The American Cancer Society’s Lee County Cattle Baron’s Ball raised $650,000 for local cancer patients on Saturday, September 26, at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point. The event, now in its 22nd year in Lee County, carried the theme “From the Shoreline to the Showdown Against Cancer,” and the ballroom filled with boots, hats, a mechanical bull, and several hundred guests who came to give.
Barraco and Associates sponsored the ball at the Trail Boss level and presented the evening’s Mission Moment, “Charting a Course for Hope.” Guests purchased a piece of sea glass for $20 and wrote on it the name of someone whose cancer journey had touched their life, whether that person is still fighting or is now carried in memory. Each piece was then tied into the rigging of a handcrafted driftwood sailboat, so that every name on board helped guide the vessel’s course.
Vice President Wesley Kayne and his wife Kim, Director of Engineering Jeff Wasko and his wife Jessica, and Director of Land Development Services Steve Coleman and his wife Christine represented BAI at the event.
Two members of the Barraco family of companies served on the 2026 Cattle Baron’s Ball Committee: Amy Barraco, wife of company president Carl Barraco Jr., and Jessica Wasko.
Jeff and Jessica Wasko built the boats by hand and wrapped all 145 pieces of sea glass before the doors opened. By the end of the night, the nets held 145 names.
Barraco and Associates has worked across Lee County since 1998, designing the roads, utilities, and communities that neighbors use every day. The names written on that sea glass belong to the same neighborhoods. Thank you to everyone who bought a piece, wrote a name, and helped the American Cancer Society reach $650,000 for patients here at home.
