As ladies finalize their pearls and white dresses while their escorts fine tune tuxedos and bowties, the Terpsichorean Club of North Carolina is preparing for its grand tradition of the North Carolina Debutante Ball. This year will mark the 90th anniversary of the Ball. Under the direction of Chairman John Tyler Highsmith, the ball will be held Friday, Sept. 9 at Meymandi Concert Hall in Raleigh.
The Debutante Ball Leader and Assistant Leaders were announced this week. Olivia Day Joyner, of Raleigh, was named Leader, and will be escorted by her father and Debutante Ball Chairman Highsmith. Joyner is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Walton Kitchin Joyner, Jr., of Raleigh. Joyner graduated from Needham B. Broughton High School where she was an active member of the school’s community serving as a member of the National Honor Society and the Varsity Lacrosse team. She participated in the Broughton Dance Company and served as President of the school’s Jazz Company. During high school, Joyner participated in a variety of community service programs, including the National Charity League, the Youth Council at White Memorial Presbyterian Church, and the Appalachian Service Project. Her community activism continues at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she is a member of the Epsilon Eta Environmental Fraternity, a Buckley Public Service Scholar participant, and a volunteer in the Carolina Campus Community Garden. She spent her summer in Seville, Spain, doing a study abroad program and is currently a sophomore at UNC.
Nine ladies from across the state were selected to serve as Assistant Leaders. Those include:
Miss Mary Ann Cooper Broughton of Winston-Salem, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Wesley Cooper Broughton
Miss Anne Tod Collett of Morganton, daughter of Mrs. Martha Smith Collett and the late Mr. Sterling Ruffin Collett III
Miss Charlotte Parker Daniel of Wilson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Speight Daniel III
Miss Margaret Stuart High of Whiteville, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Thompson High
Miss Sarah Gatewood McQueen of Burlington, daughter of Drs. Chapman Teague McQueen and Shannon Dudley McQueen
Miss Aurelia Stafford Monk of Greenville, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Cabot Monk, Jr.
Miss Lucy Mae Holliday Rascoe of Edenton, daughter of Mr. John Peter Rascoe III and Ms. Katherine Elizabeth Keel
Miss Lindsay Steele Shuford of Charlotte, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Baker Shuford
Miss Esten Jennings Walker of Durham, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Burchell Richardson Walker
Another special selection included the naming of Mrs. Sydnor Montgomery White, Jr. (nee Nancy Lasater Hanes), as the Honorary Chairman of the 2016 North Carolina Debutante Ball.
The Terpsichorean Club, formed in the 1920s to sponsor an annual statewide debutante ball, selects an honorary chairman each year in recognition of civic contributions made to the Raleigh community and to the state of North Carolina. As Honorary Chairman, White will be a special guest at the Debutante Ball and all the functions surrounding it. She will host a luncheon for the mothers of the debutantes at the Carolina Country Club in Raleigh on Friday, September 9th, prior to the Ball that evening. A native of Winston-Salem, White attended high school at Chatham Hall in Virginia and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In June 1970, she married Mr. Sydnor Montgomery White, Jr., with whom she has two daughters and two grandsons.Over the years, White has volunteered her time to an extraordinary number of organizations. Her past community service includes The Museum of Natural Sciences where she was a docent, The North Carolina Conservancy, and The Hilltop Home where she was president of the board. Currently, White serves on The Southern Environmental Law Center Board, The Lineberger Cancer Center Board of Visitors, and the Institute for the Environment Board where she is Vice Chair.
