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Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Washington Rhinestones Present Seven Debutantes To The Community

The 2017 Washington Rhinestone Club Debutante Court. Photo/Flyright Productions.

The Washington Rhinestone Club Inc. recently presented seven gifted and multi-talented young women to the community as debutantes during their 64th Annual Debutante Ball held at the Doubletree Guest Suites at Southcenter.  The theme of this year’s Ball “Perpetuating the Legacy:  Vision, Faith and Education” set the tone for this special occasion.

Val Thomas-Matson, former Washington Rhinestone Club Debutante, served as a most vivacious, articulate and entertaining Mistress of Ceremony.  Thomas-Matson is an independent freelancer, who currently works as producer/talent for North by Northwest Productions and appears on “Washington Grown.”  She also serves as the Program Manager for the Healthy King County Coalition with the Center for Multi-Cultural Health. She is a currently a board member with the Food Empowerment Education and Sustainability Team, an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and a Trustee with the Dynamic Urban Opportunities Foundation.

Debutante Olivia Ribera

The Queen of the 2017 Debutante Ball was Debutante Olivia Ribera, with the highest accumulative grade point average.  Ribera is a graduate of Tahoma High School, and currently attends the University of Washington.  She is the daughter of John and Bobbie Ribera.  Her escort was Joey Ribera.  Olivia received a $2,000 scholarship from the Washington Rhinestone Club presented by President Carol Bell-Daniel.

The Runner up, with the second highest grade point average, was Debutante Sylvia Jones. Jones, a graduate of Auburn High School, currently attends the University of Washington.  She is the daughter of Freddie Earl Jones and Cynthia Marie Jones.  She received a $1,000 scholarship from the Washington Rhinestone Club.  She also received a Past Debutante Legacy Scholarship as her sister was a past Washington Rhinestone Debutante.

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In addition, the Washington Rhinestone Club also honored the following young women:

Debutante Jamila Cramer. Cramer, a graduate of Lindbergh High School in Renton, Washington, attends Seattle Pacific University.  She is the daughter of Filesha Friendship and the granddaughter of Stanley and Carolyn Friendship.  Her escort was Antoneo Dailey.

Debutante Ciera Devers. Devers, a graduate of Cleveland High School in Seattle, Washington, attends Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia.  She is the daughter of Demetrius and Cristal Devers.  Her escort was Jaedyn Colly.

Debutante Madison Hall-Lambert. Hall-Lambert, a graduate of Highline High School in Burien, Washington, attends University of Washington.  She is the daughter of Rochelle Hall.  Her escort was Jawan Harris.

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Debutante Dakaria Heru. Heru, a graduate of Cleveland High School in Seattle, Washington, attends Temple University in Philadelphia, Penn.  She is the daughter of Marjon and Askia Heru.  Her escort was Louis Collins-Heliton.

Debutante Savannah Yarbrough. Yarbrough, a graduate of Federal Way High School in Federal Way, Washington, attends Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising.  She is the daughter of Calvin and Maxine Yarbrough.  Her escort was Jamal Chambers.

Serving as pages for the Queen’s Court were Anthony Antwon Edwards, son of Terrah Taylor and Anthony Edwards, Sr. and Alphonso Charles Bell-Taylor, son of Christine Bell and Marlon Taylor.

Each debutante was presented with a $600 scholarship given by the Northgate Education Foundation (Dr. Nancy Scranton, Chairperson) which annually provides scholarships to each Washington Rhinestone Club Debutante.  The scholarships were presented by Nancy Stephens-Saunders, assisted by her husband Stillman Saunders.  Nancy is a past debutante and choreographer for the Washington Rhinestone Club.

Additional scholarships awarded to debutantes: The Verna Busch Scholarship presented by Verna Busch to Debutante Savannah Yarbrough; The Gertrude and Ronald Jackson Scholarship presented by Malver Haynes to Debutante Sylvia Jones; The Danna K. Johnston Foundation STEM Scholarship presented by  Danna Johnston to Debutante Ciera Devers; The Zeta Phi Beta Scholarship presented by Valerie Anderson to Debutante Olivia Ribera; The Past Debutante Legacy Scholarship presented by Rebecca Anderson to Debutante Sylvia Jones and Debutante Ciera Devers.

The choreographer for the Ball was Chris Daigre.  Ball Co-Chairs s were Barbara Banon, Carol Bell-Daniels and Malver Haynes.

The Washington Rhinestone Club Inc. has continued to serve the greater Seattle community for over 64 years since its founding in 1952.

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