Welcome to the July 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 this Wednesday, July 10th, starting at 7:30 p.m. Dinner for $5 will be at 6:30, as usual. All members are welcome and encouraged to attend. This will be an important meeting for anyone available to help out at the parish feast. Also, we have been informed that our Chaplain, Father Quarato, will be introducing our parish's new Parochial Vicar, Father Carolan, to the membership at the meeting. Please join us in giving him a warm welcome and encourage him to become an active part of our Council!

• This is your last chance to buy 2024 C&B Raffle Tickets if you want to get in on the “Quick Start Drawing” on July 21st. Buy more books at Wednesday's meeting and turn in your stubs for your best chance to win a prize. See May's newsletter for full details or speak with our C&B Chairman, Kevin Shea.

• Bartenders, Mason, and Electrician Wanted: Our Home Corporation is looking for additional bartenders to help keep our Lounge up and running to serve our members and during hall rentals. They are also looking for an electrician and a mason to work on various projects for our building. Please speak with VP Anthony Falco if you are interested in helping out in any of these ways.

• Midnight Bowling CANCELED: We regret to announce that we have been forced to cancel the Bowling Fundraiser on July 13th due to the lack of enough people signing-up. We're sure there are people who just didn't get around to signing-up or who planned to just show up. But since we could not meet our commitment to the bowling alley for the minimum number of bowlers, we had no choice but to cancel this important fundraiser for our Scholarship Fund. All ticket money collected will be refunded.

• The St. James Family Fun Weekend is almost here! We are going to need more volunteers than ever! See the item below and sign up at Wednesday's meeting, or in the volunteer book in the Parish Office.

• Our Lounge's recent "Draft Beers of the Month" are just so perfect for summer that we're bringing them back for July: Brooklyn Brewery's Brooklyn Pilsner and Fiddlehead IPA. Whether you're looking for a crisp, refreshing, golden lager or a well-balanced American IPA, we've got you covered. And don't forget you can now also get a perfect pint of draft Guinness Stout or a traditional black and tan from one our friendly bartenders.

Council & Corporation Election Results

At our last business meeting on June 12th, our Council held elections for all eligible offices. The following members were elected to serve for the 2024-25 Fraternal Year:



• Grand Knight: Richard Kreps
• Deputy Grand Knight: John Crecco
• Chancellor: Peter Carey
• Recorder: John Petriello
• Treasurer: Richard Dambra
• Advocate: Michael McDonald, PGK
• Warden: Michael O’Brien
• Guards: Stephen Crecco, Daniel Dolenk, Louis Noble, Michael Vrabel
• Three Year Trustee (2024-2027): Robert Firriolo, PGK, PFN

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

The position of Chaplain is appointed by the Grand Knight, Deputy Grand Knight, and Trustees. We are honored to have our Parish Pastor, the Rev. Robert Quarato, continue to serve as our Chaplain, and are grateful for his active participation and presence at our meetings and functions.

Our Financial Secretary, appointed by the Supreme Knight, will remain Michael Rama.

The Grand Knight has appointed PGK Tim McDonald as our Lecturer, and continuing as trustees are PGK Ralph Fleischman (One Year) and PGK Stephen Gheduzzi (Two Year). All offices became effective on July 1st.

After the election, outgoing Grand Knight Tim McDonald expressed his thanks to the Council for their support during his two years in office, and offered his best wishes to all of the new officers. In turn, the membership honored Tim with a standing ovation in appreciation for his devoted service to our Council and as head of our leadership team.

We are proudly continuing our tradition of honoring our immediate Past Grand Knight by purchasing wheelchairs in his name for needy people through the American Wheelchair Mission. They will be presented at our Annual Dinner Dance & Awards Ceremony in November. So please watch your email inbox for a special announcement about our wheelchair collection in honor of PGK Tim, and please give as generously as your means will allow.

Please join us in congratulating all of of our new and returning officers, as well as Kevin Shea, Michael Vrabel, and Adam Brandt, who were-elected to three-year terms as Directors of our Home Corporation, 6318 Associates, Inc. They will serve three-year terms ending in June 2027.

We also extend our congratulations and best wishes to Beth Kane, who was elected as Ladies Auxiliary President, and to all of the other officers elected to serve the Ladies Auxiliary in the coming fraternal year. The new president will be installed by the Council at an upcoming meeting, after which she will install all of the new officers.

Over $8,000 in Donations from our 2024 Fish Fry!

Each year for the last ten years, our Lenten Fish Fry has raised thousands of dollars for a variety of charities and causes in our community. This year, thanks to the hard work of the Fish Fry Crew and the support of our members and St. James parishioners, we were able to donate $8,465 to these important charities:

• $2,000 to Tunnel to Towers;

• $2,000 to Gianna's House Pregnancy Resource Center;

• $2,000 to Special Olympics New York;

• $2,000 to the Little Sisters of the Poor ($1,000 each to the Bronx and Queens locations); and

• $465 to help fix the St. James the Apostle Church electronic sign.

Click the links above to learn what each of these important organizations does and why we are proud to support their efforts.

Pictured below is the presentation of the donation to Gianna's House in Brewster, made by PGK Tim McDonald and PGK Steve Gheduzzi last week. They were able to get a tour of the facility and learn about the amazing work Gianna's House is doing to help with crisis pregnancies, adoption services, and other health services at no cost to their clients.

These Fish Fry donations are just a part of the tens of thousands of dollars that our Council raises and donates to charities each and every year. Your active participation in our Council events is what makes this possible! If you're already a volunteer, thank you! If you're not, get involved!

St. James Family Fun Weekend - Friday & Saturday, July 19th & 20th

The 2024 Feast of Saint James is back as a Family Fun Weekend on Friday, July 19th and Saturday, July 20th. Please see the flyers below for more information.

We will need even more Council volunteers this year! We'll need help with the casino, beverage sales in the casino and beer tent, in the Sausage Connection and Polish food booths, staffing the many attractions, and in other roles. Speak with our Grand Knight about how to get involved.

Members interested in dealing cards in the casino should speak with PGK Bobby Palazzo, who will train you to be a great dealer. We need more dealers!

Summer Blood Drive Nets 128 Units!

Our 2024 Summer Blood Drive was another great success, collecting 128 units of blood. That is a very good number, especially considering that the drive was on a Friday just before the week with the Independence Day holiday.

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 found ourselves in a blood emergency. And once again, we did what our community needed when they needed it!

Lead organizer Denis Hanrahan extended his thanks to everyone who pitched-in by promoting the event, setting up, escorting donors, breaking-down, and cleaning up.

Join us in thanking Denis for all of his continuing hard work and dedication to this important cause, to all who volunteered, and of course, to all those who made a donation of blood to help save others' lives.

Your next opportunity to donate or volunteer will be at our Winter Holiday Blood Drive, which should be in late-December of this year.

Fourth Degree News

MEETING NOTICE

There will be NO JULY MEETING of Mother Cabrini Assembly.

ASSEMBLY NEWS

At the June 20th meeting, the membership of Mother Cabrini Assembly reelected Sir Knight Seamus Baker from our Council to lead the Fourth Degree as Faithful Navigator for the 2024-25 Fraternal Year.

The full election results and list of officers may be found on the Assembly Officers Page.

• Appreciating our Ladies Auxiliary: At their meeting on June 19th, the men of our Council treated our fabulous Ladies Auxiliary to a barbecue to express our appreciation for all that they do for our Council and our community. On the menu were smashburgers, pulled pork sliders, Caprese salad, fresh fruit salad, along with other BBQ favorites and capped off by a sumptuous dessert of gourmet brownies and blondies. Thanks to all who volunteered to make the dinner special for our very special Ladies.

• Aug. 16 (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 16th. Please speak with GK Rick or Chancellor Peter Carey if you know of a young Catholic gentleman wishing to join our Order and our Council.

• The next two Masses at which the intention will be for deceased members of our Council will be: Sunday, July 14, 8 a.m. at St. James the Apostle Church; and Sunday, August 4, 11 a.m. at Our Lady of the Lake/Mt. Carmel Church.

• Farewell Father Szymon! - Members of our Council and Ladies Auxiliary joined with our fellow St. James parishioners in packing the school gymnasium to say farewell to Father Szymon Kurpios on Sunday, June 30th. After celebrating the noon Mass in St. James the Apostle Church, the farewell celebration featured a full hot buffet including homemade Polish foods and a great dessert table. As we previously announced, Cardinal Dolan appointed Fr. Szymon as Pastor of St. John the Evangelist in Mahopac. He assured us that despite his new assignment, he will still be seeing his brother Knights in Carmel in the future, whether on our turf or at his new parish. (He'll be back for our Fish Fry!) Please pray for his success in his new assignment!

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 and Instagram for up-to-the minute announcements, photos, event listings, and items of interest.