Assisteens Earn Right to Come Out and Dance
Nineteen young ladies waltzed through the portals of society Saturday night at the second annual Medallion Debutante Ball sponsored by the Assistance League of Newport Beach. Wearing their flowing white gowns and opera-length gloves, the honorees flitted and flirted and danced with dads and escorts as the stars of the black-tie show at the Hyatt Regency Irvine.
Then and Now
Used to be debbing was “a social thing,” said Sue Mears, chairwoman of the ball. “Now it’s a reward.”
All of the debutantes were marking the end of their years of community service as members of Assisteens, an Assistance League volunteer group for high school girls, Mears said.
The beneficiaries of Assisteens’ time--from 30 to more than 100 volunteer hours per deb per year--include the Assistance League thrift shop in Newport Beach, the Share Our Selves homeless resource center in Costa Mesa; the Orangewood Children’s Home for abused and abandoned children in Orange, and the Newport Harbor Art Museum.
Then and Now: A Family Affair
Among the gang of 19 was Lara Paige Carlsen, who attended the ball with her dad, Gary, mom, Anne and maternal grandmother, Frances Carlson.
Frances and Anne, who have been Assistance League members since the ‘50s, said they were thrilled to see Lara get the debutante treatment they never had.
“We didn’t have anything like that,” said Frances, who joined the Pomona Assistance League in 1953. She gazed around at the cocktail reception. Tuxes and ball gowns stretched from the check-in desk to the banquet hall doors. A giddy hum buzzed from the 470-plus guests.
“In a way, it’s like this party is for us, too,” she added, slipping her arm through daughter Anne’s. “I just love three-generation parties--I love seeing all the families together.”
In the Limelight
Others making their St. James bows (a straight-back deep knee-bend that would make Jane Fonda proud) in front of a white gazebo onstage:
Christina Barbara Abbott, Jennifer Michell Braun, Kelly Margaret Fulton, Holly Bernadette Hannam, Aimee Brynn Jolliffe, Emily Ann Johnson, Kristen Marlene Kloster, Lisa Camille Liberto, Christine Aurea McClintock, Jana Catherine Mielke, Jacqueline Georgette O’Leary, Prentice Samantha Perkins, Lynn Pennington Randall, Christine Jaeyoung Rhie, Carolyn Ross Rohrer, Tracy Thon Schriber, Tara Jaye Stemper, Sheri Lynere Stroffe.
QUOTE
Escorts Matt Sherwood (Newport Beach High School, class of ‘91) and Ryan Foster (Corona Del Mar High School, ‘91), fidgeted with their white gloves and tugged at their white ties and otherwise looked antsy during cocktail hour.
Asked how they liked their deb-escort roles, the buddies grinned.
“Tonight’s a special night,” Foster replied.
“For the ladies,” Sherwood said.
And for you guys?
“Definitely a learning experience ,” Foster said.
He looked at his friend. Then the boys who will be men broke into giggles.