Caroline Contingent Attends Virginia Inaugural Festivities
By Susan F. Sili
Richmond was abuzz with the gubernatorial inauguration last weekend and among the throng of observers and participants were several Caroline residents.
The inaugural festivities kicked off last Thursday with a black tie event to honor Lt. Governor-elect Bill Bolling at the Science Museum of Virginia. Bolling took a few minutes to thank several thousand supporters including Caroline Clerk of the Circuit Court, Ray S. Campbell Jr. and his wife Kim before guiding his wife Jean-Ann Bolling onto the dance floor. Later Bolling, who has served Caroline County first as a State Senator and subsequently Lt. Governor for the past four years, moved among the crowd of supporters in his typical down-to earth style. The Bollings have been frequent visitors to Caroline County for many years including the annual Community Salt Fish breakfast.
Friday night the famous Jefferson Hotel in Richmond was the scene for a private “Sponsor’s Gala” honoring soon to be Governor Bob McDonnell. Seven hundred supporters gathered in the Grand Ball room for dinner. Caroline residents attending the dinner included Gil and Judy Shelton of Moss Neck Manor and Jeff Sili, Bowling Green District Supervisor. One of the most interesting aspects of the event were the number of supporters from across the United States, not simply Virginia.
Saturday morning, Governor-elect McDonnell and his wife Maureen were honored at a prayer breakfast where over 1000 attendees rose to their feet to pray for the new administration. As the motorcade left to take the McDonnells to prepare for the inauguration, staffers recalled how McDonnell joked on the campaign trail that the weather for his swearing in would be sunny and warm. After Virginia’s intense cold spell, McDonnell’s prediction proved accurate, as the temperature rose on inauguration day to a sunny 57 degrees.
Bleachers seating just under 5000 were filled at the capitol for the inauguration ceremony. The Virginia Capitol, built in 1785 and housing the oldest legislative body in the United States, was draped with red, white and blue bunting and the steps laid out with chairs for members of the General Assembly and visiting guests. Cadets from Virginia Military Institute in their dress uniforms and overcoats acted as docents helping guests find their seats.
Security leading up to and during the event was a massive undertaking. Caroline resident and local Republican Party member Mark Fero, who lives in Lake Caroline, has been working in various capacities for Bob McDonnell since his Attorney General days. Fero greeted Caroline folks as they arrived for their seats at the inauguration including Supervisor Jeff Sili, Bowling Green Mayor and Mrs David Storke, Councilman and Mrs. Dan Webb and Gil and Judy Shelton.
The invocation was delivered by a wonderfully diverse group of clergy which included a priest, a minister and Rabbi Israel Zoberman. Jeanine McDonnell daughter of the Govenor-elect sang accapela, The Star Spangled Banner.
A traditional part of the inauguration ceremony was the convening of both bodies of the General Assembly for the official swearing in of the Virginia Governor. As the ceremony began, the legislators took their seats and the announcer called on the Honorable House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith to convene both the Senate and the House of Delegates. Griffith did so and then turned both bodies over to long-time Speaker of the Virginia House, Bill Howell who presided over the Assembly during the ceremony. Forty-two members of both the House and the Senate served on the Inaugural Committee and were attired in formal morning coats in honor of the Governor.
Attorney General-elect Ken Cuccinelli was the first to receive the oath of office and was accompanied by four of his daughters and his wife Tiero. Next, Lt. Governor Bill Bolling was sworn in with his wife, Jean-Ann at his side.
With his hand on the Bible held by his wife Maureen, the 71st Governor of Virginia, the Honorable Robert Francis McDonnell was given the oath of office by Virginia Supreme Court Justice, Barbara Keenan, the first woman to swear in a Virginia Governor. The oath called on McDonnell to uphold both the constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of Virginia, which brought a soft cheer from spectators assembled in the nearby bleachers.
As the 29th Army Band played, and the American flag flew over the Richmond Capitol, the Virginia National Guard delivered a gun salute to the new Governor followed immediately by a thunderous fly over formation of four jets from the Virginia National Guard 192nd Fighter Wing. The Speaker of the House then moved to adjourn the legislature “sine die” and the brand new Governor greeted Virginians with a huge smile and wave.
In the moments before the traditional inaugural parade began, the Governor received the delegation and greeting of the Virginia Native American chiefs from the Chickahominy, Eastern Chickahominy, Pamunkey Nansemond and Manahoc. Drummers and dancers representing all eight Virginia tribes performed for the Governor and First Lady.
The parade theme honored the founding fathers, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry. Parade entries from all over the Commonwealth and beyond included The Note Dame Irish Guard, The 1st Continental Light Dragoons from Williamsburg, The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, The Virginia Regiment of the Continental Line from Disputanta and a mounted contingent called Just Horsing Around in Virginia.
The day’s festivities ended with a ball at the Richmond Convention Center honoring the new Governor and Virginia’s First Lady. Thanking supporters, the Governor took the First Lady to the dance floor and dipped her to the delighted roar of the crowd. The following day at a luncheon for the First Lady at the Omni, the Governor played surprise guest and arrived unexpectedly with flowers for his wife. He joked to the crowd, “Last night I told my Limo driver to take me back to my rooms at the Jefferson but he said, “No sir, tonight I’m taking you to the Governor’s Mansion!”
The Cradle of Democracy
Governor McDonnell’s speech reminded all present that Virginia really was the cradle of democracy:
“From this hill the land rolls gently down to the James River, the waterway of the settlers in 1607. From this place, the sweep of history has moved us forward to today. This is the cradle of democracy for Virginia and America. Governor Thomas Jefferson designed this capital building. Governor Patrick Henry came here for the laying of its cornerstone, I am humbled today to follow in their historic footsteps. The General Assembly first convened in their new building during the first term of America’s first president. Virginia’s George Washington. Behind me, in the rotunda are the busts of the eight Virginians who became President. It was here that Robert E, Lee, the son of a Virginia Governor, was commissioned as commander of the Commonwealth’s military forces as a young nation split into war. It was here, four years later, that President Abraham Lincoln came to begin the process of reuniting our war torn nation, walking the streets of still smoldering Richmond. And it was here, 125 years after Lincoln’s, visit that a grandson of slaves, L. Douglas Wilder, took the oath of office as the nation’s first African American Governor. And it here, today, that an average, middle class kid from Fairfax County, a grandson of Irish immigrants, is given the enormous honor of becoming the 71st Governor of Virginia.”
