The Lake Current - April 10, 2018

We hope you and your family had a joyous and blessed Easter Sunday, and that you continue to rejoice in the Risen Lord for all 50 days of the Easter Season. ( Yes, Easter really is a 50-day celebration! As the most important feast in the Christian calendar, Easter continues through the Ascension of Our Lord to Pentecost Sunday -- seven full weeks after Easter Sunday!) Here are a few quick items before we get into the news: We are holding a brief committee meeting to plan for our Cinco de Mayo Fiesta TONIGHT (Tuesday, 4/10) at 7:30 at the council. This is a great opportunity for anyone looking to get involved in any way -- setup, decorating, cooking, cleanup, etc. If you want to help out but can't attend tonight, please let GK Rob know and he'll add you to the event team. Our regular monthly business meeting is tomorrow (Wednesday, 4/11) starting at 7:30 p.m. As always we'll have some good food for everybody starting around 6:30 p.m. We are expecting Msgr. Marchitelli or his representative to attend at the start of our meeting, to accept our donation of funds that we raised for St. James Parish at our 2018 J.O. Memorial Men's Beefsteak Dinner. All members are welcome and encouraged to attend! We will be holding elections of Council Officers at our regular business meeting on June 13th. Any Third Degree member in good standing wishing to join the leadership team and run for a vacant office should contact one of our Nominating Committee Co-Chairmen, GK Rob Firriolo and FS Mike Rama, by May 1st. The report of the Nominating Committee will be presented at our regular business meeting on May 9th.

Lenten Fish Fry Fridays Were FIN-TASTIC! THANK YOU!!! The response to this year's Lenten Fish Fry Friday dinners at our council was nothing short of INCREDIBLE! This year we broke all records from previous years, filling over 400 orders and serving almost 1000 meals over five Friday nights -- in only three hours each night and with each meal freshly prepared to order.  This year we brought back all of your favorite menu items and expanded our specials offerings to feature Creamy Crab-Corn Chowder, Flounder Piccata, New England Clam Chowder in bread bowls, the Filet-O-KoC Hero (Panko Fish Filet sandwiches), and -- the real crowd-pleaser -- Lobster Mac & Cheese. All of them were 100% made from scratch, from recipes developed and tested in our very own kitchen. We also programmed and installed our own electronic point-of-sale system to speed your orders up to the kitchen and generate a printed receipt. And every week we worked to streamline our kitchen operations to reduce order times without sacrificing quality. We know there were some long waits for food in the first couple of weeks, but we were overwhelmed by your support! ( Now we know how Sally Field felt. )

So we really appreciate your patience and returning week after week to support the Fish Fry. And we were thrilled to have received our first piece of fan-art! (Pictured below). We haven't finished our final accounting, but it looks like we will be able to donate approximately $2,000 to charity from this year's sales! That's all the direct result of the generous support of our customers and the hard work of our volunteers. We'll announce our donations in a future newsletter.

Very special thanks to our members and their families who worked so hard to plan the menus, shop for the supplies, prepare the hall, prep, cook and serve the food, and clean up each and every week. So let's give a shout-out to our fantastic Fish Fry Crew, which included: - Our intrepid Kitchen Staff: Frymaster Steve Gheduzzi and Small-Fry Mike Rama; Kitchen Ringmaster Anthony Falco; Prep Chefs Rich Dambra and Mike "I am calm" McDonald; "Where-Do-You-Need-Me Guys" Pat Barry, Mike O'Brien, and Mike Bock; Subaquatic Vessel Technicians Fast-Eddie Sheldon and Kevin Heis; and the guy who sweats every last detail, Rob "How Did I Get Myself Into This?" Firriolo. - Our courteous Customer Service Team: Josette Firriolo, Maria Barry, Joe Groneman, and Gail Silke; - Our eager Dining-hall Staffers: Mike Clement, Isabel Pompa, Ralph Fleischman, Debbie McDonald, Kevin Barry, and Grace Barry; and - Our dragooned youth volunteers, who act as order runners and setup helpers (and who do receive community service hours and split any tips collected). Our apologies if we forgot to include anybody who helped out. Suffice it to say we could not have prepared and served all of those meals without all of the great help. (We will need even more next year!) THANKS AGAIN AND SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

2018 Putnam Heart Walk Please join us in supporting the 2018 Putnam Heart Walk to raise funds for the American Heart Association. Funds raised will go to fight heart disease and stroke. The walk starts at 10 a.m. on Sunday, April 22rd , at Brewster High School . Click here to walk, sponsor the walkers from the Fiddlers Green Pub team, or for more information. Let PGK Mike McDonald explain his personal attachment to this cause in his own words: "Last year scores of James O'Neill's friends and family participated in this worthy cause and to show love and support of J.O. I had the honor to walk alongside my other brother-in-law, Walter Watson, and we walked until we found Wally's shortcut which we promised to use next year. Life has its own plans and we lost this great man. Help us to raise money so someone's father, mother, brother, or sister will have the opportunity to live not the just the width of their lives like J.O., but the length also. You can help us by joining my team or by stopping by Fiddler's Green Pub and dropping off money for the event. Those who contribute to the Fiddler's Green are entitled to an Irish Breakfast after the race. Thank you Tommy Feighery! 💙"

St. Patrick's Day Parade & Celebration Recap The luck o' the Irish was with us as we marched on a glorious day in the 42nd Annual Northern Westchester/Putnam St. Patrick's Day Parade on Sunday, March 11th. It was a great day for the Irish and anyone who wanted to be Irish for a day! Thanks to all who turned out to march, and the Fourth Degree Sir Knights of the Mother Cabrini Assembly Color Corps who led the procession of Knights. Thanks also to our Parade Committee representative, PGK Mike McDonald, for all of his hard work with the committee on this event, which we proudly sponsor each year. After the parade, our council hall was full as we served up a great corned beef and cabbage lunch, and enjoyed live performances by Irish singer/musician Ed Mullaney, the always fabulous Kelly Oster School of Irish Dance, and the outstanding Stephen P. Driscoll Memorial Pipe Band. We were honored to be joined by the parade's Grand Marshal, our Putnam County Executive, MaryEllen Odell, and other dignitaries from our community. And on Saint Patrick's Day proper (March 17th), we served an informal, complimentary corned beef dinner for our members and friends who stopped by our lounge to celebrate. (Okay, they were leftovers, but they were darn good leftovers!) Enjoy these pictures from our reception:

Bingo Is Back Better Than Ever in 2018 Our Ladies Auxiliary has an ambitious year of bingo events planned, all to raise funds for a variety of great local charities! On Sunday, March 25th, they got off to a great start on their first cash bingo of the year, with 60 players gathering for a fundraiser for Rosary Hill Home in Hawthorne. Their upcoming cash bingo events are all on Sundays starting at 2 p.m., as follows: April 22 - Relay for Life (American Cancer Society) September 30 - Local charity to be named October 28 - Local charity to be named November 18 - Putnam's Joseph P. Dwyer Vet2Vet Program December 9 - Putnam County Children's Committee Admission is only $30, and attendance is limited to the first 100 players. A very special Pocketbook Bingo event to raise funds for Make-A-Wish Hudson Valley will be held on Sunday, May 20th , at the St. James the Apostle School gym. Last year the Ladies Auxiliary raised $5,555 for this great charity, helping to fulfill the wishes of children in our area with life-threatening medical conditions. This year the Ladies are hoping to raise even more to fully fund the wish of at least one local child. Sponsorships are being sold and donations for basket raffles are being accepted. For reservations, donations, or more information, please speak with President Gail Silke or VP Maria Barry, or email ladieskofc@gmail.com .

Last Call For New Fourth Degree Members and Officers The Fourth Degree Exemplification for our area will be held on Saturday, May 19th , at the Crowne Plaza in Suffern. The Fourth Degree is the Patriotic Degree and the highest degree of Knighthood in our Order. Members of the Fourth Degree may also join the Color Corps, who serve as honor guard and color guard at numerous events in our area. Any Third Degree member wishing to join the ranks of the Fourth Degree needs to contact Faithful Navigator Steve Gheduzzi immediately , as the candidate paperwork must be submitted by May 1st. MEETING NOTICE The next meeting of the Fourth Degree Sir Knights of Mother Cabrini Assembly will be Thursday, April 19th at 7:30 p.m. at our Council. Please bring payment for any "Night Out on The Sir Knights" Year of Dinners raffle tickets you have sold. More tickets will be available for pickup at the meeting. NEW OFFICERS NEEDED! Elections for all Assembly officer positions will be held in May, and new officers are needed! Any Fourth Degree member with an interest in serving as an Assembly officer should let FN Steve know at your earliest opportunity. Help our Assembly keep doing all of the wonderful patriotic activities we're doing by joining the leadership team!

Cinco de Mayo Fiesta - Saturday, May 5th We're hosting our second Cinco de Mayo Fiesta on (duh) Saturday, May 5th. Last year's fiesta was so amazing that we're doing it again! We'll be featuring an authentic Mexican cuisine all-you-can-eat buffet, including a taco bar, for only $20. Our lounge will also be open with a cash bar serving up drink specials including home-made sangria and margaritas. All of our members and their guests are welcome to come down for what promises to be another great night of good food and good fun.

Golf With Us on Friday, June 8th! Join us for our annual George Dean Memorial Golf Outing on Friday, June 8th! In addition to a great round of golf at Putnam County Golf Course, you'll get a delicious lunch, beverage cart, golfer SWAG, prizes, and our own fantastic filet mignon dinner, all for only $150. Sponsorships are available: Hole Sponsor ($150, or $100 with a foursome), Lunch Sponsor ($500); Dinner Sponsor ($750) and Platinum Sponsor ($1000). R egistration 8 a.m.; shotgun start 9 a.m. Cocktails and dinner for golfers at our council immediately following the outing. Prizes will be awarded for best foursome, longest drive, and closest to the pin. This is our annual major fundraiser that enables our council to do the many charitable, community, and parish activities that we do on a regular basis. Please support this event by golfing, taking a sponsorship, donating prizes, or helping us get others to do the same. For reservations, sponsorships, or more information, please contact evchairman Anthony Falco .

A group of council officers and guests gathered on Sunday, March 18th, to honor Kevin McGuckian at the 17th Annual Westchester-Putnam Chapter Awards Dinner. Kevin was honored for his thirty-eight years of devoted service to our Order and our Council, including his twenty-six years of service as our Worthy Financial Secretary from 1986 to 2012. The cocktail hour and dinner at Mulino's at Lake Isle in Eastchester was outstanding! Please remember to join us at next year's awards dinner -- you won't be disappointed! LAST CALL FOR SCHOLARSHIPS! Our council awards scholarships to college-bound high school seniors who are members of St. James the Apostle parish, or who are nominated by a council member in good standing. Download the application here and submit to the Grand Knight or Chancellor Ralph Fleischman by May 1st. Full instructions and rules are on the forms. Our annual Founders' Day BBQ will be Friday, May 25th. In addition to a great summer-kickoff family barbecue, we will present the Trongone Award to a member who has made invaluable contributions to our council and our Order. More details will be announced, but save the date! Our council's "Thank You Dinner" for our Ladies Auxiliary has been rescheduled to Thursday, May 24th. This is the opportunity for the men of our council to show our appreciation for all that the Ladies do for our council and our community by preparing and serving them a special dinner after their monthly meeting. Volunteers are still needed to prepare and serve, so let GK Rob know if you want to help out. We are hosting First and Second Degree Exemplifications on Thursday, May 31st. Candidates should report by 6:30 p.m. properly attired. The First Degree will begin promptly at 7 p.m. followed immediately thereafter by the Second Degree. We also anticipate hosting a Third Degree Exemplification on Sunday, June 3rd in the afternoon. Any men wishing to participate in any of these ceremonies should contact Chancellor Ralph Fleischman or GK Rob for more information and to ensure a place in the degrees.

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.

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