Miss Elizabeth Anne Kellum of Weems was crowned Queen of the Holly Realm on Saturday, December 28, 2019, at Indian Creek Yacht and Country Club near Kilmarnock.
Miss Kellum was selected through popular vote by those attending the 124th Holly Ball. Miss Kellum will serve as queen until December at the 125th Holly Ball, the Tidewater Foundation’s fundraising arm.
Fourteen Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula area debutantes were presented at this year’s annual Holly Ball, reported Patricia Gallagher of the publicity committee.
Dr. Elizabeth Hinton “Sissy” Crowther of Reedville provided an eloquent oration for the gala event and crowned Miss Kellum. She succeeds reigning Queen Alyssa Summerville Booth, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Timothy Booth Sr. of White Stone.
Davis, Elizabeth Anne Kellum and Trinity Ann Taylor; (next row) Carter Mears Pollard, Mary Virginia Pegram Hope, Brantley
Marie Swift, Eliza Carr Schmidt, Meredith Peyton Wilmer and Abrianna Lynn Lowery; (next row) Latney Grace Hodges, Alyssa
Summerville Booth and Madison Jenny Davis. Photo by Yours Truly Photography
Queen Kellum, a student at Christopher Newport University, is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Gray Barrack Jr. of Farnham and Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Kellum of Reedville. She was presented by her father, Mr. Kellum, and escorted by Jonathan P. Maupins.
She chose as her attendants, Miss Rachel Olivia Clarke, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Dwight Clarke of White Stone, escorted by Parker Dean Smith of White Stone, and Miss Abigail Grace Smith, the daughter of James Willard Smith Jr. of Warsaw and Tracy Davis Smith of Warsaw. Miss Smith was presented by her father and escorted by Joshua Chase McAllister of Warsaw.
Other debutantes were Miss Catherine Avery Marchant Davis, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Davis of Haymarket; Miss Madison Jenny Davis, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Todd Davis of Lancaster; Miss Latney Grace Hodges, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Christian Hodges of Kilmarnock; and Miss Mary Virginia Pegram Hope, the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. William Cameron Hope IV of Edenton, N.C.
Also, Miss Abrianna Lynn Lowery, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Keith Lowery of Weems and Mr. and Mrs. Michael Hill of Lancaster; Miss Carter Mears Pollard, the daughter of Albert Clarkson Pollard Jr. of Irvington and Mariah Nottingham Mears of Irvington; Miss Eliza Carr Schmidt, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Carlton Jeffers Schmidt Jr. of Irvington; and Miss Brantley Marie Swift, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Scott Swift of Reedville.
Also, Miss Trinity Ann Taylor, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Frederick Taylor of Heathsville; Brittany Michelle White, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Philip Dwayne White of Reedville; and Miss Meredith Peyton Wilmer, the daughter of Mrs. Whitney Lowery Kammeter of Reedville and Mr. Alan Wade Wilmer, Junior, of Burgess.
Retired Lt. Col. Montgomery Carter Deihl served as master of ceremonies. Ushers were Creston Jon Sanders of White Stone, Albert Clarkson Pollard III of Irvington, Pierson Marshall Long of Kilmarnock and Parker Osburn Vaughan of Warsaw
All proceeds from the event are distributed to a variety of charitable organizations in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula. This philanthropy, with roots dating to 1950 with the Christmas Assembly, is perpetuated with the Tidewater Foundation Assembly formation in 1958 and celebrated through present day. The Foundation is grateful for the generous support of the guests, in-kind gifts, and outpouring support of the community for their loyal support.
