Like the more than 2,200 young women who walked before them in 99 past presentations, eight debutantes continued the legacy.<\/p>\n
Dressed in white ball gowns and coordinating long gloves, they were presented to society, each on the arm of her father or presenter, in front of close friends and family.<\/p>\n
The 100th Cinderella Ball, Pittsburgh\u2019s oldest fundraiser as well as one of the oldest continuously running debutante balls in the U.S. celebrated its newest class of debutantes with a fairy-tale-inspired evening marking the milestone.<\/p>\n
On June 26 inside Downtown Pittsburgh\u2019s historic Duquesne Club, the 275 guests gathered to watch the debutantes and their fathers or presenter dance a waltz and take part in the Grand March.<\/p>\n
The ball recognizes the debutantes\u2019 introduction into society \u2014- and on this night, these young women became part of history.<\/p>\n
\u201dThe young women presented tonight earn their own place in Pittsburgh\u2019s history as they join the impressive group of over 2,200 debutantes who have been presented at Cinderella Ball since its founding,\u201d said master of ceremonies Addison Lanier II, husband of Jamie Wise Lanier, a Butler native and president of the Cinderella Women\u2019s Committee, which has presented the ball for more than two decades.<\/p>\n
Prince charming and Cinderella<\/p>\n
A highlight of the evening in true fairy-tale fashion, is the name of Prince Charming. His identity is kept a secret until the master of ceremonies announces him to the guests.<\/p>\n
While music was played by the Rick Purcell Big Band, it was announced that Hunter Rombauer \u201cBauer\u201d Brown, Jr., a student at Texas Christian University, whose father, Pittsburgh native Hunter Rombauer Brown, was Prince Charming in 1997, was named Prince Charming.<\/p>\n
Brown Jr. randomly selected a card with the name of a debutante from a silver bowl and placed it inside a glass slipper atop a pillow. His assistant, Anthony Jacob Guiffre of Pine, then brought the pillow the length of the ballroom to hand deliver it to Lanier II.<\/p>\n
Lanier II announced Shady Side Academy graduate Ella Camille Van Norman as Cinderella. Her sister, Madeline Elyse Van Norman, who was in attendance, was presented in 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am very proud to be Cinderella,\u201d Ella Camille Van Norman said. \u201cThe overall experience tonight has been great, and getting to dance with my dad and spend time with my family has been wonderful. I think all of these girls would have worked great if chosen as Cinderella.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brown Jr. and Ella Camille Van Norman waltzed as did the debutantes and their presenters followed by the Grand March.<\/p>\n
Just before dinner, Ella Camille Van Norman and her father, Dr. Anthony Joseph Van Norman, waltzed.<\/p>\n
Volunteering<\/p>\n
As part of their debutante commitment, the young women are required to devote a minimum of 30 volunteer hours each to a beneficiary organization. This year, it was the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. The organization also will be the beneficiary of next year\u2019s Cinderella Ball.<\/p>\n
A scholarship is awarded to the debutante who has contributed the most volunteer hours to the beneficiary organization. The group accumulated 340 hours volunteering at the museum and other places, coordinated by the Leadership Forum for Young Women.<\/p>\n
The Leadership Forum for Young Women provides experiences that prepare them for the future through volunteerism and personal development opportunities, such as networking events with guest speakers and professional development training.<\/p>\n
At the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History in Oakland, debutantes were concierges and helped guests navigate the Museum of Art\u2019s globally renowned 59th Carnegie International. Debutantes also volunteered at the Kamin Science Center on Pittsburgh\u2019s North Shore.<\/p>\n
They participated in a backpack drive in support of Urban Impact, a college essay writing workshop led by Allison Rath Espinel, holiday gift-wrapping with the Best of the Batch Foundation, wreath-making in support of the Pittsburgh Zoo\u2019s Sea Turtle Second Chance Program and made Easter blanket care packages for residents of McGuire Memorial.<\/p>\n
Each year, the Cinderella Women\u2019s Committee recognizes the debutante with the most volunteer hours. The committee formed in 2001 after the original organization \u2014 The Dispensary Board of St. Margaret Hospital \u2014 decided not to do it anymore.<\/p>\n
The committee presented its first ball in 2002.<\/p>\n
Committee member Espinel presented the scholarship, typically between $1,500 and $2,000, to two debutantes \u2014 Cassandra Ryan Sauer and Clarke Elizabeth Wickland \u2014 both Shady Side Academy graduates.<\/p>\n
They each dedicated 68 hours.<\/p>\n
The scholarship was renamed the Courtney Cairns Keevican Memorial Scholarship. Keevican, a 1997 debutante, died in 2003 at age 23. She exemplified the spirit of service the scholarship represents, according to the Cinderella Women\u2019s Committee. Keevican was an accomplished athlete who embodied the kindness, energy and generosity that define the organization\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n
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Her father is Leo Andrew Keevican Jr., and her mother is co-founder and current Cinderella Women\u2019s Committee board chair Rebecca Parkinson Keevican.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey surprised me with the renaming of the scholarship,\u201d said Rebecca Parkinson Keevican of Fox Chapel, as she teared up.<\/p>\n
Sauer and Wickland said they are grateful for the scholarship.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am a history person and loved being at the museum,\u201d Sauer said. \u201cI am so excited to be part of this ball. The Cinderella Ball community is a big reason why the ball has lasted 100 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wickland agreed with Sauer about the strong network of support year after year for the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso, being able to listen to other students at Shady Side Academy who have been a part of this ball makes you want to do it,\u201d said Wickland, whose brother, Maxwell Weston Wickland, was a member of the floor committee in 2022. \u201cIt\u2019s about family and about continuing the legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carrying on a legacy<\/p>\n
The legacy has been carried on through generations.<\/p>\n
Catherine Kilner Maxwell, a Shady Side Academy graduate, and Caroline Cromwell Smith, who graduated from The Benjamin School in Florida but originally is from Pittsburgh, are third-generation debutantes.<\/p>\n
Smith\u2019s mother, Courtney Kunsman Smith, was presented in 1999, and her grandmother, Jamie Wise Lanier, was presented in 1974 and is a co-founder and current president of the Cinderella Women\u2019s Committee. Her aunts, Julie Kunsman Bell and Sarah Jane Meek, were presented in 1994 and 2008, respectively.<\/p>\n
Smith\u2019s father, Vance McClelland Smith IV, was Prince Charming in 2000 and a member of the floor committee for three years. Her great-grandfather, Vernon Laing Wise Jr., served on the floor committee in 1948 as did two uncles, Bennett Vernon Smith from 2003-05 and Evan Crawford Smith from 2000-02.<\/p>\n
Smith traveled to Pittsburgh to volunteer.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone in my family has been in this,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt\u2019s just really special to be a part of something that has such history. The fact that its been going on for so long is because of all the people who have supported it and donated. It\u2019s a very cool opportunity for me, especially to be presented at the 100th.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Maxwell, her great-grandmother, Daphne Edith Firth, was presented in 1940, and her grandmother, Rachel McMasters Hunt, was presented in 1972.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a rite of passage,\u201d Maxwell said. \u201cI\u2019m very grateful to be a part of it. It\u2019s such a beautiful, wonderful experience, especially now that it\u2019s celebrating its 100th anniversary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shady Side Academy graduate Madison Jane Davies\u2019 sister, Lauren Helen Davies, was presented in 2018.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Cinderella Ball is historically supported, and my favorite part of the volunteering was learning so much about the museum,\u201d Madison Jane Davies said.<\/p>\n
University of Pittsburgh senior Elsa Allison Mitchell said she has always been interested in leadership and philanthropy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love giving back to the community,\u201d said Mitchell, a Hampton High School graduate. \u201cI grew up going to the museum, and it felt special to be able to volunteer there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her father, David Alan Mitchell, said the evening was a fabulous experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Cinderella Ball is so well run, and organizers were so encouraging,\u201d he said. \u201cThis night was about having fun and spending time with my daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was Caroline Rose Zelt\u2019s father, Dr. Roger Paul Zelt, who researched and found out about the Cinderella Ball. Caroline Rose Zelt said volunteering at the Kamin Science Center was cool because she has an interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know the girls, but they were all so welcoming and very sweet,\u201d said Caroline Rose Zelt, a Bethel Park High School graduate. \u201cIt was a cool moment with my dad. I feel like these girls will become some of my lifelong friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dance until midnight<\/p>\n
After cocktails, guests gathered for dinner prepared by the Duquesne Club\u2019s executive chef, Michael Caudill, followed by dancing with music from the John Parker Band.<\/p>\n
The menu included a salad of seasonal mixed greens, beef tenderloin, fillet of Virginia Spot, potatoes, asparagus, carrots and spaghetti squash.<\/p>\n
For dessert, there were cheesecake bites, dark chocolate ganache tarts, he Duquesne Club\u2019s famous macaroons, individual fruit tarts and vanilla bean creme brulee.<\/p>\n
The debutantes will attend colleges including Elon University, Franklin Marshall College, Grove City College, Hamilton College, Swarthmore College, University of Chicago, University of Pittsburgh and Wake Forest University.<\/p>\n
Co-chairing the ball were Christina Rath Lamport and Britton Wean Orzechowski, both past debutantes. Honorary ball chairs were Rebecca Parkinson Keevican, Jamie Wise Lanier and Catherine Loevner.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI am a historian and on the Heinz History Center board because I love history,\u201d said Loevner of Squirrel Hill. \u201cThe Cinderella Ball is so moving to me because of the debutantes and their families and the time we get to spend with them. There is so much joy in this magical evening, and something very special happens when the father or presenter of the debutante dances a waltz with her. That moment becomes a cherished, cherished memory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meet the debutantes of the 100th Cinderella Ball<\/p>\n
\u2022 Madison Jane Davies, Shady Side Academy<\/p>\n
\u2022 Catherine Kilner Maxwell, Shady Side Academy<\/p>\n
\u2022 Elsa Allison Mitchell, University of Pittsburgh<\/p>\n
\u2022 Cassandra Ryan Sauer, Shady Side Academy<\/p>\n
\u2022 Caroline Cromwell Smith, The Benjamin School (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.)<\/p>\n
\u2022 Ella Camille Van Norman, Shady Side Academy<\/p>\n
\u2022 Clarke Elizabeth Wickland, Shady Side Academy<\/p>\n
\u2022 Caroline Rose Zelt, Bethel Park High School<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Like the more than 2,200 young women who walked before them in 99 past presentations, eight debutantes continued…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":243817,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74],"class_list":["post-243816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243816\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}