Florida's Grandie Brag Rags

"Sweet Side of Life"

Almost any old Rainbow Girl remembers her brag rag.  We wore them with pride, showing off all that we had accomplished in our Rainbow careers, sharing our travels, our support of Grand Worthy Advisors through the years and, well, as the name implies, "bragging".  Nowadays, sadly, pins, merit bars and buttons as well as entire brag rags can be found for sale on eBay.  Now, I'm not a memorabilia collector so I don't regularly search the Rainbow Girls listings on eBay but I have a suspicion that there might not be a lot of brag rags originating from Florida that wind up for sale to the highest bidder.  Specifically, Florida's very special, unique Grand Officer Brag Rags.

"Celebrate Traditions"

Most jurisdictions have Grand Officer pins which are often passed down from girl to girl.  In Florida, every single Grand Officer is also given a custom, hand-embroidered brag rag which is hers to keep.  These brag rags are embroidered with her office, the year, and a symbol or emblem representing the Grand Worthy Advisor's theme.  Each Grand Officer attaches her office pin to this brag rag and generally also the session pin.  Some choose to add a few other pins special pins but these are designed to "brag" about your Grand Office and nothing else.  And, once you receive a Grandie Brag Rag you no longer wear any other brag rag.

"God's Garden of Hope"

The brag rags were started around 1992 when Mom Lish was State Mother Advisor.  She sent them to all of the Grand Officers that year as a birthday gift.  They were such a hit that others followed in her footsteps and eventually the Grand Worthy Advisors' support committees took on the task.  The tradition almost died a few years ago when Florida changed their GWA selection process and the GWAA stopped advancing, but a team of dedicated volunteers offered to take on this enduring tradition.  Now, they spend their summer months between Grand Assembly and the First Official Visit in a mad, furious haze of cross-stitching in order to deliver those coveted brag rags to the new, excited Grand Family. 

What an amazing, wonderful tradition that Florida has!  Kudos to the hard-working, creative folks who make this a reality every year! 

"All Things Bright & Beautiful",
"Let Your Light Shine", &
"Dare to Dream"