Brethren, I want to thank you all for your support in working on this Conference and especially these committees and their members:

Host Committee of the Valley of Newport News

                 Ill. Jack L. Smith 33º IGH                   Bro. Bruce Edwards, KCCH
                 Ill. Adrian L Eure 33º IGH                  Bro. J. Richard Rawls, KCCH
                 Bro. Richard A. Russell, KCCH          Bro. Hilton R. Maney, KCCH
                 Bro. David W. Murray, KCCH           Ill. Aaron S. Zeno, 33º IGH
                 Bro. Brian R. Croteau, KCCH            Ill. Clifford Alan (Skip) Parker, 33º IGH, PGM

 Special thanks to the members of the Ladies of the Newport News Scottish Rite, the Knights of Saint Andrew and the members of the Valley of Newport News and their wives for their untiring help and support.

A very special thanks to the Hospitality Committee for hosting the Hospitality Rooms. Much work and planning went into setting them up and managing them throughout the Conference. Please take a moment to thank them especially Bruce Edwards, Barbara Davis, John and Barbara Lash and others.

My special thanks goes to my wonderful and lovely wife Pam for all that she has helped me with the last three years of working on this event. She is my heartbeat and my life, thank you Pam for all that you do.

Page S. Neale, Jr. 33° IGH

PAST Conference President

Special Thanks to the Valley of Newport News Scottish Rite Ladies

Heartfelt thanks to the Ladies of the Valley of Newport News Scottish Rite for the outstanding support and help of the 2019 Orient of Virginia Scottish Rite Conference.  You ladies are great and at true asset to the Valley of Newport News.  Thanks for all that you did to make the job of the “President’s Lady” so much easier to handle.  Thanks Ladies ! 

Pam Neale

2019 Orient of Virginia Conference Summary

The Ninety-Fifth annual meeting of the Scottish Rite Conference of Virginia was held on Friday and Saturday, September 27 and 28 at the Holiday Inn, Newport News - Hampton (formerly the Omni Hotel). Prior to the Conference, on Thursday September 26, a golf outing was held at Kiln Creek Golf Club with ten players enjoying a fun and sunny day of golf. Early arrivals enjoyed a lite fare dinner and fellowship in the hospitality suite that evening.

On Friday and Saturday mornings, the Knights of Saint Andrew helped welcome and register conference attendees and assisted them with their luggage, directions, and what needed to be done.

Friday, September 27

Two breakout sessions were held in the morning on Friday and presented by two members of our Valley with Bro Dave Murray, 32° KCCH, giving a very informative interactive talk about the DeMolay with members of the audience after which Bro Brian Croteau, 32° KCCH, gave a talk about the “Cable Tow”.  Both our Brothers were well received and are to be congratulated.

Lunch was provided in the hospitality suite during the noon hour and two more breakout sessions were provided by members from the Supreme Council: Ill. Len Proden, 33° Grand Almoner, SGIG and PGM in Washington, D.C. and Ill. Dean Alban, 33° Membership Services for the Supreme Council.  Both morning and afternoon sessions were well attended and most informative.  Later in the day, various meetings were held including: The Scottish Rite Foundation of Virginia, The President/Vice Presidents, and The Secretaries, Treasurers, and Personal Representatives.  

Later that evening a social was held and a banquet was enjoyed by all. The National Sojourners “Heroes of ‘76” processed in with the colors which were posted and the pledge given followed by the invocation by our Chaplain. During the banquet, Bro Steve Dowd, 32° KCCH, provided a wide variety of dinner music on his keyboard. Our guest speaker for the evening was Dr. Stacie Raymer, Professor and Chairperson of the Old Dominion Communication Disorders and Special Education Department. She provided a talk on how she became interested in hearing and language disorders due to her sister being born deaf. Attendance at the Friday night banquet totaled 191.

Saturday, September 28

Registration continued on Saturday and the Ninety-Fifth Session opened at 9:00am with welcoming comments by the President followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of our country.  Immediately after, a Necrology Service was conducted by the Conference Chaplain, Bro David W. Murray, 32° KCCH, to remember the Brethren who had passed since our last session and was a very solemn service.  Following the service, the minutes from our last annual session were waived by unanimous vote.  

The session then took a short break followed by the Election/Installation of Officers for the 2020 Scottish Rite Conference of Virginia. Bro William A. Robertson, Jr., 32° KCCH, was elected and installed as the 2020 President and Bro J. Richard Rawls, 32° KCCH, was elected and installed as Conference Vice President from the Valley of Newport News. Bro Brian Croteau, 32° KCCH, of the Valley of Newport News was elected Secretary/Treasurer of the Virginia Scottish Rite Conference. After the installation of officers, the Annual Meeting of the Scottish Rite Foundation of Virginia for 2019 was held. Following the meeting a benediction closed the session. The Brethren were invited to the hospitality rooms for barbecue, chicken nuggets, pasta salad, fruit, and more.

The Ladies luncheon was held during the noon hour where Elvis made an appearance and entertained with music, song, and gyrations, and much fun for the 63 ladies in attendance.

At 2:00pm, all conference attendees proceeded to the Newport News Scottish Rite Masonic Center to attend the KCCH Investiture. The Valley of Norfolk conducted the investiture and did an outstanding job. Thirty-seven 32° Scottish Rite Masons from the Orient of Virginia and two from the Orient of North Carolina received their “Red Hats”.

We truly appreciate the great job our Brethren from Norfolk did in presenting this investiture, giving these new KCCH members a powerful and lasting memory of this day.

Following dinner, the Past Presidents of the Conference were recognized along with distinguished guests, and the current Conference Officers. The Conference President Ill. Page S. Neale, Jr., 33° IGH, then made his closing comments and passed on the Conference Banner and Gavel to the In-coming President who provided his comments

The Sovereign Grand Commander and Sovereign Grand Inspector General At-Large, Southern Jurisdiction, USA., Ill. James Dean Cole, 33° then spoke and provided comments after which the Conference Chaplain closed the banquet with a benediction.  Saturday night’s attendance was 211.

Following the banquet, the Brethren and Ladies enjoyed the rest of the evening in fellowship visiting the various hospitality rooms.  Sunday morning saw many Brethren and their ladies shaking hands and giving hugs and well wishes until the next Conference.

Congratulations to our 2019 Honour Men