WOMEN OF THE NATIONAL WESTERN

Denver

News: The founders of Double D Ranch luxury Western wear – sisters Cheryl, Audrey and Hedy McMullen – departed Yoakum, Texas, last week with two semi-trailer trucks loaded with shoes, boots, jewelry and clothing.

The trucks, plus the sisters and a crew of helpers, were bound for Denver, where they’d transform the third floor of the Hall of the West on the National Western Stock Show campus into a showroom, a fashion show benefiting the NWSS’s $150 million Honoring the Legacy Campaign.

The fundraiser was a Denver first for both Double D Ranch and Women of the National Western, whose members hosted the Sept. 17 event that drew over 300 guests for an evening that in addition to the fashion show, included ample time for shopping, socializing and sampling a Western-themed buffet that featured build-your-own chicken and beef tacos, green chile mac ‘n cheese and churros.

The shopping portion of the evening proved so successful that the joke going around is that while the semis were packed to the gills for the northward journey, they returned to Texas with just the furniture, shelving and racks that were part of the shopping area.

Carrie Tynan, chief executive officer at the Adolph Coors Foundation and a key player in Women of the National Western, shared how thrilled she and her fellow members were to have Double D Ranch as a partner for an event that was nothing short of amazing.

Tynan has chaired the 2024 and 2025 editions of Cowgirls & Cocktails, fundraisers also hosted by Women of the National Western. The Double D Ranch event, she added, was a prelude to the 2026 Cowgirls & Cocktails that will take place on Jan. 22, also on the National Western campus.

“This is more than a gathering of friends or a show,” added Mitchell Franz, Double D Ranch’s vice president of marketing and strategy and the evening’s master of ceremonies. “It’s a celebration of all of you and the legacy you’re building together. To us, you are so much more than customers. You’re encouragers, confidantes and more.”

He also described the Double D Ranch clothing lines as “Living, breathing works of art.”

Among the guests: Nancy Jones, whose husband, Doug, chairs the NWSS board of directors; Carla Grant, wife of NWSS chairman emeritus Pat Grant, with their daughter Cammie; Chancy Love, managing partner of Protea Investments; Audra McNicholas, a former Miss Rodeo Colorado and founder/trainer at McNicholas Miniature Therapy Horses; Brandis Becky, partner at Becky Family Investment Co.; Kittie Hook, chair of the Lowry Foundation board of directors; Shannon Furgason, chair of the 2025 Denver Debutante Ball; Missy Eliot, who chaired the ball in 2017; Julie Mallon, chief executive officer at Sweetgrass at Thunderbasin in Weston, Wyo.; Antonette DeLauro Smith, founder of Silverado Strategies; Kristi Pohly, owner of Fleur Decor and Pohly Hat Co.; and Angela Lieurance, director of the NWSS Capital Campaign and the driving force with Women of the National Western.

About the organization: Women of the National Western was formed to engage further women who love, promote, and protect the West’s culture, values, and work. Its goals include supporting the National Western Stock Show’s educational mission through fundraising, volunteering and bringing together women interested in agriculture and Western traditions.

Website: nationalwestern.com

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