Rhinestone Rodeo

The 2026 charity gala season officially kicked off Sunday evening. Our Daily Bread Food Pantry (ODBFP), the Marco-based charity that is feeding thousands of nearby residents, had guests channel their inner cowpoke with a rootin’ tootin’ Western-themed event.

This was the third annual Rhinestone Rodeo for ODBFP, held once again at the Island Country Club. Ten-gallon hats, cowboy boots and vests, many of them spangled with glitter “like a rhinestone cowboy,” were the uniform of the day, with blue jeans the trousers of choice. On arriving, the roughly 200 attendees had the chance to pose with the mellowest miniature horse ever, and once inside, were invited to take a spin atop the mechanical bull on the patio.

Many partygoers passed on the chance to get thrown to the ground, but some brave souls, including Rosetta Stone, Lisa Knutson, and a pair of pastors, Scott Kerens of Marco Presbyterian and Ed Brandt of United Church of Marco Island, took up the challenge. Brandt also delivered a spirited and Western-themed invocation when the group gathered in the club’s dining room.

That NCH was the presenting sponsor of the evening was just a coincidence, and in fact, no one took any serious spill on the bull, partly because the operators went easy on them. Waylon Lloyd of LaBelle-based Bull 4 Rent put it succinctly as he handled the gears on “El Toro” – “This ain’t nothin’.”

Patrons also had the chance to consider a variety of silent auction items and toss a hoop over a group of wine bottles, winning whichever one they rang. Bonnie Mann exulted when she scored a bottle of Needle and Thread.

The dinner menu was vaguely related to chuck wagon food, if you were at an upscale dude ranch with a gourmet chuck wagon. There was a “barbecue trio” – smoked chicken, pulled pork, sliced brisket, au gratin potatoes, baked beans and green beans, along with crisp salad greens and a dessert the club’s kitchen describes as “Basque cheesecake.”

Of course, ODBFP is all about food – getting it into the hands and tummies of those who would otherwise go without, and attendees were reminded of this more than once.

“One out of every eight people in Collier County deals with food insecurity,” ODBFP executive director Evelyn Rossetti-Ryan told the group. In other words, living without the basic human need of knowing where your next meal is coming from. Bragging a little – and rightfully so – she said ODBFP gives food to over 1,100 families every Saturday at their new headquarters at 1818 San Marco Road, and an additional 400 during the week, with distribution locations at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Marco, St. Finbar, and Lely High School in East Naples.

They give away 700 backpacks of food to students each week, host a no-charge senior lunch the third Wednesday of each month, and put on joint food drive/blood drive events with NCH at the chamber of commerce. Rossetti-Ryan thanked all the sponsors, particularly presenting sponsor NCH, and the volunteers from Marco Island Academy, and the organization’s 250+ additional volunteers. She then turned the mic back to the emcee, author, and investigative reporter Peter Karl. He, in turn, brought on auctioneer Rick Gallo, getting into the serious fundraising business.

While the amounts raised were still being tallied at press time, Rossetti-Ryan said the organization had exceeded its goal of $225,000 for the evening. “The cash alone topped six figures,” said Rossetti-Ryan the next day.

There was plenty of fun along with the fundraising. Guests participated in a coin toss “Heads or Tails” game, with Jan Stuglik winning it all, choosing her butt on the final spin, when everyone else went for heads. The Back Country Boys played before and after dinner, numbers like “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” and “(I know what I was doin’ but) What Was I Thinkin’,” with the line dancers made up almost exclusively of women.

Our Daily Bread Food Pantry is a 501(c)3 charitable organization. They give away about two million lbs. of food every year, right here in our local community, with 94 cents of every dollar raised going directly to programs.