Ann Rose’s first visit to the Jonesburg Homecoming was something she will never forget.

The Montgomery City resident walked out at Lions Park with a crown on her head on June 15 after she was named the Jonesburg Homecoming Queen for 2024. She also earned a $1,000 scholarship to the college of her choice and a bouquet of – what else – roses.

“I was like, ‘Whoa, this actually just happened.’ I was not expecting it at all,” Rose said.

Rose was part of a court that included Makenzie Bethmann and Arianna Loeffler, a pair of Warrenton High School students. With her victory, Rose will return to Lions Park next year to crown the 2025 Homecoming Queen.

Rose said she enjoyed her experience at the three-day fair, which wrapped up its 83rd year.

“It’s so much fun,” said Rose, who will be a sophomore at Montgomery County High School this fall . “I’m definitely going to be returning for the next few years. It’s definitely entertaining, seeing all of the little kids running around with smiles on their faces and all happy. It’s definitely nice.”

Rose can thank one of her friends, Community R-6 student Adrianna Woodson, for influencing her to not only visit the Jonesburg Homecoming, but also run for queen.

“She was like, ‘Hey, you should put yourself out there.’ So I told mom about it because I was still on the fence,” Rose said. “She was like, ‘Yeah, it’s a good idea.’ It was definitely worth it.”

Rose’s inspirational speech she made at the queen contest talent competition on June 13 certainly caught the attention of the judges. Her speech was called “Lessons Learned,” which was about her experiences of losing her grandmother and her father and getting into a car accident in 2022.

“I started off and was like, ‘I don’t want to do this. This isn’t a great speech. It’s hard for me to talk about.’ Then, I thought about it and I was like, ‘People in this world are going to think they’re alone when they’re really not.’ I can be that person to make them realize that as a 15-year-old, I’ve been through almost everything,” Rose said. “So it’s definitely nice to be able to shine my light in the darkness for a lot of people.”

Rose said her mother, Amanda Burch, motivated her to stay strong despite the adversity.

“There were times where we sat in my room and we cried,” the teenager said. “She held me and told me everything was going to be OK. It happens for a reason. So she kept reminding me of that. I kept taking it to heart.”

On the day of the queen contest, Rose shared her thoughts about bullying.

“I was a kid who was always bullied,” Rose said. “It’s just not very kind for others to bully others. I believe that’s something our school society and everything in total needs to work on.”

Rose is a member of the FFA and FBLA groups at MCHS. She said she plans to be more active with the FFA this upcoming school year as she was named the chapter’s reporter.

“It’s definitely going to take a lot more time, but I think I can manage it all,” Rose said. “I’m quite excited.”

Also on June 15, Warrenton resident Meredith O’Brien was named the Jonesburg Homecoming Princess. She was part of a court that included Jonesburg residents Sophia Brucks and Monroe Andrews.