Fall fashion will help fill food bags for Warren County students when Tiger Lily Boutique and First National Bank of Middle Tennessee bring the community together Sunday, Nov. 1.
The Fall Fashion Show for FUEL will take place from 2–4 p.m. at First National Bank in downtown McMinnville. Tickets are $25, with all ticket proceeds benefiting the Warren County Schools FUEL Program, which provides food for students who need extra support on weekends and extended school breaks.
Kari Burnett of Tiger Lily Boutique and Anne Vance of First National Bank of Middle Tennessee joined the JK Show Tuesday to discuss an afternoon of fashion, food and shopping built around meeting a local need.
Burnett said the fundraiser started about 10 years ago when she and her team began discussing ways to involve the community in supporting a cause. Her experience in the school system made FUEL a natural choice.
“The FUEL program is set up to provide food for students that might need help over the weekends and extended breaks,” Burnett said.
Each school’s program has people who pack and distribute the bags weekly. Burnett said the process is handled discreetly, allowing students to pick up food without drawing attention to their circumstances.
Having witnessed students waiting for those bags, Burnett knows how much the assistance matters.
“It breaks your heart,” Burnett said. “You know that they’re so dependent on that food.”
This year marks the sixth year of the partnership with First National Bank of Middle Tennessee. Vance first attended the show at the high school in 2019 and saw both the value of the fundraiser and the workload it placed on Tiger Lily’s small team.
After the pandemic interrupted events in 2020, the bank offered its lobby as a location. It has hosted the show since 2021, with bank employees helping transform the space.
“They’ll take our lobby apart and set it up,” Vance said. “And that way, Kari and the girls just bring in the clothes and the models.”
For Vance, the event has become a highlight of the bank’s community involvement.
“It’s one of my favorite things we do,” she said.
The afternoon will begin with light bites provided by Warren County High School’s culinary department. Burnett said the arrangement gives students an opportunity to gain real-world experience while contributing to the fundraiser.
“The food is always amazing,” Burnett said.
Models representing the bank, school system and community will show off multiple outfits and looks before guests have an opportunity to shop. Jewelry and baked goods will also be available.
Bank employee Latoya Martin will be among the models. Vance said watching participants embrace the experience is part of what makes the show enjoyable.
Locals, like Sarah Fryar Cantrell, serve as the models of the fall fashion show put on by Tiger Lily Boutique at First National Bank of Middle Tennessee each year.
“The ladies who are modeling are the ones you wouldn’t expect,” Vance said. “And they do a beautiful job.”
For first-time attendees, Vance described a chance to catch up with friends, meet new people and give back. A speaker from the school system typically shares information about FUEL, reminding guests of the need behind the afternoon’s activities.
“We’re blessed in this community that people show up and they give back,” Vance said.
Tickets are available at Tiger Lily Boutique, online through the link on the boutique’s Facebook page and at the door.
While fashion and shopping bring people together, helping local students remains the purpose.
“We have a great group of ladies,” Vance said, “and we come together and we show up for Warren County.”
For more information from Burnett and Vance, tune into Wednesday’s More Than Moms show on the Warren County Sports Authority at 9 a.m. for live conversation about this weekend’s event.
