The Lake Current - July 6, 2018
Welcome to the July edition of our council newsletter! Here are a couple of quick (but important!) items before we get into the news:

  • There are still a few seats left for tomorrow's excursion to Citi Field to see the Mets play the Rays. Our BBQ lunch will begin at noon, and the bus will leave at 1:30 p.m. More info below, but if you're on the fence about going, it is going to be a spectacular day for baseball, so join us! (We can use a few volunteers to help make lunch starting at 10:00 a.m.)

  • Our regular monthly business meeting is this Wednesday, July 11th, starting at 7:30 p.m. As always we'll have some good food for everybody starting around 6:30 p.m. We do not slow down for the summer, and there's lots to plan for in the months ahead. All members are welcome and encouraged to attend!
2nd Annual J.O. Memorial NY Mets Baseball Trip - 7/7

Join us for our Second Annual Jimmy O'Neill Memorial Citi Field Excursion to see the Mets play the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday, July 7th .

Your $100 payment gets you:
 
  • A BBQ tailgate party at the council with hot dogs, burgers, chicken, corn on the cob, salads, fixings, beer & soda, and more, from noon to 1:15 p.m.

  • Bus transportation to and from Citi Field, leaving promptly at 1:30 p.m. Beer, soda, and water provided on the bus. Feel free to bring whatever you else you want to drink.
 
  • One ticket to see the Mets play in the Big Apple Reserved section.
 
Tickets are still available! Contact Bobby Palazzo or GK Steve for more info.
Great Turnout for Our Summer Blood Drive!

A steady stream of donors gave some 106 pints during Putnam’s semi-annual blood drive on Friday, June 29th. We are proud to sponsor this drive, along with the Driscoll Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, Putnam's Bureau of Emergency Services, and Putnam residents serving with the New York City Fire Department.

Over the last several years, we've held our summer blood drive on the last Friday in June. Summer is always a slow time for donations, and blood is always in demand this time of year. However, we found ourselves in the midst of an unusually short supply, and local blood services declared a "blood emergency."

Our brother Knight Denis Hanrahan did his usual outstanding job coordinating the drive and bringing it to new levels of success. Denis reported that since its inception 21 years ago, the Putnam blood drives held prior to Christmas and Independence Day have collected more than 2,800 unit donations: “What a tribute to our generous community,” said Denis, who thanked the public for its support and promised to return after Christmas with the next blood collection.

Denis also expressed special thanks to the large number of women donating blood last Friday: “Half of those rolling up their sleeves were women,” he said. Pictured above in this week's Putnam County Courier coverage of our blood drive is Ladies Auxiliary Treasurer Josette Firriolo, who donates a pint at our summer and winter drives each year.

Join us in thanking Denis for all of his hard work, and thanking all who volunteered to help set-up, staff, and break down for the drive, and of course to all those who made a donation of blood to help save others' lives.
Steve Gheduzzi Elected Grand Knight; Leads New Roster of Officers for 2018-19

The council's membership unanimously elected a new leadership team at our general business meeting on June 13th. Heading up our officers is our new Worthy Grand Knight, Stephen R. Gheduzzi, who has previously served in a number of key positions, including Chancellor, Deputy Grand Knight, and a director of our home corporation.

Chancellor Ralph Fleischman advanced to Deputy Grand Knight, and Guard Michael Bock assumed the responsibilities of Chancellor, a position with the important responsibility of serving as membership chairman.

Returning to their previous offices are Warden Mike O'Brien, Treasurer Joe Groneman, Financial Secretary Mike Rama, Recorder Mike Clement, Advocate Mike McDonald, and Guards Richie Ferris, Steve Kladis, and Jim Sullivan. Joining the leadership team as guards this year are Steve Smith and Tim McDonald. GK Steve has reappointed Anthony Falco to the position of Lecturer.

Past Grand Knight Rob Firriolo was elected Three Year Trustee, joining our other Past Grand Knights, Joe Sinisi and Jonathan Garcia, also serving as trustees. All offices became effective on the First of July.

Immediately after the election, outgoing GK Rob thanked all of his officers and the council's members for their support over his two terms of office. He then presented GK-Elect Steve with his jewel of office, name badge, and officer's pin. At the request of our District Deputy, the council will be holding a formal installation ceremony on the evening of Saturday, September 29. More details will be announced as the date approaches.
Welcome Our Newest Members

On May 31st, we had nine Catholic gentlemen join our Order and our council at a First Degree Exemplification:

Michael Antezzo
Jose Arevalo
Brian Finney
Philip Larkin
Lawrence Mack
Steven McDonnell
Kevin Murray
Nicholas Neuner
Harry Weiss

These brother Knights, along with Peter Carey , also became Second Degree Knights at the exemplification conducted that same night. Both of these degree ceremonies were conducted entirely by our in-house First Degree Team led by Rob Firriolo and our Second Degree Team led by District Deputy Bob Cuthbert. We are one of the few councils (and perhaps the only one) in the area that has its own First and Second Degree teams, which allow us to hold both of these exemplifications according to our needs.

Then, on Sunday, June 10th, we were honored to host a Third Degree Exemplification in our council hall. Twenty three Second Degree members participated, including these twelve members of our council :

The Rev. Szymon Kurpios
Michael Antezzo
Anthony Briante
Peter Carey
Patrick Cassidy
Brian Finney
Richard Keating Jr.
Kevin Murray
Joseph Nemeth
Jason Poniatowski
Christopher Simmons
The Hon. Robert Tendy

Please congratulate all of our new members as well as those who received the honors of full knighthood in our Order at the Third Degree.
Our Ladies Make Wishes Come True!

Our council's Ladies Auxiliary made a wish come true for a Putnam County resident!

Make-A-Wish Hudson Valley grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. The Ladies held a pocketbook bingo fundraiser on May 20th that raised $7,800 for this wonderful charity.

Held at our council hall, guests played games of bingo where all the prizes were high-end designer handbags. After bingo, a reception featured games of chance, raffles of gift baskets with even more pocketbooks, and various luxury items and gifts.

The proceeds from the event allowed the Ladies to adopt the wish of 14-year old Garrison resident Caramia, who wished to have her own video blogging equipment. Mia, who is very musical and loves singing, said her wish day was “the best day ever!”

On June 25th, representatives from the Ladies Auxiliary presented their donation at the Make a Wish headquarters in Tarrytown. Pictured above (l. to r.) are Past President Gail Silke, Vice President Ailisha Bolduc Noah, President Maria Barry, Treasurer Josette Firriolo, Trustee Deborah McDonald, and member Laura Signorile.

The Ladies wish to thank all those who volunteered their time and talents to make the event such a great success. They would also like to thank these sponsors:

BRIANTE REALTY, CASSIDY PLUMBING, CLANCEY MOVING, FIDDLERS GREEN PUB, FLOURISH WEALTH ADVISORS, SECRETARIAL & BLUEPRINTING SERVICES, GEORGE HARTSHORN PAVING, FLORRIE KAYE'S TEA ROOM, PCSB BANK, BEST BUDDIES CARMEL HS, TEAM CLEARY, OLD FAITHFUL PUMP, and OUR LADY OF THE LAKES COUNCIL
 
as well as these donors:

JARWORTHY, KATHERINE’S GIFT SHOP, CARMEL BAGEL, CARMEL CINEMA, SHOPRITE OF CARMEL, ACME OF PATTERSON, WHUD, UMAC,
52 10 NAIL SALON, PAMPERED CHEF - INDEPENDENT REP ELIZABETH CAREY, THE BLAZER PUB, HONEY-DO MEN, ENERSHE FITNESS, ROLAND FOODS, STARBUCKS, GRAPEVINE OF CARMEL, INGENUITIES BAKED GOODS, VIAONEHOME.COM/RAINE, AND NUMEROUS MEMBERS & LOCAL FAMILIES.
Fourth Degree News

On June 21st, Mother Cabrini elected its officers for the 2018-19 fraternal year. Leading the Assembly will be its newest Faithful Navigator, Vincent LaRusso . Vinny was formerly the Assembly's Captain, and also led Brewster Council for two terms as their Grand Knight.

Mahopac's current Grand Knight, Ted Czerniewski, takes over the office of Assembly Captain. Past Faithful Navigator Steve Gheduzzi retired after two terms of ably leading the Assembly, and will be staying on in the office of Admiral. A full list of officers may be found here .

Vinny and Ted are great friends of our council, and our Assembly could not be in better hands. Please congratulate them and all of the new officers when you see them.

After the elections, the Assembly drew the winners of the 50/50 raffle sent out with this year's dues notices. The three winners of $50 each are Anthony Falco, Tony Garabo, and Dan O'Hare . Checks will be mailed out to each winner shortly. The proceeds of the raffle -- $150 -- will go to the Putnam County Dwyer Vet2Vet program, which provides peer counseling to service veterans.

MEETING NOTICE
There will be no July meeting of Mother Cabrini Assembly. The next meeting of the Fourth Degree Sir Knights will be Thursday, August 16th at 7:30 p.m. at our Council.
Medal of Honor Parade - Saturday, July 21st
Join us as Putnam County celebrates the inaugural Medal of Honor Day Parade! We are honored to serve on the parade committee for this auspicious event that is sure to be a historic day for Putnam County!

The parade is a celebration of recipients of our nation's highest military award and of all those who have honorably served our nation in uniform. Come watch, cheer, and have fun with your family. For more information on the parade, click here .

After the parade, there will be a reception with music, vendors, food, and beverages in the county parking lot right behind our council. Volunteers are needed to help with this effort, so please let GK Steve know if you can help out for an hour or two.
Carmel Senior Center Temporarily Relocates to Our Council

Our lease arrangement with Putnam County to temporarily house the Carmel Senior Center is well under way, and -- thanks to a lot of planning and hard work -- things have been running without a hitch!

The seniors really seem to be enjoying themselves, the county staff is leaving our council hall and kitchen spotless every day, and the new traffic pattern is working very well. (As we advised in a prior email alert, there is no traffic or parking in the driveway alongside our building from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays.)

Things are going so well that we received some nice press in the latest edition of the Putnam County Courier:

Carmel Senior Center Relocates To KofC Hall
July 02, 2018
By Eric Gross, Putnam County Courier

While the new Butterfield Senior Center in Cold Spring has been in the news during the past year, Carmel’s Senior Center is also making headlines.

Located for many years on the former Putnam BOCES campus in what is now referred to as the Donald Smith Governmental Center, the Office for Senior Resources facility found itself in need of renovation and repair.

Working with state officials, Senator Terrence Murphy obtained a $550,000 grant for the center’s revival and last week seniors were relocated to the Knights of Columbus Hall on Fair Street in Carmel while the renovation work got underway.

The senator joined by County Executive MaryEllen Odell stopped at the K of C Hall and thanked the seniors for their patience while the old building was being given a facelift.

Odell reported that demolition and renovation of administrative offices had been completed: “We are moving along and should have your new home away from home completed by the end of the year or in early 2019.”

Murphy described seniors as a “crucial component of our community. You make up the fabric of our towns and villages. It is so important that you have a place to recreate and enjoy each others company on a daily basis. I was only too pleased to assist by garnering the grant money.”

During the officials’ visit, in one corner of the main ballroom at the hall, George D’Allesandro, a retired educator, was conducting a series of exercises from a chair while other tables were filled with men and women playing cards, reading newspapers and just schmoozing.

Lunch was also served. The home cooked meal consisted of chicken Louie, fresh brussel sprouts and potatoes au gratin.







  • Comedy Night - It was such a blast last time that we're doing it again! We'll be hosting another great night of comedy dinner theater on Saturday, September 15th. After what promises to be a delicious dinner, we'll be featuring some top-notch comedians including co-headliners Brad Lowery (from A&E’s “Caroline’s Comedy Hour” and CBS “Star Search”), Joe Moffa (star of the hit off-Broadway shows “Shut up, Sit down and Eat” and “My Big Fat Dysfunctional Life”), and the Comedy, Ventriloquism and Magic of Gemini (star of Vegas, the Palladium, Atlantic City and “America’s Funniest People”). You must purchase tickets in advance. Watch for more information, or contact Bobby Palazzo now to guarantee your seats!

  • Feast of Saint James - The annual parish feast will be Thursday, July 18th through Saturday, July 21st. As usual, our council will be running the casino games and in charge of adult beverage sales, along with helping out in a variety of capacities including security, accounting, and food sales. Please sign up in the volunteer book in the parish office ASAP. We still need more card dealers! Anybody wishing to deal in the casino should speak to Bobby Palazzo. Also, our friends in the Sausage Connection booth are shorthanded and could use some help with prep and cooking. Please volunteer to help them out if you can spare even a few hours.
Remember, a full calendar of events can always be found on our website: carmelknights.org under the Upcoming Events tab. And don't forget to "like" our Facebook page for up-to-the minute announcements, photos, event listings, and items of interest.