Jack T. Reviglio Cioppino Feed & Auction

Local businessman, founder of Western Nevada Supply, and community leader, Jack Reviglio, was one of the “Founding Fathers” of the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows. After founding the Club with a group of local leaders in 1976, Jack spent his entire life providing service and leadership to the Club. Jack served as Board President from 1982-1993 and continued to serve on the Board of Directors until his death. For these reasons and so many more, the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows’ annual fundraiser bears his name – The Jack T. Reviglio Cioppino Feed & Auction and the Club’s annual volunteer campaign is “Give Back Like Jack.” He was a man of natural strength, incurable optimism, and uncommon compassion – in other words, he was a hero.

The Jack T. Reviglio Cioppino Feed & Auction’s history in the Truckee Meadows is as rich as the seafood broth that is served. In the Club’s early years, the Women’s Auxiliary sponsored an annual dinner to raise money for the Club. The meal varied yearly, but in 1981, Jack Reviglio decided the Club needed a signature dish for this signature fundraiser. He knew that Bud Sorensen made great cioppino, so he called him at the Western Nevada Supply office in Mammoth.

Not only did Jack ask Bud to make his special cioppino, but he needed it that weekend. Bud rushed home from Mammoth, pooled help from a group of friends (and a lot of sherry), and bought out almost every seafood vendor in Reno. Somehow it all came together, and the 80 guests in attendance that night experienced the very first Jack T. Reviglio Cioppino Feed & Auction.

Over the next five years, the event more than doubled in size. Bob Capurro became a permanent volunteer, adding his Italian culinary expertise. Soon, the event outgrew the Club kitchen, and in 1986 and 1987, everything was cooked off-site and trucked to the Club. The kitchen was upgraded in 1988, but Cioppino continued to expand. 

It wasn’t until 2004 that a grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation provided funds for a major facility expansion, including installing a commercial-grade kitchen. Of course, the construction on the building was in midstream in February 2004, which meant our volunteers had to prepare food at the Washoe County School District headquarters and transport more than 1,200 cioppino dinners to the Club. In 2005, the new kitchen was completed. We like to say the kitchen was built for Cioppino and just happens to work well for the kids the rest of the year.

The Cioppino Feed remains the Club’s signature fundraiser, bringing in almost 10% of our annual budget and impacting the lives of thousands of our local children. Back to help prepare an incredible Italian-inspired feast is executive board member and owner of Roundabout Catering, Chef Colin Smith. Long-time cook Bud Sorensen accompanied Colin in the kitchen; tragically, 2022 was Bud’s last time in our Cioppino kitchen. James “Bud” Sorensen passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, on October 24, 2022, in Reno, Nevada. His legacy lives on in each of us as we join in the name of charity and Cioppino.