3 young women to attend Debutante Ball
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on September 4, 2011 1:50 AM
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Georgia Elizabeth Tanner
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Rebecca Iredell Thompson
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Wooten Warner Underwood
Three young women from Goldsboro will be among the179 debutantes presented at the 85th annual North Carolina Debutante Ball, held in Raleigh the weekend of Sept. 9.
It is sponsored by the Terpsichorean Club of Raleigh, formed in the 1920s to hold an annual statewide ball to present the state's prominent young ladies and to honor their families. The ball has been held every year since 1923 except during the World War II years.
Invitations are extended to the candidates in recognition of contributions their families have made to the economic, cultural, social and civic life of the state. The leader of the ball is chosen from Wake County's debutantes, and 12 young ladies are chosen from across the state as assistant leaders.
Wooten Warner Underwood of Goldsboro was chosen to be one of the assistant leaders.
The other two area debutantes being recognized this year are Georgia Elizabeth Tanner and Rebecca Iredell Thompson.
Miss Underwood and Miss Tanner are also legacies, which means that their mother, grandmother or other family member before them participated in the event.
During the ball weekend will be eight functions in honor of the debutantes, their families and their escorts. Formal presentation and focal point of the weekend will be Friday evening, Sept. 9, at Meymandi Concert Hall.
Miss Tanner, 19, is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hal Tanner III and granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hal Tanner Jr., all of Goldsboro.
A 2010 graduate of Wayne Country Day School, where she was co-salutatorian, she is currently a sophomore at Wake Forest University, majoring in bio-chemistry.
Her three aunts were also debutantes.
Serving as chief marshal will be her father. Assistant chief will be Blake Marchese of Goldsboro.
Miss Thompson, 20, is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Blackwell Thompson.
She is a fine arts and communications major at Meredith College. She graduated from Wayne Country Day School in 2009.
Chief marshal will be her father. Will Nolan of San Diego, Calif.,will be assistant chief.
Miss Underwood, 19, is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Willis Boykin Underwood III. She is a third generation legacy, beginning in 1949 with her grandmother, Mina Weil, and in 1984 with her mother, Wooten Underwood.
The 2010 graduate and valedictorian of Eastern Wayne High School is a sophomore at UNC-Chapel Hill, where she has a double major in journalism and public history and is minoring in entrepreneurship.
Her father will serve as chief marshal. Assistant chief will be Reidy Jones of Raleigh.