On Saturday, women’s social clubs Iota Chi (IX) and Ju Go Ju (JGJ) will be holding reunions to celebrate their clubs, visit with alumni and share what the club is doing this year.
“We’re really excited about what all we have planned this weekend,” senior IX president Meredith Sanders said.
IX is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a tailgate prior to the football game. Also at the reunion will be a slideshow showcasing the club’s current activities and service projects.
“This reunion is important because I know that when I’m an alum, I’m going to want to look back and see how the club is growing,” Sanders said. “I know the girls that have come before me feel the same way.”
Sanders said that a lot of alumni started out participating in a service project that raised money for She Dances, an organization that brings awareness to human trafficking, and the club is happy to continue that tradition.
“I would like for the (alumni) to see that some of the things they started are still being carried out,” Sanders said.
Sanders, who joined the club her freshman year, said that IX means a great deal to her.
“I graduated from a small school with a graduating class of 38, so my friend group was pretty small, and I came to college with the expectation that I’d find another small friend group to fit in with,” Sanders said. “I found that times 20 in Iota Chi. I found a sisterhood that means so much to me, and as excited as I am to take a new step in life and graduate, it’s kind of bittersweet to leave it all behind.”
Celebrating 90 years as a club, JGJ will be holding a brunch with current and former members in Cone Chapel on Saturday morning.
The brunch is a come and go event for alumnae to meet current members, catch up with fellow members and celebrate the long-lived history and legacy of the club.
According to sophomore members Keely Baldridge and Keslee Dunivan, the club will host a tailgate with grilled hotdogs and hamburgers before the football game. Baldridge and Dunivan serve as “sunshine girls,” who help plan and coordinate events like the reunion.
“Being the first girls club on campus, I think this is really important to see how far our club has come and see how it’s changed, but also kept certain traditions,” senior JGJ president Bren Grymes said. “Hopefully the event will show how a legacy really can continue on for such a long period of time.”
Grymes said that her goal for the reunion is for increased communication between alumni and members and to create and relive great memories of JGJ.
Class of 1969 graduate and former JGJ member Sheri Shearin said she made some of her life-long friends while in the club and they still keep in touch today. Shearin applauded the club on its legacy as well as thanked those who have made the club such a success over the years.
“Current and former members are thrilled that JGJ has the opportunity to celebrate being on Harding’s campus for 90 consecutive years,” Shearin said. “This says a lot about the caliber of current and former members. Celebrating 90 years also speaks highly of the many dedicated women who now serve or have served as sponsors. They have volunteered much time and energy so that the club can function.”
Both clubs are looking forward to the reunions and said they also have high hopes for participation from new members who are joining the club this year.
