By Parker McKenzie
Students from Emerald took part in the 33rd annual Charity Debutante Ball at Cathies Lane Reception on Saturday 10 June, hosted by the Rotary Club of Emerald and District.
The ball was open to students between 16 and 21, with the majority coming from Emerald Secondary College.
Rotarian Lyn Beckwith, alongside Shalii Penny and Toni-Anne Griffin, organised and planned the event.
“We, the people who organise it, get a lot of joy working alongside young people and young adults of today,” she said.
“There was a lot of satisfaction seeing them come in on their first deb practice not knowing a single thing, and then getting the deb night and seeing them dressed up in their finery and then being able to perform six dances they’ve learned.”
The annual event also included a rotary raffle, which raised $1,141 for charity.
Ms Beckwith said all the money that was raised is put back into initiatives for young people.
“We had many people giving to charity, one person gave us $50 just because they said we love what Rotary does and we’re happy to help them out,” she said.
“We’ll be trying to do something with the Emerald Secondary College so that we plough that money back into them.”
26 couples and 233 guests attended the gala, where participants wore traditional floor-length ball gowns, long white gloves and black tie formal wear.
Ms Beckwith thanked Barry Plan Real Estate Emerald, John Travers Photography and Bam Bam Italian for sponsoring the event.
“It was a fabulous night, there was a great vibe and plenty of excitement,” she said.
“This year’s deb finished and we sat down preparing for next year, it takes months and months to put something like this on.”