The Lake Current - June 2022
Welcome to the June 2022 edition of our Council newsletter!

Here are a few quick (but important!) notices before we get into the news:

  • Our regular monthly business meeting is Wednesday, June 8th, starting at 7:30 p.m. Five bucks gets you a very special dinner starting around 6:30 p.m. We will holding elections for Council officers and Corporation directors (see reports of the nominating committees below). All members in good standing (which mean dues to-date are paid!) are eligible to vote.

  • We are saddened to report the passing of William T. Graap on May 20th at the age of 59, after a brief and courageous struggle with cancer. Bill is the son of William R. Graap and brother of Robert Graap, both members of our Council. A Memorial Mass to honor and celebrate Bill's life will be held 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 21st, at Our Lady of the Lake Church in Lake Carmel. His obituary may be found by clicking here. Please join us in praying for Bill's immortal soul and for the comfort of his family and friends.

  • Thanks to our members who helped out by cooking burgers and sausage & peppers at the first St. James Craft Fair on Saturday, May 21st. School principal Maura Crawford gave a nice shout out to our Council for our efforts in last week's parish bulletin. Thanks also to everybody who turned out on Sunday, May 22nd, to do the cleanup around our Council. They left it looking great for the Founders' Day Barbecue and the Golf Outing. Let's all work on keeping it looking great all summer!

  • WGK Ralph Fleischman can use some help at the Carmel High School Senior BBQ on Wednesday, June 8th, from 3-7 p.m. at Camarda Park (226 Seminary Hill Rd. in Carmel). Please reach out to Ralph or just show up if you can lend a hand.
Council & Corporation Elections - Wednesday, June 8th

Our Council is holding elections for all eligible officer positions at our June business meeting on Wednesday, June 8th, starting at 7:30 p.m.

Please review the Report of the Nominating Committee and Proposed Slate of Council Officers for the 2022-23 Fraternal Year, which appears below. The report explains the rules for additional nominations.

Please note that there is still an opening for the office of Chancellor.

Please speak with GK Ralph Fleischman, DGK Tim McDonald, or any member of the Council's Nominating Committee if you are interested in the position of Chancellor. You may also contact any of them if you have any questions about running for any other office or about the elections process.

We will also be holding elections for three Home Corporation directors. Please see the report of the Corporation's Nominating Committee below.

All members in good standing of our Council are eligible to vote for Council officers and Corporation Directors. Payment of all outstanding dues and presentation of a current membership card are required to vote.
PGK Mike McDonough Receives Founders Award

Our Council proudly presented our "Trongone Award" to Past Grand Knight Michael McDonough at our Seventh Annual Founders' Day BBQ on Friday, May 27th. As befitting our award winner's incredible contributions to our Council, this year's event broke all attendance records, with over 120 guests present to honor Mike!

Named in honor of founding Grand Knight Angelo Trongone, the award was presented this year to Mike for his many years of dedicated service that began shortly after the founding of our Council.

During Mike's distinguished tenure with the Knights, he served as Grand Knight of our Council from 1990 to 1992, Faithful Navigator of Mother Cabrini Assembly #1572, District Deputy, Chairman of the Westchester-Putnam Conference, and NYS Chairman of Knights Against Domestic Violence. He was also our very first "Knight of the Year" honoree (1979).

Mike has also served with Carmel Rotary, Mahopac Rotary, Cove Care (Putnam Family & Community Services), as Chairman of Putnam County People Against Domestic Violence, with St. James Parish and School, the Hudson Valley-New York Blood Center, and the Carmel Sports Association.
The weather for the barbecue was dreadful, but it couldn't dampen our spirits. Everyone (except our cook crew) stayed dry in our Council Hall, and guests enjoyed a lavish feast that featured a pig roast, sliced steak, Cornell chicken, sausage and peppers, along with other BBQ favorites.
We also had occasion to celebrate the 80th birthday of brother Knight Jim Carey. Jim first joined our Order in 1982, and has been an active volunteer and participant at our many Council events.

A big thank you to all of our guests for attending, and especially to our BBQ Crew for another stellar effort. Kudos again go to Pigmeister Rich Dambra for the best roast pig we've ever had!
Below: Past Grand Knights (l. to r.) Charlie Grimmer, Mike McDonald, Bobby Palazzo, Rob Firriolo, and Steve Gheduzzi joined GK Ralph Fleischman (holding cake) in honoring PGK Mike McDonough (center).
2022 George Dean Memorial Golf Outing

Another memorable -- and very successful -- George Dean Memorial Golf Outing is in the books! We had 110 golfers turn out on Friday, June 3rd, for a fantastic day of golf celebrated in loving memory of our dearly departed brother Knight.

Despite the recent rain, Putnam County Golf Course was in fine shape, the weather cleared up just in time to tee-off, and the golfers enjoyed a spectacular day on the links that included golfer swag (featuring a really nice embroidered shirt and hat), lunch at the course, beverage cart, and lots of friendly competition and fun.

After shooting a great (or not so great) round, our golfers gathered at the Council for appetizers, cocktails, a full filet mignon dinner and dessert, followed by an awards ceremony and lots of great raffle prizes.

We were honored to be joined by the foursome of Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell, Putnam County Legislature Chairman Neal Sullivan, Deputy County Executive Tommy Feighery, and Commissioner of Finance Bill Carlin. Neal and Tommy are brother Knights and members of our Council.

Congratulations to the winning foursome of Lou Nobel, Joe Minnelli, Alex Scavone, and T. O'Sullivan, who won with a score of 60 (12 under par).

Winner of the "Closest To Pin" contest was Alex Scavone.

Winners of the men's and ladies' "Long Drive" contests were Brian Forde and MaryEllen Odell.

Many thanks to our Golf Outing Committee for orchestrating another great outing. Thanks also to the Dean Family, our golfers, our sponsors, our unbeatable Council catering crew, and everybody who pitched in to make our major annual fundraiser such a great success. And as always, thanks to our in-house photographer Harry Gorman for some great photos!
Emergency Blood Drive - Friday, July 1st





*** BY APPOINTMENT ONLY ***
*** EXPANDED HOURS ***
*** VOLUNTEERS NEEDED ***

The lingering effects of the pandemic coupled with the start of summer vacations means that certain blood types are at a critical 1-to-2 day supply. This leaves our area in the midst of a "Blood Supply Emergency"!

Our annual summer blood drive is set for Friday, July 1, 2022, from 10:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. at the Daniel O’Brien VFW Hall, 32 Gleneida Ave. (Rte. 52) in Carmel.

WE REALIZE THIS IS THE START OF THE FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND, BUT THE NEED IS DESPERATE!

Our critical drive will once again be by appointment only. To make an appointment via the internet, please follow this link to the NY Blood Center Donor Portal.

Or, to schedule an appointment by phone, please call: 1-800-933-2566.

ATTENTION METS FANS: For each generous donation, the NY Blood Center will be handing out NY Mets t-shirts! If you're not a Mets fan, you can donate your t-shirt to a fan, or use it for painting around the house, changing your oil, etc. (Those suggestions come from a jealous Yankees fan, natch.)

We are sorry to announce that, due to current restrictions, we will be unable to provide our Michelin-starred hot and cold buffet at this time.

We will need VOLUNTEERS throughout the drive but, most importantly, at set-up and break-down. Set-up will start at 8:00 a.m., then break-down and clean-up will be at 7:00 p.m.

We hope you can join our members and Ladies Auxiliary, along with the Driscoll Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police and New York City Firefighters, in this absolutely critical blood drive.

Donating blood is a safe, simple, and satisfying experience. Your donations help give life to the millions of Americans each year who require blood transfusions during surgery, after an accident, or because they have a disease that requires blood components.

There are many different ways to donate lifesaving blood products, including whole blood, platelet, plasma, and automated red cell donation. The process usually takes about 45-60 minutes.

You may donate if you are at least 17 years old (16 years old with written consent from parent or legal guardian), weigh at least 110 pounds, and are in good health.

At this time, masks are not required but are optional.

Contact Denis Hanrahan at (845) 225-3048 or GK Ralph Fleischman at (845) 225-6318 for more info, or visit www.nybc.org.

AND PLEASE REMEMBER TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TODAY!
We Honor the CHS Class of 2022 with Custom Signs & Banner!

For the second year in a row, our Council has honored graduating Carmel High School Seniors with personalized signs that have been prominently displayed on along Lake Gleneida, beneath the Row of Honor flags. The signs show a pictures of the graduates along with their names, and identify them as members of the CHS Class of 2022.

We also posted across the road a large banner reading "Congratulations Carmel High School Class of 2022" (pictured here).

Thanks to generous donations made by our Council and Kent Town Councilman Jorma Tompuri, the price of these signs was reduced this year to only $10. Additional signs were available for purchase at the full cost of $20.

About 250 students are being recognized by these signs, and a team of volunteers from our Council hung them last week along Gleneida Avenue. The signs make for an impressive tribute to the Carmel Class of 2022.

The signs will remain on the lake for all of June, after which time parents will be able to retrieve them and keep them as mementos of their graduate, or to proudly display in their home or yard.
Fourth Degree News

MEETING NOTICE
The next meeting of the Fourth Degree Sir Knights of Mother Cabrini Assembly will be Thursday, June 16th, at 7:30 p.m. at our Council. Elections for Assembly Officers will be held. All Sir Knights should attend!







  • We'll be announcing a special exhibition of professional boxing and other exciting events this summer. Keep reading The Lake Current and watch our Facebook feed to keep up with the latest Council news and information!
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.