Food and Travel Fest raises $20,000 for Panel

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Teenage volunteers at the event included Nico Farrell, Lauren Hayes, Hallie Stufano, Austin Schargorodski, Laney Fay, Sam Denholtzk, Mirella Miville, Rene Miville and Augustus Wright.

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George Cavanaugh and Vincent Lewis served a selection of wines.

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Volunteers Denice Beggs, Leslie Adelsperger, and Mike Kelly were having lots of laughs together at the event.

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Rick Hayduk and Joy Stuebe were very happy at the turnout for the event.

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Panel member Rene and Magarethe Miville were very active in helping out at this year’s event.

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The second annual Food and Travel Fest took place at South Seas Island Resort last Thursday, where visitors and residents gathered to enjoy good food and good fun and bid on exceptional auction items to raise money for the Captiva Community Panel.

“It went really well. We were so thrilled with all the people that came out and there were so many families,” said panel president Sandy Silverglide.

“This year we did things differently in that we just charged just $5, which included all the food, and people really enjoyed it. I think the quality of the food this year was at a higher level and so many of the restaurants chipped in and, of course, they did it 100 percent as a donation,” Silverglide said.

Kids played on the bouncehouses and had their faces painted, while the grown-ups bid on fabulous vacation packages and one-of-a-kind experiences.

“The auction went really well. Rene and Margarethe Miville’s dinner in their home was a big winner and I purchased the Captiva Cruise for 50 of my girlfriends. It was really nice. Everybody did a really great job and all the silent auction items went for good prices,” Silverglide said.

“We raised over $20,000 as of right now, plus we had a private party last month that brought in almost $50,000,” Silverglide said.

Funding the panel is important for many reasons, Silverglide continued, noting that the panel’s current project, redrafting Captiva’s land development code, has required funding beyond the grant money they’ve received due to the amount of work the process has required so far.

“There are also expenses involved in running the panel. We have our administrator, Ken Gooderham, and we have all the expenses of doing surveys and keeping up our Web site. We received funding for the water quality study, but there is going to be a time when that funding phases out and we want to continue on with the study, so the money will help with that,” Silverglide said. “Plus you never know what’s going to be around the corner.”

To learn more about the Captiva Community Panel, visit www.CaptivaCommunityPanel.com.