Every spring at Hutchison School, you will find the Junior class in an eager frenzy to assure everything goes as planned for the Beeline Bazaar. Many consider it as one of the most rewarding tasks the girls participate in during their time at Hutchison. Many people witness the finished product completed with vendors, food trucks, and customers from around Memphis, but only a few truly understand the conscientious work that the event requires.

At the beginning of the school year, the Hutchison Junior Class Officers begin meeting with the Hutch Invests director, Laura Wichman. In the fall, the officers begin the delegation process as they elect members of the eleventh grade to head committees. The committees are as follows: Marketing, Set Up, Car Paint (in charge of decorating Hutchison Junior’s cars to promote the event), Decorations, Hospitality, Clean Up, Junior Closet, Greetings, and Videography. Two heads are selected to manage each committee. The rest of the Junior students are paired with two committees to serve alongside.

First, the class officers begin scouting to find vendors to encompass the Goodlett Gym of Hutchison School in the coming spring. From here, we begin to see the event sprout as vendor applications come in. The marketing team notifies the public on social media about the vendors who are set to attend the event. The Junior Class collects clothes from the Hutchison Upper School girls to sell for profit for the Junior-Senior Celebration. The decorations committee carefully selects the decorations that will adorn the gym. The Hospitality committee selects the lunch and treats they will serve to the vendors. Laura Wichman explains that even the simplest tasks are the most important and challenging when preparing the event, such as “determining the best placement of vendors within our available space, to create the best possible layout for all vendors involved.” She also cites this as the most rewarding and exciting part of the event because “we can start visualizing the event and all the wonderful vendors who will be in attendance.” In March, the car painters garnish the cars of the Junior Class as a promotion mechanism. The Junior Class will wake up bright and early on Saturday, March 21st. To begin the morning, the first shift will convene with each girl dressed in her all-black uniform. The greeters will welcome incoming shoppers while the hospitality team will ensure the comfort of the vendors, while the videography committee films the event. Finally, the event opens to the public at 10:00 a.m., and the juniors aide the shoppers and vendors while reaping the rewards of their labor. At 4:00 p.m., the months of preparation come to a close as the clean-up committee assembles to take down the event. Though the event may be over after March 21st, the impact of the event has only begun.

The real significance of the event lies in the donation of the profit. All of the profit Hutchison collects from the Beeline Bazaar, with an exception to the Junior Closet profit, goes towards the recipients of the Hutchison School Endowment Fund, which are chosen by the Seniors on the Philanthropic Literacy Board. The Philanthropic Literacy Board has decided to grant non-profits that are dedicated to the betterment of literacy rates within the Memphis community. Therefore, we would love for you to see the hard work put forth by the Hutchison Junior Class, and shop to benefit the Memphis community on March 21st from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.