From Chili to Crawfish, the Bloomingdale/FishHawk Rotary Club Feeds Local Charities

First, they appeased appetites at the Hillsborough County Fair with a chili cook-off. Now the Rotary Club of FishHawk/Bloomingdale is planning to tease taste buds at at its first Crawfish Festival.

The club has received an OK to hold its first crawfish event at Park Square in FishHawk Ranch May 15 from noon to 3 p.m. Funds raised from the event will benefit the FishHawk Ranch Sports Complex, Tampa Metro YMCAs, the Women's Resource Center at Bay Life Church and A Kid's Place, an emergency shelter in Brandon for children who have been abused or neglected.

"We're hoping this will be the first of an annual event," said Rotary President Elijah Heath. "We're copying a few ideas from the Brandon '86 Rotary Club's successful Denizens of the Deep. But this festival will be unique to this area."

The club is in the process of soliciting sponsors ranging from a title sponsor to individual booth sponsorships.

"We'll have booths so any business that wants to get involved can," said Heath. 

Crawfish and side items along with soft drinks and beer will be on the menu. The club may have other food vendors on site as well. A band will provide Cajun-style music for the event.

"It's still in the preliminary planning stage," said Heath. "But we think we can raise $10,000 from the event."

The club has held three successful chili cook-offs at the Hillsborough County Fair each October to raise funds for scholarships for students participating in the agricultural programs at the fair.

"The funds raised enable the fair to offer assistance to any Hillsborough County children who want to participate in the fair," said Heath. "On the last day of the fair, we invite teams to come in and cook chili."

In addition to organizing the Crawfish Festival, the club is planning to honor a local business.

"We want to promote a business in the area that demonstrates the values of the Rotary in its activities," said Heath. "We want to promote businesses that are community-minded. This is one way the club can reward someone who's doing the right thing for the community."

The club is now soliciting nominations for Bloomingdale/FishHawk businesses that demonstrate a commitment to the communities they serve. The winner will be honored at a Rotary luncheon in April. Send nominations to P.O. Box 6446, Brandon, 33508, or contact Heath at (813) 657-2078. 

The club also is seeking nominees to represent the club at Students for Tomorrow's Leaders this summer. Each club nominates a Newsome High School junior to send to the weeklong leadership program. 

The club has just completed its annual dictionary project in which it distributes dictionaries to all fourth-graders at FishHawk Creek, Cimino, Stowers, Bevis and Pinecrest elementary schools. The club distributes about 150 dictionaries to each school. 

The Rotary Club of FishHawk/Bloomingdale meets every Monday at noon at Beef O' Brady's, 4330 Bell Shoals Road, Valrico.