3 Worshipful Masters, or as Dad Bill called them, "His Brothers!"

I did get a little scared at the end of the meeting. Dad Walter stood up and told the new member that if they start taking the chairs away, they were going to bring in a pig, but he said they wouldn't do that. Then, these two girls took the chairs away, and Dad Bill helped. I got really scared! But they never did bring in a pig. I was glad.

After the meeting, I got my picture taken with all those girls. That was cool! I can't wait for my next travels!

Peace out!
Flat Bill

Visiting Bethel 3

Wow! My FIRST blog entry about my home Bethel!

It was a lot of fun having the Grand Guardian in attendance at our regular meeting! She is really nice for those of you who haven't met her yet! Or at least that is what she told me to say! :)

Bethel 3 had a great meeting and Honored Queen Alyssa did a GREAT job!

Not that I am biased at all, but Virginia Honored Queens are so awesome that I really feel blessed to be their Associate Grand Guardian!

Best part of the evening? They read a petition! One of many the Bethel is working on, and the third of the term. YAY!

I was good and kept my remarks short, even though I was mocked terribly! Though I did agree (for some crazy reason) to let the girls decide what their reward would be with the only reservation being that Mom Christi had to approve. Not sure how much that is going to protect me, but it's a start!

I will post more of these as I visit other Bethels and fun or interesting things happen as we travel around the state and abroad this year!

See you soon!

Dad Bill

Flat Bill Visits Bethel 1

Last night Flat Bill and I paid a visit to Bethel No. 1 in Arlington for their regular meeting. It was also the Swinimer family's last meeting before they move back to Canada this week. :( There were funny stories, lots of laughter and lots of tears as Bethel 1 said good bye. Hats off to HQ Kaylee for the coolest favors EVER: I got a paddle ball, which I immediately put away because I knew that I would get in trouble if I didn't. :)

Next stop on my travels: a visit to Bethel 3 on Monday night!

Flat Bill Visits Bethel 22

Hi everyone! I'm Flat Bill - the 2D AGG of VA! From time to time Mom Melanie and Dad Bill are gonna let me tell you all about my adventures . .

Today's adventure is my visit to Bethel 22! I've never been to their lodge before. They meet at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria. Wow, is it big!!

I got to meet the Daughters of 22 and I got to see their new council installed. After the meeting they let me take a picture with them - and then we went to refreshments!

I'm really excited about my next trip: a visit to Bethel 1 on Tuesday!

See you soon!
Flat Bill

Wreath Laying, Conclave and More!

Dad Bill and I, along with many of our Virginia Jobies, were honored to attend a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on August 1. Thank you to everyone who attended and made this a very special event!

After the wreath laying ceremony, Dad Bill and I headed off to the DeMolay’s Conclave at Radford University. After getting lost on campus (several times) we arrived at the banquet, where Kelsey Friend spoke on behalf of Virginia Job’s Daughters. Congratulations to Nick Cook, the new State Master Councilor and PJ Shuey, the new Deputy State Master Councilor.

Supreme Session began, for many of us, on August 2nd. Many of our Daughters participated in the performing arts competitions on August 3rd and we had several who performed in the Dixieland Review that same night! Kaylee Shuey, KC Conrad, Kaitlynn Gray and Ashlee Ong wowed the crowd with their performances. Mom Jean Penn and Mom Kathy Rary were part of the show as part of a special performance by the Supremes. That night the following also received awards in music and dance:

Instrumental: Kaitlynn Gray (1^st place – flute) and Anne Agustin (2^nd place – clarinet)

Dance: KC Conrad (1^st and 2^nd place), Dana Grabowski (2^nd place) and Bethel 46 (3^rd place)

Vocal: Ashlee Ong (1^st place), Kaylee Shuey (1^st place), Kaylee Shuey and Kathryn Perry (1^st place) and Bethel 1 (1^st place)

Ritual Competition was held on August 4^th. Virginia was well-represented by our Supreme Team: Cindy Johnson, Karen-Anne Liller, Victoria Martinez, Sammy Glaros and Kaylee Shuey. Many of these Daughters also participated in individual competitions. Congratulations to Sammy Glaros for earning a perfect score on her regalia and to Karen-Anne Liller for placing 3^rd in the 1^st Messenger individual competition.

The HIKE dance, held on August 4^th, was a huge success! Special thanks to Mom Susan Roenker and Mom Beth Grabowski for coordinating the event and Mom Mona Killian for being the DJ. We were taken on a trip through the decades – bringing back memories for a lot of us!

Many from our jurisdiction attended the Formal Banquet and Opening on August 5^th. Amanda Loving, Samantha Boyd and Ashlee Ong participated in the Flag Ceremony respectively carrying the Virginia, Bethel and Philippines flags. Many of our Virginia Jobies sang in the Supreme Choir prior to the meeting and through the opening ceremony, under the direction of Mom Kathy Rary, the Supreme Director of Music. During the formal opening Jamie Marshall was recognized for raising over $2,000 for HIKE last year. Of course, no formal opening would be complete without the infamous KFC Bucket Brigade honoring Col. Bob!

The Supreme Bethel meeting began early the next morning. Virginia had several Daughters on the floor: KC Conrad as the pro temp Supreme Bethel Senior Princess, Nicole O’Malley as Supreme Bethel First Messenger and Katie Springman as Supreme Bethel Representative to Utah. New officers and representatives were selected at the meeting:

Supreme Bethel Outer Guard: Courtney Russell

Supreme Bethel Representative to Kentucky: Stephanie Dawson

Supreme Bethel Representative to Saskatchewan: Ashlee Ong

At the Job’s Daughters’ luncheon, the Arts and Crafts Awards were given out and our Daughters did very well:

Photography: KC Conrad (Color, Black & White, and Portrait - 1^st place)

Paper Mache: Jennifer Hill (1^st place)

Misc. Papercraft: KC Conrad (2^nd place)

Ceramics, not from mold: Jennifer Hill (2^nd place)

Ceramics, from mold: Jennifer Hill (2^nd place)

Soft Toy: Jennifer Hill (3^rd place)

Scrapbook, Misc.: KC Conrad (1^st place)

That evening, Virginia cheered on Kelsey Friend as she competed in the Miss International Job’s Daughter Pageant. She represented Virginia with grace and poise and we are all very proud of her!

Supreme Session ended on Saturday night with the installation of the newly elected and appointed Supreme Guardian Council officers. We’re all very proud of Dad Bob Clore and how he represented Virginia this year. Welcome home, Col Bob!

Welcome!

Okay, so Dad Bill and I had this brainstorm that we could share some of our travel stories with y'all online, rather than making the GGC newsletters 10,000 pages long.

You'll hear from Dad Bill, me . . .and probably even Flat Bill, from time to time!

If there's anything you'd like to see on our website, on this blog, in pictures, etc. just let us know! We'll do our best to make it happen!

~*~Mom Melanie~*~