Recognitions

Rainbow girls earn merit awards for their activities and participation with their Assembly and for the service they offer others, and many scholarships are available for those seeking higher education. These awards are usually presented to the girls at the Installation of Officers which occurs every four or six months.

Merit Recognitions

When a girl becomes a member of Rainbow, she is expected to actively participate in the Assembly activities. To encourage this participation, she earns "points" which are recorded. As she accumulates points, she is rewarded with various items of recognition, the most noticeable being her Merit Bars, Pot of Gold, Wreath and, in some Assemblies, perfect attendance pins. The girls are encouraged and expected to display these awards each meeting.

MERIT BADGE: This is the first award earned by a new Rainbow member. It is earned by memorizing the Obligation. Depending on the traditions of each Assembly, it is acceptable for new members to either recite the Obligation at the altar during a meeting or to recite it only to the Mother Advisor or her adult designee.
RED MERIT BAR: This Merit Bar is earned by memorizing and reciting the American's Creed (found in the Ritual) to the Assembly, the Mother Advisor or adult designee, and earning 100 points (described below). OTHER MERIT COLOR BARS (6): These Merit Bars are awarded, in order, by earning an additional 100 points for each bar.
POT OF GOLD: The Pot of Gold is awarded after all other Merit Bars and an additional 100 points are earned.
WREATH: The Wreath is awarded after the Pot of Gold by correctly answering 20 specific questions about Rainbow's history and traditions. These questions are administered by the Mother Advisor or her adult designee within the traditions of the Assembly (i.e., publicly or in private.) (8/96)
PERFECT ATTENDANCE BAR(S): These awards are earned for perfect attendance for one year, which must be verified through the roll book. A perfect attendance bar (or certificate) may be awarded when the member has three or fewer excused absences which have been made up through her attendance at another Assembly's meeting; attendance must be verified.
PROFICIENCY: There are five levels of Proficiency available in Nevada. The first level, or Proficiency test is a test given to any Rainbow Girl who wishes to demonstrate a basic body of information and knowledge about Rainbow. A girl may then continue advancing through the next 4 levels during her time in Rainbow. Proficiency awards are given each year during Grand Assembly, and she should wear her pin at all meetings. Adults are encouraged to participate in our proficiency program.

Adult Service Award

The Adult Service Award was designed about 10 years ago to recognize adults who give extraordinary service to IORG. It recognizes, at the same level, non-affiliated adults who are not be eligible for the Grand Cross of Color. Nevada IORG has many loyal and supportive parents working side-by-side with affiliated adults. The Adult Service Award may be awarded after 5 years of dedicated service.

Grand Cross of Color

Grand Cross of Color This is the highest honor that the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls can bestow for service. It is given for exceptional service above and beyond that service usually required. This honor is conferred upon Rainbow Girls, Master Masons, and members of the Eastern Star annually. A Majority Member of Rainbow is also eligible to receive this award under certain circumstances.

The maximum number bestowed is based on the number of new members initiated into the Assembly during the year. One adult award may be given for each award given to a girl. There are never more adults than Rainbow Girls recognized for service. This honor is voted on by the Advisory Board of that year and approved by the Supreme Officer of the State. In Nevada, both girls and adults must be in Rainbow for at least 5 years to be considered for this award.

History of the Grand Cross of Color- by the Rev. W. Mark Sexson

The Grand Cross of Color is the highest award that can be bestowed upon a Rainbow Girl or adult.

I thought of those who had served and made Rainbow possible without any hope of reward. This honour was intended for girls, and yet, the possibility of it was brought about by adults, those who could see in the value of youth the coming of tomorrow. It must have beauty and glamour in order to appeal to youth, drawing them out of a drab period in their lives. It was the beauty and the eternal in the lives of the adults who made this degree possible and clothed it with colour and gave it its appeal.

"Those who labour for a prize, if they have only that in mind, will find it empty when they receive it, but those who receive a prize for something they have done unconsciously for someone else, will find it contains many hidden treasures."

The honoured group in Rainbow must have a proper insignia, and I could not detach it from that of the Cross, because I had seen it used effectively in so many Orders. In fact, it was the one insignia that stood out above all others, and yet, in some combinations of it, must necessarily be the highest crown of our labours. There was the Cross of Christianity; the Roman Cross; The Cross of St Andrew and the Roes Croix of the Scottish Rite Masonry. A proper insignia of Rainbow could very well include all the beauties and colours of all Orders, consequently it must be the Grand Cross of Color. There could be nothing higher or more suggestive of the Infinite, or of the mind of youth, as it lives in its realm where doubts had not penetrated. It would embrace all the sacredness of Christian religion, which must forever be made dear in the hearts of youth. It would include all the beauties that nature ever clothed herself with, so that those who were entitled to this insignia would feel themselves in close harmony with the world in which they live.

The degree was first exemplified on November 7, 1927 in Okalahoma City during the International Convention of the Order of the Rainbow for Girls.

Brother C.L. Stange, who was then Supreme Deputy in the state of Missouri, prepared the Vow to be used at the conferring of the degrees. This Vow has been revised but remains practically the same as it was in the beginning. All members of the Grand Cross, before partaking of the Mystic Banquet, will take this Vow. It is intended for both adults and the girls. The first Mystic Banquet of the Grand Cross of Color was held on November 15, 1931, inaugurating an annual obligatory service of breaking bread with the Masters of the Grand Cross of Color and renewing vows of service to the Order of the Rainbow for Girls.