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The 68th Denver Debutante Ball carries on a rich tradition | NONPROFIT REGISTER

By 12/23/2024 | updated 8 months ago
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Ball Chair Shannon Furgason, center, poses with debutantes and escorts for a formal photo. The 68th Annual Denver Debutante Ball at the Denver, Colorado, on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (PHOTO: StevePeterson.photo)

Steve Peterson

DENVER DEBUTANTE BALL 

Denver

News: Change, while inevitable, isn’t something that happens often for events steeped so deeply in tradition, like the Denver Debutante Ball.

And when it does, it is handled seamlessly, with no fuss or fanfare.

The most noticeable change for the 68th Denver Debutante Ball, held on Dec. 21 at the Brown Palace Hotel, was the naming of Radio Band to succeed the Jerry Barnett Orchestra, whose trumpet fanfare had for years heralded the start of the ball and stayed on to provide music for the traditional father-daughter waltz and for the revelry that continued into the wee hours in the hotel rotunda.

Sadly, the switch was necessitated by the Feb. 6, 2024 passing of orchestra leader Jerry Barnett. The woman-owned Radio Band added a new dimension to the father-daughter waltz by offering something more contemporary: Taylor Swift’s “Lover.”

The 2024 ball also marked Ric Bellmar’s last turn as master of ceremonies, a post he had held since 2016. He will be succeeded by Glenn Rippey, whose mother, the late Sally Rippey, was presented at the first Denver Debutante Ball and whose father, Gordon Rippey, had served as master of ceremonies from 1993-2007.

While his duties don’t officially begin until 2025, Glenn Rippey was called upon to introduce this year’s receiving line, a gesture made so that Ric Bellmar could escort his wife, Lise, grandmother of 2024 debutante Kiera Latta, to her place in it.

Also in the receiving line: Marilyn and Pete Coors, whose granddaughter, Caroline Coors, was presented that night; Ellie Caulkins, grandmother of debutante Sarah Caulkins; Barbara Knight, a ball committee member since 1972 who was both honorary chair for this year’s ball and the grandmother of debutante Hazel Knight; Brooke Maloy, chair-elect of the 2025 ball, and her husband, Charles Maloy; and, 2024 ball chair Shannon Furgason and her husband, Brian.

Shannon Furgason is a third-generation member of the Denver Debutante Ball committee, having served on it for some 26 years.

The 68th Denver Debutante Ball

Thirty-seven debutantes were presented this year, all of whom have graduated from Colorado Academy, Kent Denver School, Regis Jesuit High School, Cate School, Cherry Creek High School and Lakewood High and are midway through their freshman year in college:

Claire Anderson, Denison University; Cara Babbs, the University of Colorado Denver; Georgia Burstein, the University of Virginia; Emilia Calamari, Colorado College; Sarah Caulkins, Dartmouth College; Audrey Connelly, Southern Methodist University.

Caroline Coors, California Polytechnic State University; Margaux Dempsey, the University of Colorado Boulder; Lucia Filippini, Santa Clara University; Francesca Fucarino, Boston University; Caroline Gambrill, University of Colorado Boulder; Estella Geller, Bucknell University; Arden Gerlach, Arizona State University.

Madeline Hackstaff, the University of Colorado Boulder; Caroline Hughes, the University of Georgia; Katelyn Jobe, Clemson University; Finley Joseph, the University of Denver; Rowan Joseph, Scripps College; Eleanor Klebe, Texas Christian University; Hazel Knight, the University of Puget Sound; Helaina Korneffel, Scripps College; Kiera Latta, James Madison University; Vivian Leuthold, the University of Southern California.

Victoria Loftus, the University of Notre Dame; Molly Lovejoy, Tulane University; Sophia Miles, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville; Lillian Mullins, the University of Tennessee; Helene Pearson, Santa Clara University; Katherine Rhine, Bucknell University; Arden Ritter, Arizona State University; Caitlin Ryan, the University of Wisconsin.

Lily Sheldon, the University of Tennessee; Anne Smith, the University of San Diego; Catherine Stava, Carnegie Mellon University; Violet Tetzeli, the University of Virginia; Allison Turner, Santa Clara University; and, Remy Wolkov, the University of Colorado.

About the organization: Since its founding in 1956, the Denver Debutante Ball has presented over 1,000 young women at a glittering holiday spectacular held at the Brown Palace Hotel. For some 50 years, the Denver Debutante Ball raised money for what was then the Denver Symphony Orchestra. Since 2011, it has been a fundraiser for Denver Botanic Gardens. In recent years, the debutantes themselves select a nonprofit organization to support as a group. The 2024 debutantes chose the Global Down Syndrome Foundation.

Have news or announcements for the Nonprofit Register? Email nonprofits@coloradopolitics.com and include a contact name and number if more information is needed.

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