Back in 1974 the late Patti Williams Hunt and Jacque Wynne put together a true-blue Texas get-together to raise funds for cancer research. They called it the Cattle Baron’s Ball. But they really shook up things up by daring to hold it outdoors in June at the late Toddie Lee Wynne’s Star Brand Ranch, with western wear being the fashionable form of the night. It was a gamble that has paid off over the years, with the CBB baronesses having provided more than $93M for North Texas cancer research and treatment.
When the former Cattle Baron’s Ball chairs got together for a luncheon on Friday, September 15, at Neiman Marcus NorthPark’s NM Café, some, like Tia Wynne (2015), Andrea Weber (2016) and Jonika Nix (2018) hadn’t even been born when that first ball took place. Others like Susan Collins Sanders (1978), Fay Sheehan (1984), Joan Eleazer (1987) and Karen Shuford (1987), knew all too well those early days of holding the event at area ranches without such modern conveniences as cellphones and computers.
Ah, and the entertainment during those early years was indeed legendary, with the likes of Tammy Wynette (1976), Jerry Reed (1977), Johnny Cash (1981), Willie Nelson (1982), Barbara Mandrell (1983), Crystal Gayle (1984), The Oak Ridge Boys (1985), Alabama (1986) , Loretta Lynn (1987) and George Strait (1989 and 1991).
However, the fashions worn by the former chairs were timeless. So, 2023 CBB Co-Chairs Andrea Cheek and Isabell Novakov Higginbotham and Luncheon Co-Chairs Lauren Bellemare, Natalie Lesikar and Samantha Wortley arranged to have them on display in the Café and in NorthPark Center between NM and Nordstroms.
While the post is being rounded up, check out the fashions and baronesses at MySweetCharity Photo Gallery.