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One night, 25 debs and 53 years of tradition.
In theory, the 25 young ladies presented at the San Francisco Debutante Ball at the Westin St. Francis Hotel, who float atop the dance floor swathed in white satin gowns trimmed with cascading bows and spunsugar-like tulle ruffles, are the fete’s main focus.
Yet after 53 years of this soiree, hosted by the Women’s Board Foundation of California Pacific Medical Center, the grandmothers who founded the women’s board and the doctors and nurses who’ve delivered numerous ball participants, are as celebrated as the young debutantes. The ball raises millions for CPMC’s specialty health care programs.
“I once told a friend that I happened to know Dr. Peter Weber, one of CPMC’s top neurosurgeons,” shared ball co-chair Ann Girard, with a laugh. “Her response was so enthusiastic it was as if I’d said I knew Harry Potter.”
Led by Girard with ball co-chair Jacqueline Erdman, this elegant evening (with decor by designer J. Riccardo Benavides, toe-tapping tunes by the Dick Bright Orchestra and CMPC CEO Dr. Warren Browner as the master of ceremonies) not only introduced these young women to society — they also actively helped raise funds benefitting the hospital’s Gynecologic Oncology department and its groundbreaking cancer research.
Employing air quotes, debutante Sarah Seltsam giggled that being a debutante was “a lot of work.”
“It’s really fun, connecting with friends from when I was younger. But we did spend the last year preparing for tonight,” she explained. “It’s not just about dressing up or learning dance steps. We’re actually contributing to CPMC by raising money for its programs.”
However, the young men manning the floor committee, dashing in their first tuxedos, framed their duties with a bit more frivolity.
“We’re the ‘hype squad,’ ” said Mitchell Austrian. “And get people out on the dance floor.”
William Hale sensed a more noble calling, to ensure every guest enjoyed themselves, a task he charmingly likened as “a bit like a knight in shining armor.”
Guest Patrick Herning, a PR and communications pro now based in Los Angeles, perhaps took his debutante era a bit too seriously: He embraced his escorting duties as a career move.
“When I turned 18, my dad asked when I was going to get a job,” he said, laughing at the memory. “But I explained to my dad, in all seriousness, that as I was escorting Natalie Spieker to the CPMC Ball and, later, the Cotillion. So I was already busy all summer attending debutante parties.”
Yet CPMC Women’s Board Foundation president Karen Weber applauds the benefits in balancing a nose-gay whiff of corseted Whartoniana with more modern mores.
“Today the rituals associated with this presentation have evolved to incorporate the gracious elements of tradition,” she noted. “But one that’s imbued with an awareness of philanthropic commitment and community responsibility.”
Catherine Bigelow is The San Francisco Chronicle’s society correspondent. Email: missbigelow@sfgate.com Instagram: @missbigelow