Established in 1961, the Rotary Club of Brandon is a part of the foremost organization for businesspeople and professionals committed to community and international service.
Rotary International’s motto is “Service above self,” and this motto is why the Brandon club has been hosting its Wild Game Night for 46 years.
“Wild Game Night is the club’s biggest fundraiser,” said Brandon Rotary member and Wild Game Night Chair Joe Campoamor Jr. “We had to cancel Wild Game Night last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but this year we came back strong with more than 600 attendees and a gross profit of about $120K.”
This year, the event took place in March and saw a new location for the event. For many years, Wild Game Night was held at Lupton’s Boggy Bottom Ranch, a wooded outdoor event venue located in Plant City.
“Lupton’s sold the property, so this year we held Wild Game Night at Hillsborough County Fairgrounds,” Campoamor said. “Also this year, we had to prepare all the food, which was a lot of work but also a lot of fun.”
Each year, the guys-only fundraiser attracts outdoorsmen from throughout Hillsborough County eager to sample a variety of expertly prepared wild game fare, including the club’s famous venison chili, quail and wild boar dishes and swamp cabbage. The gentlemen indulge in an authentic Ybor City cigar rolled on-site and socialize with fellow hunting and fishing enthusiasts around an open bar stocked with top-shelf liquors and draft and craft beers.
“This event does raise money for local charities as well,” Campoamor said. “The charities differ each year, and one year we even purchased a bloodhound for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.”
Some of the local charities that will benefit from this year’s Wild Game Night are ECHO, High 5 Inc., Rotary’s Camp Florida, Outreach Free Clinic and Resource Center (formerly Brandon Outreach Clinic), the Angel Foundation FL and a few others.
“Each year, we add new charities but also support ones from previous years,” Campoamor said.
Campoamor and the rest of the rotary are already planning Wild Game Night 2023.
“This is a big event and takes many months of planning,” Compoamor said. “It truly is a labor of love for us.”
To learn more about the Rotary Club of Brandon, visit www.brandonrotary.org.
