DENVER DEBUTANTE BALL

Denver

News: For the 67th year, the Denver Debutante Ball – arguably the crown jewel in Denver’s social-scene hierarchy – was the occasion for approximately 1,000 of the city’s Old Guard to gather at the Brown Palace Hotel to witness the presentation of 28 young women who are midway through their freshman year of college.

The debutantes, several of whom are fifth, sixth and seventh-generation Colorado natives, included:

Caroline Hunt, daughter of Sarah Shaw Anschutz and Christopher Hunt, attends Stanford University. Both her mother and grandmother, Nancy Anschutz, were members of the Denver Debutante Ball committee.

Mallory Blunk, a Regis Jesuit High School graduate now attending the University of Kansas. Her great-great-grandfather immigrated to Denver from Germany in 1887 and in 1892 founded Kirchhof Construction Company, which built such landmarks as the Denver Athletic Club, Holy Ghost Church, Good Shepherd Catholic Church, Kent Denver School and the State Capitol Annex.

Bradley Calkins, a Kent Denver grad now attending the University of Michigan. A fifth-generation Coloradan, she is the great-granddaughter of Ray Bell, who opened the state’s first gas station. Her father, Buzz Calkins, was an escort for debutantes presented in 1986, 1992, 1989 and 1994.

Kate Little, a fifth-generation Coloradan who was a five-sport athlete and one of Top 10 graduates at Thomas Jefferson High School, is the granddaughter of Joseph Little, the first mayor of Cherry Hills Village. Her maternal great-grandfather, Johnny Jordan, was an Olympic pole vault qualifier and her maternal grandfather, Zack Jordan, was voted one of CU’s 100 best football players. He’s also the namesake for the CU Buffs Most Valuable Player award. Her great aunt, the late Sally Winters Rippey, was presented at the first Denver Debutante Ball (1956) and her father, Chris Little, was a debutante escort in 1977 and 1981.

Sophia McClain, who is studying neuroscience and nursing at the University of Northern Colorado, is the granddaughter of Lise Bellmar, whose husband, Richard Kent Bellmar, has been the ball’s master of ceremonies since 2016.

Diana Reidy, who attends the University of Virginia, is the granddaughter of former CU President Bruce Benson. She was a four-year member of the academic honor roll at Colorado Academy, where she also captained the school’s 2022 state field hockey championship team.

Cate Maloy is a seventh-generation native. Her maternal grandparents, Dutch and Pam Bansbach, are among the state’s most generous philanthropists, having made significant donations to causes that include the Central City Opera, Colorado Academy and Denver Children’s Home. Belleview Station, near the Denver Technological Center, is the last part of the Bansbach family homestead, and the family’s Front Range Land and Development, developed it with the vision of creating an urban center of the DTC and the southern gateway to the city of Denver.

Sixth-generation Coloradans presented at the Dec. 22 event chaired by Julie Egan, also included Piper Adams, Sawyer Beardsley, Kate Parsons, Ellie Seccombe and Meredith Waters.

Rounding out the Debutante Class of 2023 were Olivia Aguirre, a Colorado Academy grad studying economics and marketing at Trinity College; Ellie Austin, a Kent Denver grad majoring in environmental studies at Tulane University; Millie Bjork, a Kent Denver grad studying political science at the University of Michigan; Emerson-Ellis Coleman, a Colorado Academy grad studying microbiology and Spanish at Wake Forest University; Lily Engles, a graduate of Valor Christian High School attending Wake Forest University; Charlotte Frampton, a Kent Denver grad attending Davidson College; Demetria Grauer, a Cherry Creek High grad attending the University of Mississippi; Caroline Halaby, an East High grad attending Texas Christian University; CeCe Heckling, a Cherry Creek High grad enrolled at CU Boulder’s Leeds School of Business; Kate Humphreys, a Kent Denver grad attending Scripps College; Hana Husmann, a St. Mary’s Academy grad majoring in biology at the University of San Diego; Molly Jacobson, a Cherry Creek High grad attending the University of Wisconsin; Taylor Matthews, a Cherry Creek High grad attending Metropolitan State University of Denver; Ana Myers, a Kent Denver grad attending the University of San Diego; Samantha Rudnick, a South High School grad attending the University of Colorado; Allie Smith, a graduate of Bethesda Chevy Chase High School attending the University of Mississippi; Avery White, a Mullin High grad studying nursing at Miami University of Ohio; and, Edie White, a Mullin High grad attending St. Lawrence University.

About the organization: Since its founding in 1956, the Denver Debutante Ball has presented over 1,000 young women at a ball held each December at the Brown Palace Hotel. Initially, it was a benefit for what was then the Denver Symphony Orchestra, which eventually became the Colorado Symphony. In 2012, it became a fundraiser for Denver Botanic Gardens. Additionally, the debutantes commit to a Done-In-A-Day project at Denver Botanic Gardens, a mentoring workshop where former debutantes with careers in the corporate and entrepreneurial worlds present valuable career-prep tips and information, and a fundraiser. The 2023 debutantes selected Judi’s House, a nonprofit founded by former NFL quarterback Brian Griese and his wife, Dr. Brook Griese, a clinical psychologist specializing in childhood trauma and loss. Judi’s House offers programs that help children and families grieving a death.

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