Tribal representatives to be knighted on June 10

Grand Ronde Tribal Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy of Dallas, Tribal Council member Steve Bobb Sr. of Willamina and Rodney Ferguson, Spirit Mountain Casino chief executive officer, of McMinnville will be knighted by the Royal Rosarians at 10 a.m. Friday, June 10, in the Amphitheater of the Washington Park Rose Garden near downtown Portland.

The Royal Rosarians have been bestowing Honorary Knighthood upon dignitaries from around the world in an annual ceremony at Washington Park since they were formed in 1912.

Earlier this year, Spirit Mountain Casino, the primary business enterprise of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, took over as main sponsor of the annual Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade, which will be held on Saturday, June 11.

The casino and Tribe agreed to a three-year sponsorship of the parade because Portland lies in the Tribe's ceded lands that were signed over to the federal government in an 1857 treaty that guaranteed the Grand Ronde peoples a reservation, as well as education and medical benefits.

The Queen of Rosaria, Queen Victoria, will knight each Grand Ronde representative in an event rich in ceremonial pageantry that is made even grander by the natural beauty of the Washington Park Rose Garden.

Chairwoman Kennedy is the second longest-serving Chair in Grand Ronde Tribal Council history. Bobb, who is also a Vietnam veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, helped design this year's Spirit Mountain Casino Grand Floral Parade entry. Ferguson, a gaming industry veteran, has been in charge of running Spirit Mountain Casino since October 2008.