The Lake Current - July 2023
Welcome to the July 2023 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 this Wednesday, July 12h, starting at 7:30 p.m. Dinner for $5 will be at 6:30, as usual. All members are welcome and encouraged to attend.

  • The Feast of St. James is almost here! Our wonderful parish feast will be celebrated over four nights from Wednesday, July 19th, through Thursday, July 22nd. Volunteers are needed each night in the casino, with beverage sales, in the Sausage Connection booth, and in other roles. We will be discussing the feast at our July membership meeting and there will be sign-up sheets to volunteer for various tasks. There will also be a brief but important meeting of feast volunteers from our Council and Ladies Auxiliary in our Council Hall on Thursday, July 13th, at 7 p.m. If you want to volunteer but cannot make either meeting, please let the following people know what night(s) and time(s) you can help: Sausage Connection - GK Tim McDonald; Black Jack dealing - PGK Bobby Palazzo; Casino Cashier (chip sales), Roulette croupier, and Beer/Wine sales - PGK Rob Firriolo.

  • Our Lounge's "Draft Beer of the Month" for July is once again Sam Adams Summer Ale: An American Wheat Ale with a citrus blend of orange, lemon and lime peel, balanced with a touch of spice from Grains of Paradise, a rare pepper from West-Africa. Crisp, refreshing and easy-drinking, Sam Summer Ale is perfect for ditching the hustle and turning any summer day into a summer Friday!
Council & Corporation Election Results

At our last business meeting on June 14th, our Council held elections for the 2023-24 Fraternal Year. The membership enthusiastically re-elected Sir Knight Tim McDonald as Worthy Grand Knight for a second term.

Rick Kreps moved up to Deputy Grand Knight, and John Crecco ascended from a Guard position to become our Council's new Chancellor, where he will head-up the Admissions Committee.

Re-elected and returning to their offices for another year are Recorder Peter Carey, Treasurer Rich Dambra, Advocate PGK Mike McDonald, and Warden Mike O'Brien.

Mike Rama remains as our Financial Secretary, which office is appointed by the Supreme Knight. Our Grand Knight has reappointed Anthony Falco as Lecturer for the next fraternal year.

New to the leadership team are Guards Steve Crecco and Mike Vrabel, who join Dan Dolenck and Lou Noble as returning Guards.

PGK Steve Gheduzzi was re-elected as a Trustee for another three-year term, where he joins the current Trustees, PGK Rob Firriolo and PGK Ralph Fleischman.

All of the officers were elected by unanimous vote of the membership present.

After the conclusion of the Council meeting, a meeting was held by our Home Corporation, 6318 Associates. Directors John Hanrahan and Mike Karlsson were re-elected, and they will be joined by a new addition to the Board, Dan McPartland. All three will serve three-year terms ending in June 2026.

We are also pleased to welcome PGK Chris Crozier from Brewster Council as our Council's new District Deputy.

Please join us in congratulating our new roster of Council Officers and Corporation Directors, and in wishing them success in the upcoming Fraternal Year.
Summer Blood Drive Nets 142 Units!

Our 2023 Summer Blood Drive was another incredible success, collecting 142 units of blood. That is a fantastic number -- and not far off our best-ever number from last year -- especially considering that the drive was on a Friday at the start of a long holiday weekend.

Lead organizer Denis Hanrahan observed that this year our members certainly stepped up and greatly added to the drive's success. This was especially true about our Ladies Auxiliary, who showed up in solid numbers.

Our Council is proud to sponsor this drive along with FOP Driscoll Lodge 704, New York City Firefighters Hudson Valley East, and Guardian Revival.

Over the last several years, we've held our summer blood drive on the last Friday in June because summer is always a slow time for donations, and blood is always in demand this time of year. Once again we did what our community needed when they needed it!

Join us in thanking Denis for all of his hard work and dedication to this important cause, all who volunteered to help set-up, staff, and break down for the drive, and of course all those who made a donation of blood to help save others' lives.
We Said "Thanks" to our Ladies Auxiliary with Sunday Brunch

The men of our Council expressed the Council's gratitude to our Ladies Auxiliary by cooking and serving a sumptuous brunch just for them on Sunday morning, June 11th.

We began an annual tradition in 2017 with the first "Ladies Auxiliary Appreciation Dinner" to show our thanks to the Ladies. The Ladies requested a brunch this year, and it was so well received that the "Appreciation Brunch" just may become our new annual tradition.

The Ladies' brunch featured traditional hot breakfast fare, fresh fruit salad, smoked salmon and bagels, freshly baked croissants, grilled chicken over arugula vinaigrette with fresh mozzarella and tomato, pasta primavera, a deluxe carving station with roast turkey, roast beef, and honey-baked ham, and a nice selection of danish and pastry. All of that wonderful food was paired with the perfect brunch drinks: Mimosa and Bloody Mary cocktails!

Our Ladies Auxiliary continues to thrive and grow. Men of our Council who have not done so already should encourage their wives, adult daughters, and other women in their family to join our Ladies Auxiliary and get in on all of the fun. Contact President Kim Crecco or speak with GK Tim for more information.

At the end of the brunch, the Ladies threw a surprise baby shower for Ladies Auxiliary Trustee Beth Tenbrink, who is expecting in October. Congratulations Beth!
Fourth Degree News

MEETING NOTICE
There will be NO JULY MEETING of Mother Cabrini Assembly.

At the June 15th meeting, the membership of Mother Cabrini Assembly elected Sir Knight Seamus Baker from our Council to lead the Fourth Degree as Faithful Navigator for the 2023-24 Fraternal Year.

Also newly elected from our Council were SK Mike Vrable as Faithful Captain and SK Jeff Harrison as Faithful Pilot.

Congratulations to Seamus, Mike and Jeff, and thanks for stepping up into the leadership of the Fourth Degree!







  • Aug. 11 (Fri.) - Admission Degree for College-Age Men! We are planning to hold a special Exemplification of Charity, Unity and Fraternity for the college-age sons and grandsons of our members, along with their friends, on Friday evening, August 11th. Please speak with GK Tim or Chancellor John Crecco if you know of a young Catholic gentleman wishing to join our Order and our Council.
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.