Screams of delight erupted as girls opened their invitations and ran to their new Rosebud families. On Oct. 6, 2025, members of the Rosebuds Junior Garden Club attended the second meeting of the year in the Dan Haskins Student Center. This meeting provided insight into changes within the organization and revealed the newly formed family groups, each led by one of the club officers.
“In the past, we have had big sisters and little sisters,” Rosebuds sponsor Jennifer Guffey said. “We came up with the idea of each of our officers having a group of sophomores, juniors and seniors underneath them to make up their family.”
The updated family system emphasizes the importance of teamwork within the club by encouraging girls to form connections with people outside of their circle of influence.
“The new family system will help to eliminate the cliques within Rosebuds,” Rosebuds president Kateleigh Crowson said. “It will also help everyone come together and allow members to strengthen their unity and bonds as one.”
Despite the club’s large size, the new structure works to improve efficiency by creating a greater sense of belonging among members. Regardless of girls’ positions in the organization, they play a part of the Rosebud family.
“I think that this will help Rosebuds as an organization by creating more of a sisterhood,” Guffey said. “Having a club that is so large can lower the number of families, which allows more camaraderie and getting to know everyone personally.”
In the past, Rosebuds enforced a system in which an upperclassman “adopted” an underclassman, guiding and taking care of them throughout the school year. While guiding and supporting younger members served as the main intent, the old system ultimately lacked organization and did not always provide a welcoming atmosphere. The new family model gives older Rosebuds a more organized opportunity to become mentors to their younger peers.
“The family system helps the members make friends and feel like they belong,” sophomore Zoe Taylor said. “New members can also have older ones to not just look up to, but become close with, which makes the club even more fun and supportive.”
The new family system promotes not only inclusion and organization within the club, but it also serves as a way for members to effectively communicate with one another regarding events within the club.
“The families are beneficial to the club because they allow us officers to be able to relay information, send reminders and keep our families updated about information in the club,” Rosebuds vice president Jlynn Dowden said. “It also helps us keep more members involved and participating in activities and events.”
