The Lake Current - January 2022
Happy New Year and welcome to the January 2022 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, January 12th, starting at 7:30 p.m. Dinner for $5 will be at 6:30, as usual. All members are welcome.

  • Friday Hall Rental Specials for Members -With the pandemic having prevented many of us from gathering with friends and families, our Home Corporation is pleased to offer a discounted rate for rentals of the Council's hall and lounge to members on Fridays throughout the months of January through April 2022. The rental rate is $200 for a four-hour time-slot of your choice from either 6-10 pm, 7-11 pm, or 8 pm to midnight. A bartender will be on duty to serve your guests in our lounge. We believe this will be a good way to allow our members to get together with friends and family in our large and spacious hall and lounge, so that your guests can be comfortably socially distanced while still enjoying precious time together. To reserve a Friday rental, please contact our House Chairman, Mike Bock, at (646) 335-6576.

  • We are hosting a Degree of Charity, Unity and Fraternity to initiate new members of our order this Saturday, January 15th, at noon. All members are strongly encouraged to attend to witness the ceremony and support our newest members. Sponsors should make every effort to attend in support of your candidate. Lunch will be served after the ceremony. Please contact our Membership Chairman, George Kane, or Grand Knight Ralph Fleischman, with any questions or with information on candidates. Candidates should arrive by 11:15 a.m.

  • Our Council has been given a supply of COVID-19 home test kits to distribute. We can use some volunteers this Sunday, Jan. 16th, to assist with distribution of the kits at the Council starting at 9:00 a.m. Please contact GK Ralph Fleischman with any questions.
The "JO" Men's Beefsteak - Jan. 22nd

This is the last call for reservations for our Sixth Annual James "J.O." O'Neill Memorial Men's Beefsteak Dinner on Saturday, January 22nd

This year we're once again earmarking the funds we raise to benefit St. James Parish & School!

Doors open at 3 p.m. for the afternoon playoff game and cash bar. Dinner at about 6 p.m. (halftime of the first playoff game) includes our signature, charcoal grilled gourmet filet mignon, steak fries, draft beer or wine, dessert and coffee. Stay after dinner and watch the evening playoff game with us.

$60 if prepaid by January 14th - $70 after January 14th and at the door.

Make reservations today with GK Ralph Fleischman or buy tickets online by clicking here.

Also, please remember to bring your donations for the raffles to the general business meeting on Wednesday, January 12th. We will gladly accept sporting event tickets, theater tickets, gift certificates to local restaurants and other businesses, stays in vacation homes, and bottles of fine wines and spirits. We count on these donations to raise enough funds to meet our fundraising goal for St. James. Please contact GK Ralph about any donations you may be interested in making or soliciting for us.
Holiday Blood Drive An Incredible Success!

A great big THANK YOU to our cadre of dedicated volunteers, and to all of the amazing donors in our community, for making our 2021 Winter Holiday Blood Drive on December 30th another HUGE success.

We collected 136 units of blood! That's a very impressive number, but it is all the more so considering that we're in the midst of a spike in positive COVID tests and that the drive was on a Thursday during the holidays.

The Greater New York Blood Bank always reports blood shortages around the Christmas and New Year's holiday period, and this year we found ourselves in a serious blood shortage emergency But our members always come through in a pinch (so to speak)!

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 semi-annual blood drives is a labor of love.
Totally Awesome 80s Night on 1/29!


Join us for a schweet "80s Costume and Dance Party" on Saturday, January 29th from 8 p.m. to midnight!

Put on your tubular togs, break out the hair mousse, and dance to the gnarliest tunes from the Reagan Era!

Most-excellent prizes will be awarded for Best Dressed dude and dudette.
Cash bar, light munchies, and bodacious music you can pop and lock to all night -- all for only a super-cool $25 admission!

Order your tickets on Eventbrite by clicking here.

So get psyched, take a chill pill, don't be lame, a spaz, or a geek, and party on!!!
Serving Our Community in Time of Need

Although we do much of our charitable work behind the scenes, our Council is making a difference right here in our Putnam County community. Here are just a few recent examples.

Before Thanksgiving, we assisted people in need by distributing 100 turkeys and 100 supermarket gift cards (valued at over five thousand dollars!) through Putnam's Community Opportunity Program (C.A.P.). We not only sourced and purchased the turkeys (thanks Rich Dambra!) but distributed them throughout the day at C.A.P. in Brewster. Please see the letter of thanks from C.A.P. below.

Knights also supported C.A.P.'s winter coat drive. The Fourth Degree Sir Knights of Mother Cabrini Assembly donated new boys and girls coats purchased through the KofC's Coats for Kids program, along with hats and gloves purchased separately.

And finally, we continued our annual tradition of collecting supermarket gift cards at our adults' Christmas Party to benefit the St. James food pantry. This year we collected close to $1,000 in gift cards thanks to the generosity of our members.

Thanks to all of our volunteers and donors who helped brighten others' lives during this year's Christmas season!
Fourth Degree News

MEETING NOTICE

The next meeting of Mother Cabrini Assembly will be Thursday, January 20th at our Council.

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 2022 "Night Out on the Sir Knights" Year of Dinners Raffle.

All Fourth Degree Sir Knights are welcome and encouraged to attend.







  • Crèche Take-Down - Thanks to all of the brothers who turned out to take down the St. James Nativity Scene on Saturday, January 8th.

  • Missing chairs - Our Worthy Warden advises us that we are currently missing about 20 folding chairs from the Council. If you borrowed any chairs, please return them ASAP. We need them for Beefsteak and other upcoming events. And also please remember that all loans of Council property should go through our Warden and be recorded in the sign-out book.

  • West/Put St. Patrick's Day Parade Grand Marshal Installation Dinner - Friday, Feb. 4: Save the date for what's always a fun evening to support the parade's new Grand Marshal, Ed "Eddie" McDowell. The dinner is once again at Centennial Golf Club in Carmel. The cost is $50, which includes appetizers, a buffet dinner, wine and beer. We always suggest you get there early to guarantee a seat, as there are no advance reservations.
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.