By Jennifer Jacob Brown

jjacob@themeridianstar.com



Whether or not you were ever a member of the Debs Social Service Club, if you went to high school in Meridian in the past 50 years, odds are you are at least somewhat familiar with the Debs.  

This high school sorority has been a part of local high school culture since 1959, and celebrated its 50th anniversary Saturday by opening its Lead Out (a kind of prom for Debs only) to all Deb alumni and other people associated with the group.

The club started when the Meridian branch of a national group called Tau Phi Lambda decided they wanted to become independent. Bobby Savage, the first Deb President, recalls that they chose their name because “we all felt like little debutantes,” but wanted to be more informal. 

Savage now lives in Dade County, Fla., and said she couldn’t make it to the 50th anniversary, but she was happy to recall fond memories of the Debs’ early years. 

“It was the camaraderie of the other girls,” she said. “It was working for a common cause, it was educational… It was the parties that we had,” that made being a Deb special, she said. 

“And of course we were really into rock and roll music,” she added, recalling a local band called the Jokers that played at their parties. “We just had a really good wholesome time.” 

The Debs of 1959 were very similar to the Debs of 2009 — a group of high school girls who held meetings and Lead Out, formed lasting friendships, and focused on community service. 

But the original Debs did not do the one thing that makes today’s Deb pledges, or “rats,” easy to spot — wearing rat traps and little notebooks around their necks. The rat traps signify that girls are “ratting” to get into the Debs, and the notebooks are used to log their community service hours. Debs must have a certain number of community service hours to participate in Deb activities. 

Amy Boles Elliott was a Deb from 1992 to 1995, and has fond memories of that time. 

“You just felt like you were part of something special,” she said. “I still keep in contact with all my friends for 15 years… Deb love never dies.” 

She credits the Debs with teaching her leadership skills that she’s used in her career as a nurse. As a leader of the Debs, she said, she learned how to schedule people, manage groups, and run a meeting, among other things. At the time she said, she didn’t realize she was learning valuable skills — she was just having fun. 

Elliott said she’s excited about the 50th anniversary, adding, “I would love to see the Debs continue for the next 50 years.” 

The Debs have a legacy of community service in the Meridian area, pitching in for, among others, the Wesley House Community Service Center, the Red Cross, Love’s Kitchen, Relay for Life, and local nursing homes.

Deb Lead Out was held Saturday at the Temple Theater, which was packed, not only with current Debs, but Debs from years past all the way back to 1959.