In a floral-bedecked scene, wearing white floor-length gowns, surrounded by family and friends and smiles on their faces, eight college women will be introduced Dec. 30 to society at a glamorous Presentation Ball.
The eight are featured in the 2026 coterie of Demoiselle Debutantes, carrying on a longtime Shreveport tradition.
But before the December formalities, they were introduced May 30 at an announcement gathering filled with summer floral arrangements by designer Kyle Loyd.
Wearing frothy cocktail attire, names were called as they walked around the swimming pool at the southeast Shreveport home of Demoiselle Board President Alan Ray Tipton and his wife, Mary. Ball Chair Margaret Elberson, Demoiselle Executive Director Lori Allen and her husband, Dr. Larry Allen, were also meeting and greeting.
The next night, the eight and Patron Sons trooped downtown to The Remington Suite Hotel for a fabulous seated dinner catered by Chef John Carriere.
The purpose: A lecture by former Deb Meredith Allen Connally and friend Sarah Schoonover.
“The Art of Grace in Every Space” was all about the importance of protocol, no matter who you are.
The two came from Dallas for the lesson, bringing Connally’s silver, china and mint julep cups paired with Ball Chair Margaret Elberson’s linens for the formal table setting.
Patron Sons were invited guests, mingling with the debutantes at both events.
Earlier in the week, Judge Emily Settle Merckle was honored at her investiture ceremony at Shreveport City Court, making her the Shreveport City Court chief judge, a position determined by seniority.
Let’s take a look at each joyous, but separate, affair.
On the announcement evening, and separately, each debutante or Patron Son was introduced by Tipton.
For Demoiselle Debs, “The Art of Grace in Every Step,” given at the Remington dinner, was a lesson on the importance of observing protocol.
“Those of us who wonder how to respond to protocol decided to take a page from ‘The Amy Vanderbilt Complete Book of Etiquette’ before the gathering. It said, ‘Protocol touches each and every one of us when we sit down at our own dinner parties.’”
Connally is well-grounded on the topic, for she is a protocol officer who graduated from the Protocol School of Washington, D.C., with a focus on corporate etiquette and international protocol.
She minced no words in discussing the protocol rules on how to live properly with ease.
Take, for instance, how to fold napkins. She added, “Never blow your nose on the napkin.” (Not appetizing, of course, but a need to know.)
After she told the Patron Sons that when a woman leaves a table during dinner, gentlemen stand. A few minutes later, a table of listeners did just that, bringing a ripple of laughter to the room.
Connally covered the importance of how to toast, whether as the toaster or toastee; sending thank-you notes after attending a social event; presenting hostess gifts when a guest at any occasion; and answering an RSVP.
Cotillion Board President Tipton and Allen echoed Connally’s words, emphasizing the importance of the lectures.
When all was said and done, the participants took home “Emily Post’s Etiquette: The Centennial Edition.”
DEMOISELLE PARTY NOTES
1. The Jambalaya Jubilee is the coterie’s philanthropy, supported by the Demoiselle Club.
2. The summer season includes 12 gatherings that honor the coeds. Among other activities, they will paint stools, dance the night away, arrange flowers, and play pickleball and mahjong.
JUDGE MERCKLE’S INVESTITURE CEREMONY NOTES
The Shreveport City Court was filled with family and friends for Judge Emily Settle Merckle’s investiture ceremony on May 28.
They included her husband, Chris Merckle, and her father, journalist John Settle, who, at times, served as a babysitter for the Merckle children, Mary-Hallie and Wright Merckle.
The children became part of the ceremony, with Wright even bringing a sucker to his mom as she waited to take the oath of office.
1. Among the bundles of flowers sitting on Judge Merckle’s bench was one sent by her longtime friend Meredith A. Connally.
2. Caddo District Judge Katherine C. Dorroh administered the oath of office, assisted by the judge’s husband, Chris Merckle, and their children, Mary-Hallie and Wright Merckle.
3. Deacon Mike Whitehead presented the Lord’s Prayer, and the Rev. Alston B. Johnson read Scripture.
4. During the procession of judges, Lenette Taylor of the City Prosecutor’s Office sang a breathtaking rendition of “How Great Thou Art.”
5. When Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux stood to deliver a congratulatory proclamation, he brought chuckles when he commented, “Mercifully, I am not going to read the whole proclamation,” and handed it to her.
In her remarks before the proceedings began, Shreveport City Court Judge Brittany Arvie called the new chief judge “an accomplished jurist, but also an exceptional woman, colleague, mentor and friend.”
2026 DEMOISELLE DEBUTANTES COTERIE
Emily Frances Anderson, LSU, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Taylor Cole Anderson.
Kathleen Michele Davis, University of Alabama, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Jonathan Michael Davis.
Sarah Elizabeth Larremore, University of South Alabama, daughter of Elizabeth Siskron Larremore.
Emma Clair McCarter, University of Oklahoma, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Ross McCarter.
Malloy Katherine McInnis, Texas Christian University, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kyle Christopher McInnis.
Mary-Allen Elizabeth Nichols, University of Mississippi, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bradley Allen Nichols.
Betty Emzie Phillips, Mississippi State University, daughter of Frederic Christopher Phillips and Shannon Phillips.
Eleanor Rees Pringle, Wofford College, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Spencer Pringle.
PATRON SONS
John Morris Gilmer III, LSU, son of Dr. and Mrs. John Morris Gilmer Jr.
Patrick Celton Gosslee, University of Georgia, son of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Bradford Gosslee.
Eugene Louis Hilliard V, LSU, son of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Louis Hilliard IV.
James William Holtsclaw, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Derek Holtsclaw.
George Fritze Olsan, University of Michigan, son of Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Stander Olsan.
Reginald Thomas Sipes, Louisiana Tech University, son of Dr. Richard Sipes and Dr. Margaret Ashley Wheat.
Shepherd Cole Smith, University of Mississippi, son of Mr. and Mrs. Cole Boyett Smith.
Weldon Cage Van Norman, University of Arkansas, son of Dr. and Mrs. Russell Howard Van Norman III.
Rodney Ethan Varnadore, Samford University, son of Mr. and Mrs. Rodney Eugene Varnadore.
James Scott Wojtkiewicz, University of Alabama, son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Scott Wojtkiewicz.
