At this week’s Indianola Rotary Club’s meeting Mississippi Tent and Party Rental shared the ins and outs of how they’ve covered events for over 10 years. General Manager Lee Hutchinson explained the roots of the family business and how he plans to expand. Hutchinson started working as an operations manager for Mississippi Tent in the fall of 2010 after graduating from Mississippi State University. Hutchinson became general manager in 2016.
Hutchinson explains that their family business formed from his father’s second job. His father was originally in the fireworks business with retail fireworks locations throughout Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. One day he had an idea to purchase tents to sell portable buildings. Little did he know, the tents themselves would form a business.
“People started to ask if they could borrow a tent for an event that they were having, then all of a sudden, he’s got multiple tents, and now we are in the rental business,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson remembers being a part of the business at a very young age, washing sidewalls in the yard. They expanded in 2005 by building a new facility and adding other party goods such as tables, chairs, linens, dishes, etc.
“It is thousands of parts to keep up with,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson explained some of the challenges of dealing with many different products. “If we come to Indianola and we are short one table cloth or one piece of fabric, we have to hit the road and come back,” Hutchinson said.
Mississippi Tent specializes in events, parties, and tent rentals in Jackson and surrounding communities. Their events range from weddings to corporate events.
Hutchinson said weddings are their most significant market in the volume of jobs.
“It’s really great to make those connections and relationships with those families,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson took over when his dad transitioned out of their business six years ago. Although Hutchinson considers it a fun business, COVID-19 brought a new set of challenges.
“Being in the event business was a really large challenge,” Hutchinson said. “We didn’t gather. Nobody had anything going on.”
Mississippi Tent found the silver lining in the challenges COVID-19 brought to their tent business. They did most of the drive-thru testing stations and vaccination administration tents across the state. Hutchinson said they didn’t have to make too many tough decisions, and they were able to keep most of their team.
Hutchinson hopes to expand in the years to come.
“We’re trying to take the steps now to set up our success for the next 20 years,” Hutchinson said.
