49-year Tradition: Brandon Rotary’s Wild Game Night Offers A Night Of Fun And Fellowship For Local Charities

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’s motto is ‘Service above self,’ and this motto is why the club has been hosting its Wild Game Night for 49 years.

“We do this event each year to help our local charities,” said Patrick Skidmore of the Rotary Club of Brandon. “It’s also great night of delicious food and quality time our fellow Rotarians.”

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.

“We have about 600 guests in attendance every year, so that is why the event is held at Hillsborough County Fairgrounds,” Skidmore said. “We have all kinds of raffle prizes, gun raffles, and this year we are adding live music and a cornhole tournament to Wild Game Night. The whole event is sponsored by Rivard Buick GMC. We are really hoping to take the event up a notch this year.”

The local charities that benefit from Wild Game Night are High 5 Inc., ECHO, the Angel Foundation FL, the Brandon Rotary Club Scholarship Fund, Rotary’s Camp Florida and Hope for Her. The club is very meticulous about the vetting process for the local charities that benefit from Wild Game Night.

“Our hopes for this year’s Wild Game Night are to raise money for these awesome local charities so they can continue to make a difference and impact in our community,” Skidmore said. “Last year, we raised $111,538 for these local charities, and we were thrilled we raised so much from the event. This year, our goal is to raise $200K, and we are confident that we can do this with Wild Game Night.”

Wild Game Night will be held on Friday, February 21, from 6-10 p.m. at the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds, located at 215 Sydney Washer Rd. in Dover. Tickets are $100 and can be purchased through the Rotary Club of Brandon’s website, www.brandonrotary.org.