Service club to hold fashion show fundraiser

Looking for an occasion to dress up, see some new fashions over lunch, then maybe spend the afternoon shopping?

If you are, Vicki Nutter says she has just the thing for you — not to mention that it’s for a good cause.

On Nov. 12, the Hoover Service Club will hold its annual fashion show featuring styles from Stein Mart in Vestavia Hills. The show, held at Hoover Country Club, is open to the public with advance reservations and will start at 11 a.m.

The funds raised will provide scholarships for local students, said Nutter, vice president of the service club. Students from Spain Park High School, Hoover High School, Berry Middle School and Simmons Middle School have all benefited from the scholarships in the past, she said.

The event brings awareness to the plight of students in the community who need a little extra help with education expenses, said club member Jennifer Gregory, who will be one of the models in the show. 

“I thoroughly enjoyed it [last year],” Gregory said. “And it was an opportunity to have fashion consultant Darlene Real [Higginbotham] to professionally suggest and select an outfit for me from Stein Mart.” 

Higginbotham, who directs the fashion show, is a “great stylist and coach,” Nutter said. Selecting and piecing together outfits from Stein Mart, Higginbotham will style each Hoover Service Club model and prepare them to show off their outfit to the crowd.

In addition to Gregory, five other models from the club will be showcasing Stein Mart’s fashions.

Nutter said it’s a great time to be together and get to know other women in the community.

The Hoover Service Club, a 40-year-old organization with about 140 members, was founded on the motto of “helping others” and has continued to be comprised of civic-minded women. Over the years, they’ve donated more than $484,000 to community members and organizations such as the Hoover Fire Department and Hoover Police Department.

In addition to the fashion show, the club has projects going year-round, including work with the Green Valley Baptist food bank, Easter baskets for children in need and a large gala held as a fundraiser each February, Nutter said.

“We love the fellowship, and we love getting together and helping to meet a need,” she said.

Shrimp and grits are on the menu, Nutter said — and fun is, too.

“And who knows? A lot of us after we see the fashions might spend the afternoon shopping at Stein Mart afterward, so the fun just keeps going,” Nutter said.

For more information, visit hooverserviceclub.com. To make reservations for the fashion show lunch, call Winnie Cooper at 979-5699 or LaVerne Martin at 987-2739.