The Lake Current - January 2024
Happy New Year and welcome to the January 2024 edition of our Council newsletter!

A few quick but important items up-front before we get into the news.

  • Our next regular business meeting will be Wednesday, January 10th, starting at 7:30 p.m. Dinner for $5 will be at 6:30, as usual. All members are welcome.

  • Beefsteak will be SOLD OUT soon! - Our Men's Beefsteak on Saturday, January 20th, is close to being sold out. If you made your reservation, please turn in your payment to GK Tim or Treasurer Rich Dambra as soon as possible. If you have not yet reserved your seat, your can reserve and pay at our meeting on Wednesday, January 10th. Please bring your donations of wine and spirits for the Basket of Cheer raffle, as well as sporting event tickets, theater tickets, gift certificates to local restaurants and other businesses, and stays in vacation homes for our raffles and auctions. We count on these donations to raise enough funds to meet our fundraising goal for St. James. Please also note that we will need volunteers both before and after the event to help with setting up, prep, serving, and -- most importantly -- cleanup! Please speak with GK Tim if you are interested in helping out.

  • Longest Drive Contest at Beefsteak! Something new at this year's Beefsteak will be the Longest Drive Contest to be played on our new golf simulator. The entry fee is $20 and please bring your own driver.

  • Crèche Take-down - We're planning to take down the Nativity Scene at St. James starting at 10 a.m. on Monday, January 8th. We'll need the usual tools as well as snow shovels if the expected snowfall arrives this weekend. Please also see the item below about special arrangements and a generous donation being made to protect and store the statues.

  • $1,475 for the Parish Food Pantry! - Thanks to the generosity of our members and our guests, our annual Adult Christmas Party on December 16th raised $1,475 in gift cards for the St. James the Apostle Food Pantry to help local families in need. This year's party was a fun night that offered an outstanding hot dinner buffet - a feast! -- and the Ladies Auxiliary did not disappoint with another incredible dessert table and hot chocolate bar. Over the years, our Christmas Parties have raised over $15,775 for the parish food pantry! Thanks to all who attended for making it such a success, and to our Kitchen Crew, volunteers, and bartenders for throwing us all such a great party.
  • Our Lounge's Draft Beer of the Month for January is Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale! Cited as a classic example of the “American Brown Ale” style of beer, Old Brown Dog has roasted malt, caramel-like and chocolate-like characters of medium intensity in both flavor and aroma. Compared to a typical English Brown Ale, Old Brown Dog is fuller-bodied and more strongly hopped. It is rated an impressive 88 points ("Very Good") on BeerAdvocate.com.
Winter Blood Drive A Near Record-Breaker!

A great big THANK YOU to our cadre of dedicated volunteers, and to all of the amazing donors in our community, for making our 2023 Winter Holiday Blood Drive on December 29th another amazing success.

We collected 137 units of blood -- a close third to our record-breaking 145 units of blood last winter and 142 units last summer. Over the last 26 years of holding our winter and summer blood drives, we've collected an amazing total of 4,285 units of blood!

The Greater New York Blood Bank always reports blood shortages around the Christmas and New Year's holiday period, and this year we once again found ourselves in a serious blood shortage emergency. The need for blood is always heightened at this time of year for a variety of reasons, and we expected turnout to be low with so many people suffering from a variety of respiratory illnesses. But once again, our members came through in a pinch!

Sincere thanks to all the donors, and also to all the volunteers who help make this happen, especially our own brother Knight Denis Hanrahan, for whom organizing our summer and winter blood drives is a labor of love.
Member Honored for Bravery in Responding to Explosion

Brother Knight John Nuculovic was one of several first responders who helped rescue victims of the horrific explosion last fall in Wappingers Falls to be honored by Congressman Pat Ryan. 

Dozens of police, fire, and EMS personnel worked to rescue individuals who were trapped under debris and in construction equipment at the scene of the explosion on Brick Row that rocked the Village of Wappingers Falls on November 2nd, 2023.
Congressman Ryan made the heroes part of national history when he read the account of the mass casualty incident and the names of the heroes into the Congressional Record late last year.

The gas line explosion that resulted in 15 people suffering various injuries drew a large response from emergency personnel, who worked to save the victims.

John Nuculovic, who served our Council in the office of Chancellor, is a Wappingers Falls firefighter and Superintendent of the Village of Wappingers Falls Department of Public Works. He is also a retired U.S. Army Military Police Captain and paratrooper.
In presenting the honors to the first responders, Congressman Ryan noted, “Sergeant Devin Ludwig (WFPD), Investigator Andrew Hettinger (NYSP), and John Marco Nuculovic (WFFD) ran into extreme peril to carry out those trapped inside the smoldering rubble. John even refused medical attention for injuries he sustained during the rescue until all others were out safely.”

Ryan gathered county and local leaders at the SW Johnson Firehouse in Wappingers Falls on Thursday, January 4th, to pay tribute to the first responders -- many of whom are volunteers -- noting that they typically do not enjoy such attention after heroic actions like the ones performed that day.

Kudos to our brother John for his bravery and selfless service, and congratulations to him on well-deserved recognition!
Nativity Scene Statues Receiving First-Class Treatment from Clancy Movers!

In the December 2023 edition of The Lake Current, we reported on the magnificent restoration of the figures to the St. James the Apostle Nativity Scene. Our story mentioned that we were in the process of acquiring the supplies necessary to protect the statues while in storage, and that donations of such materials were welcome.

After that story ran, one of our members stepped up in a big way! Brother Knight Jim Carey helped secure the protection, transport, and storage of the statues for us by Clancy Relocation and Logistics. Jim's son, Seamus Carey, is the company's Operations Manager and is handling the arrangements, which will include carefully packing the figures in protected enclosures and transporting them to an environmentally controlled storage facility, where they will reside until we need them next November.

You may recall that the Carey Family was honored as our Family of the Year at our 2022 Annual Dinner Dance and Awards Ceremony. They have once again demonstrated why they were so very worthy of that honor.

Clancy Relocation & Logistics provides a growing range of storage and relocation logistics services. They have been serving the residential and commercial moving needs of customers in our area for over 100 years. Clancy has long been a generous sponsor of our Council's events, such as our Annual Dinner Dance and the George Dean Memorial Golf Outing.

Join us in thanking Jim and Seamus Carey and the good people at Clancy for stepping up and doing something very special for our parish and our Council. Keep them in mind for your moving and relocation needs!
Tickets On Sale for Comedy Night - March 23rd.

Make your reservations for another fun-filled night as comedy dinner theater returns to our Council on Saturday, March 23, 2024.

Rick Morgan (Resorts International, Carolines NYC) will emcee a night of headliners including Fran Capo (National Comedy Hall of Fame), Chris Monty ("Kevin Can Wait," "Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2") and Joey Kola ("The Tonight Show with Jay Leno", The Late Show with David Letterman", "The King of Queens").

For only $100 you get an outstanding show, a full hot buffet dinner with appetizers and dessert catered by Luigi's Famiglia Cucina, and an open bar! Doors open at 6 p.m., dinner buffet starts at 7 p.m., and showtime is 8 p.m.

Advanced reservations and ticket prepayment are required to hold your seat. For tickets, please contact Bobby Palazzo at 845-216-1997 or Charlie Grimmer at 845-222-7392.
Fourth Degree News

MEETING NOTICE (NOTE LOCATION)

The next meeting of Mother Cabrini Assembly will be Thursday, January 18th, hosted by Msgr. Collins Council at St. Joseph Catholic Church (95 Plum Brook Rd, Somers, Room B).

The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Members will be able to purchase and pick up tickets to sell for the Assembly's 2024 "Night Out on the Sir Knights" Year of Dinners Raffle.

We also plan to prepare our annual dues mailing, so volunteers are requested to assist with the effort before the meeting.

All Fourth Degree Sir Knights are welcome and encouraged to attend.
Win $5,000! Get your tickets for the Ladies' RAFFLE BONANZA








  • Feb 2 (Fri): St. Pat's Parade Grand Marshal Installation Dinner - Join us as we celebrate the installation of the Grand Marshal for the 47th Annual Northern Westchester/Putnam St. Patrick’s Day Parade - our own brother Knight Brendan McDonnell - at the Grand Marshal Installation Dinner taking place on Friday, February 2nd at Centennial Golf Club in Carmel. $50 per person, pay at the door. Please let the Grand Knight or our parade rep, PGK Mike McDonald, know if you are coming so we can save enough seats.

  • Feb 11 (Sun): Super Bowl Party - Join us for our annual family-friendly Super Bowl party. Enjoy the games on our all-new and larger ultra-HDTVs. Doors and our Lounge open at 4 p.m. Some snacks and wedges will be provided, but the best part of the party is our Pot Luck Dinner, so bring an appetizer or entree (preferably in a foil half-tray) and enjoy the buffet! Desserts are also welcome.

  • Fish Fry Fridays begin February 16th! - There will be a staff meeting / planning session to on Monday, February 5th at 7 p.m. in our Council Hall. All are welcome to attend and join the Fish Fry Crew!

  • 2024 Memorial Mass Schedule: The schedule of Masses at St. James the Apostle & Our Lady of the Lake/Mt. Carmel Parish at which the intention will be for deceased members of our Council has been posted on our website's Upcoming Events page. (Scroll down to the bottom under "More Upcoming Events 2024.")
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.