True, the massive crystal chandelier — retrofitted with friendlier-to-the-environment LED lights — that is hung for the occasion in the rotunda lobby was especially pretty this year, as were the clutches of crimson and cream-colored roses that each of the 33 debutantes held.
What gives this ball an edge is that the girls making their debuts are from the so-called Old Guard; families that have shaped Colorado and in some cases the nation. Each debutante is mindful of the role her forbears have played, and what is expected of her in return.
The Class of 2007 included Morgan Griffin, who is descended from Presidents William Henry Harrison and Benjamin Harrison; Rachel Loeb, daughter of state Court of Appeals Judge Alan Loeb; and Hillary Schoelzel, whose father, Scott, plans to step down as the manager of the $10.4 billion Janus 20 Fund.
Rachel Loeb, a studio art and graphic design major at Skidmore College, is the No. 1 singles and doubles player for her college tennis team and led the team to its current top 10 ranking. Hillary Schoelzel takes time from her English and creative writing studies at Vanderbilt to design sets and costumes for the university’s theatrical productions; she also volunteers for the Boys and Girls Clubs in Nashville.
Other debs have grandfathers in the Colorado Business Hall of Fame; fathers or grandfathers who’ve held public office; and relatives who’ve distinguished themselves in such fields as commercial real estate, energy, real estate development, finance and law.
Ginny Freyer chaired the 2007 ball; Barbara Knight was the honorary chair, succeeding the founding chairwoman, Katie Stapleton. Lise Bellmar begins her two-year term as chairwoman in 2008.
Freyer, along with her husband, John Evans Freyer; Knight, with her son, Roger Davis Knight IV, and Bellmar, with her husband, Richard Kent Bellmar, stood in the receiving line with Gene and Walter Alfred Koelbel, whose granddaughter, Kari, was one of the debutantes.
Arthur Gordon Rippey III, whose wife, Sally Winters Rippey, was in the first debutante class, served as master of ceremonies.
A complete list of the debutantes, along with more information about them, can be found in my blog: davidson.
And on that happy note, I’m going to take a vacation. See you again on Jan. 9.
