The beauty salon buzz of blow dryers and hair snipping was replaced Sunday with the sounds of soothing ocean waves and the light tone of a yoga instructor encouraging breathing and relaxation.

Hazelton & Co., on West Indiana Avenue in Perrysburg, was turned into a Girls Day Out, organized by three Perrysburg High School seniors in the DECA program, formerly the Distributive Education Clubs of America.

Before the sold-out event, which featured a yoga class and raffles, the 23 all-female participants dug into purple smoothie bowls brimming with bananas and granola from Local Roots and sipped hot coffee by Maddie & Bella.

Kelly Neceski and Katie Vaquera, both of Perrysburg, saw the Girls Day Out on social media and decided to try the yoga class.

“I’m looking at starting yoga classes, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to get my foot in the door,” Ms. Vaquera said.

Social media was one element of the Girls Day Out project, said Mackenzie Hurley, an 18-year-old DECA member at Perrysburg High School. The team also had to hit up businesses for raffle and food donations and find a yoga instructor.

Profits from the $40 tickets went to Alliance for the Great Lakes, a nonprofit group working to protect the water.

Hazelton is an Aveda salon, meaning its products are plant derived and ethically sourced. This paired well with the designated charity, Ms. Hurley said. 

“They’re very conscious of water usage, natural projects,” she said of the salon. “And Lake Erie is a close-to-home cause.”

Ms. Hurley works part time at the salon at the front desk, cleaning, and updating the business’ social media.

The salon is owned by her mother, Rachael Vandall-Hurley, and aunt, Valerie Vandall-Mercer.

“She’s just one of the most driven young women I have ever met,” Ms. Vandall-Mercer said. “She’s always coming up with ways to better herself with her high school courses, looking out for our business, and bringing the community together.”

Ms. Hurley has also been student council president all four years at the high school, plays bass in the orchestra where she is a section leader, is a National Honor Society member, and president of the Jacket Sports Network, a student driven club that promotes the school’s athletics. She also was the right-side hitter for the volleyball team.

“I make it work,” Ms. Hurley said of all her activities, adding that she plans to attend college after high school graduation, study pre-medicine and pursue a career in dermatology.

“I've always been interested in public speaking and leadership roles,” she said. “DECA gave me an opportunity to compete using the skills I’m naturally good at, and make those skills better.”

Rebecca Byrd, a marketing instructor and DECA adviser, teaches six classes, including product development, management, and sales, to Perrysburg High School juniors and seniors.

“DECA gives us the opportunity to apply those things in a non-classroom setting,” Ms. Byrd said.

Ms. Hurley’s team will be taking the Girls Day Out project to district competition on Thursday at Bowling Green State University, presenting an eight-page paper, doing a 15-minute presentation, and taking a test.

Ms. Hurley’s project partners are Chayse Young and Ava Beeks.

Ms. Byrd believes the three young women, along with some of their classmates, have an excellent chance to move on to state competition in March and the international contest at the end of April in Orlando, Fla.

“Mackenzie just has a little bit of an extra edge to her,” Ms. Byrd said. “She just goes the extra mile.

“It’s exciting as an educator to give her the ability to challenge herself a little bit and watch what she can do,” she said.

DECA is satellite program with Penta Career Center, said Ms. Byrd, who has been teaching for 22 years. There are 5,000 Ohio high school students in DECA and 154 at Perrysburg.

Ms. Beeks said their integrated marketing campaign over 45 days had to consist of teaming up with a business, and doing marketing and promotion.

“I’m not going into business, but I joined DECA because there’s so much networking, and I’ve met so many people through it,” Ms. Beeks said.

First Published January 19, 2025, 7:52 p.m.