The United Against Poverty UP Center took on a festive, pink flamingo glow recently, with six restaurants giving it their all during the fourth annual Sangarita Challenge hosted by the Exchange Club of Vero Beach. The club was hoping to raise upwards of $30,000 to go toward their support of child abuse prevention programs, veterans programs, scholarships and other service projects.
Co-chaired by club president Brian Leonard and Susan Chenault, the restaurants really turned up the heat, with each presenting their best sangria, margarita and small plate to the crowd of more than 200 guests.
This year’s competitors were Armani’s Cucina, American Icon Brewery, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Tuohy’s Downtown, the Twisted Lime Restaurant & Bar, and 21st Amendment Distillery.
By the end of the night, the people had spoken, choosing to present the Best Overall Award to Armani’s Cucina for its offerings – a spicy mango pineapple margarita, Armani’s strawberry sangria, and their spicy chicken arancini with vodka sauce.
Carrabba’s took the Best Sangria Award for their blackberry sangria, 21st Amendment won the Best Margarita Award, for their muy caliente pink peppercorn infused agave margarita garnished with chili oil, and Tuohy’s garnered the Best Small Plate Award for its white BBQ shrimp on toast.
“The restaurants were amazing this year. They all stepped up their competition,” said Leonard.
“Everybody was talking about the quality of the food and how delicious it was. I think all six restaurants all really brought their ‘A’ game and they’re all looking forward to coming back next year,” he added.
This is the second year the Exchange Club has hosted the Sangarita Challenge at the UP Center, having outgrown two previous locations.
“This year, because we spread it out, it didn’t feel as crowded but we had a good headcount,” said Chenault, adding that Matt Tanner, UP executive director, and Allison Jackson, UP development manager, had been wonderful to work with.
“They’re trying to turn it into more of a venue place for nonprofits, so this was a nice partnership,” she added.
Chenault credits longtime Exchange Club member Judy Landgrave with bringing the concept to Vero Beach.
“The Exchange Clubs over on the West Coast of Florida started this a few years ago and it’s apparently a much bigger deal over there. Judy had been over there for a series of meetings and she ended up going to it and thought it would be really workable for us,” Chenault explained.
Funding will be dispersed among various charities. In terms of child abuse prevention, Chenault said they primarily partner with the Youth Guidance Mentoring Academy to support programs such as Parent Aid, which assists struggling parents to become advocates for their children’s success.
The Exchange Club is also one of the top scholarship funders in Indian River County, having distributed nearly $1 million to local students, including $49,500 to 11 students this past year.
Among the veteran programs they support are Next Generation Veterans of Indian River County, Wounded Waters, and the Sheepdog Corporation, which provides veterans’ mental health.
“The Exchange Club of Vero Beach is the original one. It’s been around forever. My dad was the president of the Exchange Club back in the day,” said Chenault, who just marked her 10th anniversary with the club. Her husband, Rick Hahn, has been a member for about 15 years.
“The club was formed Dec. 12, 1951, so starting in January 2026, we will be celebrating our 75th anniversary,” said Leonard, a longtime member who said he was drawn to the club because of his upbringing.
“You live and work in a community, so you need to give back to your community. Some people choose not to get involved in anything, but I wasn’t raised in that manner. We’ve always been heavily involved, whether it was 4-H or Kiwanis or the Boy Scouts,” said Leonard, adding that he had been an Eagle Scout.
Leonard said they are considering a few ideas to celebrate the club’s 75th anniversary, but nothing is yet set in stone. His thought would be to invite the general public to a gala dinner to both celebrate the anniversary and grow the membership.
Likewise, they hoped to get new members out of the Sangarita Challenge.
“I just love that year after year, we’re kind of getting a following and the people come back. And I love that the restaurants really take it seriously; they’re competitive but in a friendly way. It’s just a great community event that brings together people who might not otherwise cross paths,” said Chenault.
“I hope that it gives a little bit more awareness to a service club that’s been in Vero for a long, long time but that still, unfortunately, flies too far under the radar,” she added.
The Exchange Club of Vero Beach is a community-focused organization that supports local charities and promotes patriotism. It is affiliated with the National Exchange Club, which was founded in 1911. They meet for lunch at Vincent’s on the first three Tuesdays of the month; inviting a different speaker each week to talk about topics of interest.
Photos by Joshua Kodis
