Melbourne Man Wins Top Two Prizes at 12th Annual Chopper Dropper
Florida Tech Athletic Scholarships the Biggest Winner
MELBOURNE, FLA. — Melbourne resident Joseph Cagnina won the top two prizes – a combined $60,000 in cash – at the Florida Institute of Technology’s 12th annual Chopper Dropper earlier this spring.
The Chopper Dropper is the marquee event at the university’s biggest fundraiser for athletic scholarships, the Sporting Affair XXIII held at Suntree Country Club.
“Each person who contributed to the Chopper Dropper helps us to provide student-athletes with a world-class education at one of this country’s top universities,” said Florida Tech’s Associate Vice President for Athletic Fundraising John Thomas. “We are very appreciative of their generosity.”
This year’s Sporting Affair, which in addition to the Chopper Dropper featured a golf tournament, hole in one shootout, silent auction, cocktail party, food and more, raised $600,000 to benefit Florida Tech’s 22 sports programs and more than 550 student-athletes.
It included a cocktail buffet reception sponsored by Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Audi of Melbourne featuring food from Florida Tech athletic partners The Broken Barrel Tavern, Carrabba’s Italian Grill and Rodizio Grill, as well as a silent auction with travel packages, unique sports memorabilia and more, and a 50/50 cash raffle.
The money raised came from Chopper Dropper ticket sales, athletic partners, golf teams and hole sponsors, in-kind donations and more.
In addition to Cagnina’s two wins, 15 other Chopper Dropper participants won $1,000 each as runner-up winners.
They were: Josh Baker, Jacksonville; Davis Bell, Indialantic; Sophia Hermansen, Merritt Island; Jim Hughes, Palm Bay; Bruce Jacobus, Indian Harbour Beach; Joan Judson, Barefoot Bay; Aravind Kumar, West Melbourne; Alexis Loo, Pasadena, Maryland; Mark Mikolajczyk, Satellite Beach; Brent Penn, Melbourne; Fred Pitten, Melbourne; Ken Revay, Indialantic; Neely Russ, Indian Harbour Beach; Steven Terry, Indialantic; and Tom and Susie Wasdin, Cocoa.
The 2016 Chopper Dropper and Sporting Affair XXIII is set for Friday, March 11, at Suntree Country Club.
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