An affair to remember

44 Dallas Symphony debutantes take their bows at 2025 Presentation Ball

In grand tradition that dates from Queen Victoria of Britain to Queen Charlotte of Bridgerton, 44 young women made full-court bows into society at the 39th Dallas Symphony Orchestra League Presentation Ball on February 15 at the Meyerson Symphony Center.

The opulent evening saw 1,200 guests don regal ballgowns and dapper tuxedos for one of Dallas’ most glamorous and formal events of the year. The Presentation Ball is the largest fundraiser for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra League.

The annual event also represented a fun coming-together of generations: Debutantes’ parents and grandparents applauded them proudly from the lower levels of the concert hall, while their college-aged friends - many having arrived together via party bus - filled the grand tier to cheer them on with abandon.

What, exactly, were they cheering for?

A 90-second display of graceful gymnastics.

DSOL Presentation Ball 2025 Olivia Barber gets a kiss on the cheek from her dad, Brandon Barber during her presentation.Photo by Gittings

When her name was announced by master of ceremonies Stan Gardner, each debutante was escorted onto the stage by her father (or an uncle or family friend) as the Dave Alexander Band and Orchestra played a theme of her choosing - from "The Way You Look Tonight" to "Sweet Caroline" to Vivaldi's "Four Seasons." Dad then kissed her on the cheek and carefully stepped to the side (avoiding stepping on their daughter's dress), and looked on proudly as she walked on to the front of the stage, independently.

Slowly, purposefully, gracefully, each woman curtsied all the way to the floor for her "Texas Dip" - arms out, head forward, head bowed, head to the side - while clutching a floral bouquet. A member of the Honor Guard then offered his hand to assist her rise from the floor and carefully escorted her off stage.

DSOL Presentation Ball 2025 Abigail Carlisle assisted by Honor Guard member David Curlin.Photo by Gittings

The noble curtsy is a maneuver the women rehearse hundreds of times, yet any number of things can go wrong, like a shoe heel getting caught on a crinoline petticoat underneath her billowing white gown. If any such snafus happened onstage, they weren't detected by the audience, who enjoyed a perfect performance by all 44 debs.

Photo by Gittings

Grand tableau of DSOL debutantes and Honor Guard members.

After all the women were presented, guests descended hastily to the lobby, where trumpeters lined the grand staircase to announce the procession of debutantes and Honor Guard members into the party. The women then joined their dads for a traditional father-daughter Grand Waltz to “Moon River."

DSOL Presentation Ball 2025 Olivia Coker dances with her father, Key Coker.Photo by Gittings

Patrons sat down to a sumptuous filet mignon dinner in the lobby, which was adorned with exquisite spring florals by Junior Villanueva's team at Garden Gate Floral Design. After supper, the Jordan Kahn Orchestra revved up for a high-energy after-party on the dance floor.

The 2025 DSOL debutantes were: Olivia Reese Chambers Barber, Brooke Lucille Barcus, Brooke Makenna Barnes, Lauren Elizabeth Brown, Abigail Claire Carlisle, Sara Grace Cashion, Sara Elizabeth Cavey, Elle Terese Chavis, Rebecca Lauren Ciarochi, Olivia Katherine Coker, Isabelle Catherine Eggart, Annabel Dianne Everitt, Finley Paige Galvin, Eliana Lourdes Garcia, Sophie Michelle Goelzer, Elizabeth Rose Goelzer, Alexa Christine Grabow, Camille LaClaire Gravel, Katherine Blaine Hess, Grace Alexandra Hoverman, Sydney Sherrill Hoyl, Madeleine Sutton Hubach, Katherine Anne Hudnall, Hannah Elizabeth Jackson, Harper Leigh Knight, Ella-Rose Marcus Levy, Lily Bauchet Lynch, Ivy Ann Mazzucchi, Julia Holliman Montgomery, Grace Cathryn Morrison, Natalie Brooke Newton, Anne Blanche Peacock, Ava Francis Perpall, Caroline Elizabeth Petrikas, Lauren Elizabeth Porray, Vivian Grace Potter, Alexandra Elise Sargis, Grace Isabelle Schlafer, Madelyn Grace Sporl, Mary Nash Stone, Ava Marie Tribolet, Natalie Elaine Van Arsdale, Samantha Renee Ward, and Annabeth Gracelyn Winn.

DSOL Presentation Ball 2025 2025 DSOL Debutantes and Honor Guard Photo by Gittings

The 2025 Presentation Ball took place under the guidance of co-chairs Ginger Sager and Barbara Averitt, along with DSOL president Dixey Arterburn. The evening’s honorary chairs were Shirley and Bill McIntyre.

Also in attendance were Michelle Miller Burns, new Ross Perot President and CEO of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, with her husband Gary Burns; and Roger Gault, new chairman of the board of the Dallas Symphony Association Board of Governors, with his wife, Marena Gault.

Per tradition, numerous family members were in attendance to support their deb. Among them: Terrence and Audra Chavis, Pamela Wills-Ward; Jennifer, Julian and Morgan Potter; Debbie, Alexandra, and Paul Sargis; John and Dianne Schlafer; Eryn Sporl; Mary Elizabeth and Gregory Porray; Sarah Morrison; John, Lester, Christine, and Marigny Winn; Cynthia, William, and William Everitt, Sr.; Katherine and Key Coker; Eduardo Garcia, III, Eduardo Garcia, Jr., Yolanda Garcia, Sofia Garcia, and Isabella Garcia; Celia, Patrick, Dawne, and Julia Tribolet; Ali, Abi, and Frederick Perpall; Miles and Carrie Eggart, and many more.

The evening held particular meaning for two former debutante mothers, Brett Levy (1988) and Laurie Peacock (1989), who watched their daughters, Ella-Rose Levy and Anne Blanche Peacock, make their own debuts. Several families celebrated the presentation of a second debutante, including the Joel Ciarochis, the Cyrus Barcuses, the William Newtons, the Julian Potters, and the Taylor Stones. Dawne and Patrick Tribolet proudly marked the debut of their third daughter.

DSOL Presentation Ball 2025 The Tribolet family: Celia, Patrick, Ava, Dawne, and Julia.Photo by Deborah Brown

Family bonds were further noted as many debutantes were escorted by their brothers, including Key Coker, Jr., Christopher Hess, JB Hudnall, Mitchell Jackson, Robert Peacock, James Petrikas, and Jack Schlafer.

The Dallas Symphony debutantes are of college age and typically are graduates of Dallas-area high schools, but may be attending college out of the area. Participation is open to all young women. Like pledging a sorority, participants pay fees and participate in parties, fundraisers, classes, and other events throughout the year, all leading up to the Presentation Ball.

Since its founding in 1946 by visionary philanthropist Tincy Miller, the DSOL has contributed over $23 million to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s education and outreach programs.

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A Glittering Celebration

Christine Baranski brings Hollywood sparkle to Dallas luncheon

Photo by Kim Leeson

Karen Hughes White, Caren Lock, Christine Baranski, Shonn Brown.

The Omni Dallas Hotel shimmered in ruby tones on November 14 as more than 950 supporters gathered to celebrate a milestone four decades in the making: the Texas Women’s Foundation’s Ruby Anniversary Luncheon.

The afternoon blended Hollywood sparkle — courtesy of award-winning actress Christine Baranski — with heartfelt tributes to the visionary women who sparked a movement in Texas 40 years ago.

The annual luncheon, one of the region’s most significant events advancing women and girls, raised an impressive $840,000. More than $112,000 of that came in during the program itself, underscoring the energy in the room and the urgency of the mission.

TXWF used the occasion to announce a landmark figure: a cumulative $115 million in impact since its founding in 1985. That number includes nearly $90 million in grants to organizations serving women and girls, as well as more than $25 million invested in research, advocacy, and leadership initiatives designed to shape long-term change.

Board chair Cris Zertuche Wong opened the program by welcoming seven of the Foundation’s 11 living founders, who also served as the event's honorary co-chairs: Susan Shamburger Bagwell, the Honorable Harryette Ehrhardt, Catalina E. Garcia, Frances Griffin-Brown, Helen LaKelly Hunt, the Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison, Madeline Mandell, Patricia Meadows, Gwendolyn Oliver, CoYoTe PhoeNix, and Rebecca Russell Sykes.

Their presence cast a powerful through line from 1985 to 2025, reminding guests how a collective of 19 bold women stepped across differences in background, beliefs, and political leanings to create an organization with the singular purpose of supporting Texas women and their families.

Wong also recognized former Foundation leaders and Ruby Anniversary co-chairs from across the decades: Gail Griswold and Brenda Jackson representing the 1980s; Laura Estrada, the 1990s; Helen Frank, the 2000s; and Shonn Brown, the 2020s.

TXWF president and CEO Karen Hughes White spoke to the road ahead, noting that while the founders’ vision remains timeless, the challenges facing Texas women have grown more complex. “It will take all of us to create meaningful, lasting, systemic change that levels the playing field for women and, in turn, creates a strong and vibrant Texas for all,” she said.

Throughout the luncheon, guests were treated to archival video clips of the founders recalling how they built TXWF from scratch: the meetings held around kitchen tables, the spirited debates, the shared belief that change was not only possible but necessary.

Brown then honored each of the 11 living founders, as well as those who have passed, noting that their collective voice will be further amplified in a forthcoming 40-story collection documenting TXWF's history.

The afternoon’s featured guest, introduced by Target executive and event sponsor Sabrina Thomas, was the incomparable Christine Baranski, the Emmy and Tony-winning actress of The Good Wife, Cybil, and The Gilded Age.

In an onstage conversation moderated by former board chair Caren Lock, Baranski charmed the audience with stories from her upbringing in Buffalo, New York, where she grew up in a working-class Polish American family. She spoke of perseverance, discipline, and dreaming big, qualities that carried her to Juilliard and ultimately into a celebrated four-decade career spanning television, film, and theater.

As the luncheon drew to a close, the mood was equal parts celebratory and forward-looking. Forty years in, the Texas Women’s Foundation continues to push for equity with the same passion that fueled its founding.

Photo by Kim Leeson

Karen Hughes White, Caren Lock, Christine Baranski, Shonn Brown.

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