Faye Jenkins Deal, the daughter and sister of watermen, daughter and sister of previous grand marshals, and longtime volunteer with the Guinea Heritage Association, will serve as grand marshal of the 2017 Guinea Jubilee, to be held Sept. 29 and 30.
Deal’s selection was announced Sunday afternoon during Guinea Heritage Day, an elaborate festival preview which packed the house at the Abingdon Ruritan Centre at Bena. The Ruritan grounds will host the festival at the end of the month.
Hamilton Williams, in introducing Deal, said, “Faye was born and raised in the heart of Guinea, on Mundy’s Creek Road in Maryus, known as the capital of Guinea, because it was about as far as you can go.”
She has volunteered with the jubilee since its beginnings in 1979, Williams said, and “Her love and respect for watermen began at home, witnessing both her father and brothers making a living on the water.”
He added, “She represents all that is good and all that is s...