Welcome to JD 2 Bee -

The same year that the American Constitution was amended to give women the right to vote, a woman in Nebraska founded an organization designed to teach young girls to grow into leaders, philanthropist, artist, scientists, bankers, secretaries, and good citizens filled with faith and strong ties to their families.

Emmy award-winning actress Kim Cattrall, movie and music legend Debbie Reynolds, famous opera singers and police captains are example alumni of this order where the girls form into sorority like clubs and run their meetings using Robert’s Rules of Order. On the weekends these girls don ballgowns and host silver teas, attend balls, go to the convention in matching outfits and raise funds to purchase hearing aids and assistive devices for children who have hearing impairments. The order has expanded internationally and the meetings are held in a variety of languages, however, the underpinning message and purpose remains the same. 

The message is from the Book of Job in the old testament (also the Torah) of a man who lives through hard times but keeps his faith alive. The story has universal appeal, especially to teens who are struggling to navigate peer pressure, apply to college, be good daughters and discover their identities while planning their futures. If you live in the midwest or if you lived through the 1960s you might have heard of the International Order of Job’s Daughters when it was a household name. It was the hay day for “Jobies” when some cities had two full cores of officers in two separate chapters. 

The uniform for the order is a floor length Grecian robe that every member wears as a visual reminder that they are equal to each other once they have entered the meeting room. Differences and age and grades or outside financial or social influence have no bearing in the meeting room. The meeting room is often a room in a Masoncic Temple. You have seen the outside of a Masonic Temple if you have gone down Hollywood Blvd as Jimmy Kimmel currently rents and films out of that building. 

Because it is an organization designed for girls age 10 until they become young women at the age of 20, the leadership titles appeal to the feminine offices of power.  The presiding officer of each chapter, Bethel, is called the Honored Queen and the Vice President and Junior Vice President are referred to as Senior and Junior Princesses accordingly. The entire Bethel votes on who they want as their leader, so winning the election is both an honor and a great responsibility. There is a great deal of pageantry with crowns and capes and sashes. Younger girls can be seen wearing their sweaters around their necks and pretending to be the princesses. They dream of the day they become Honored Queen and what their fancy installation ceremony might look like.  Every Queen plans her term which is 6 months long. She has to design a fundraiser, planned fun events, prepare for visiting dignitaries, assign all the other offices in the Bethel, and live within a budget. She is a miniature CEO who has spent two years learning to do this job. 

Some areas are large and have multiple Bethels. It would be difficult for the International office to watch over them all and maintain a healthy culture. They have a system in place to grant some areas , usually by state, a leading adult  head officer, known as a Grand Guardian. Because states, like California, are rather large, and travelling to make sure every Bethel works as it should would be cumbersome, there are women stationed as Deputy Grand Guardians. It is their job to help the daughters memorize their work, learn the Robert's Rules of Order, and be a helping hand to the adults in each Bethel. A good deputy is a wonderful friend to the children, a cheerleader too a tired and troubled teen, and a trusted confidant to the young women who are about to age out or who have been elected to a higher state office.  

As the girls, called "daughters of the Bethel" age, they often become friends with the adults who guided them. Many daughters reach the "Age of Mjority" when they are too old to participate as an active member, and they then join the guiding adults in the Bethel Guardian Council.

But what about girls on the other end of the spectrum? They are too young to be official Bethel daughters in Job's Daughter's International. In the 1980's a new program was formed for these would be junior members - called "JD to Be" and referred to as "bees". Their club is not a Bethel, they are referred to as a "Beehive" and join the older girls in as many activities and adventures as possible.