The Lake Current - July 2021
Welcome to the July 2021 edition of our Council newsletter!

As usual, here's a quick but important item up-front before we get into the news.

  • Our next regular business meeting will be TONIGHT, Monday, July 12th, starting at 7:30 p.m. All members are welcome. We'll be serving dinner for members at 6:30.
Ralph Fleischman Reelected Grand Knight; Leads Roster of Officers for 2021-22

The Council's membership unanimously re-elected Ralph Fleischman to his second term as our Worthy Grand Knight at the general business meeting held June 7th.

The Nominating Committee, chaired by PGK Steve Gheduzzi, had recommended the re-election of all current officers. As there were no objections to the report of the Nominating Committee, the entire slate of proposed officers, except for Chancellor, was approved by unanimous vote of those present. Unfortunately, our prior Chancellor had to withdraw his candidacy, and Guard George Kane was elected from the floor to the office of Chancellor.

With George joining GK Ralph and Deputy Grand Knight Tim McDonald, the Council's core leadership positions remain in good hands.

Continuing in their current offices are Treasurer Rich Dambra, Warden Michael O'Brien, Financial Secretary Michael Rama, Recorder Peter Carey, Advocate (PGK) Michael McDonald, and Guards John Crecco, Daniel Dolenck and Steven Kladis. GK Ralph has also reappointed Anthony Falco to another term as Lecturer.

After ending a three-year term as a trustee, PGK Rob Firriolo was re-elected as our Council's new Three-Year Trustee. He will join our other Trustees, PGK Steve Gheduzzi and Joe Groneman.

All terms of office became effective on July 1st, 2021.

Please congratulate our team of officers and remember that they are in office to lead and to serve the entire membership. Offer them your support but also go to them if you have any questions, issues, or concerns, or if you want to get more involved with our very active Council.
Another Amazing Turnout for Our Summer Blood Drive!

Our Summer Blood drive at the Carmel VFW on July 2nd was by appointment-only again because of COVID-19 restrictions. Even though it was held on the start of the Independence Day holiday weekend, we were able to collect a near-record 136 units of blood!

We are proud to sponsor this drive, along with the Driscoll Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, Putnam's Bureau of Emergency Services, and Putnam residents serving with the New York City Fire Department. Since its inception 24 years ago, the semiannual Putnam blood drives have collected more than 3,200 unit donations.

Our brother Knight Denis Hanrahan did his usual outstanding job coordinating the drive and keeping it at a high level of success. Denis was quoted in the Putnam County Courier giving due credit to our amazing Putnam County community: “Once again residents of our county rolled up their sleeves to donate a pint of the life saving fluid as the area continues to rebound from the pandemic,” he said. As always, Denis thanked the public for its support and promised to return after Christmas with the next blood collection.

Join us in thanking Denis for all of his hard work, and thanking all who volunteered to help set-up, staff, and break down for the drive, and of course to all those who made a donation of blood to help save others' lives.
PGK Mike McDonald Wins 2021 Trongone Award

Our Council proudly presented our "Trongone Award" to Past Grand Knight Michael McDonald at our Sixth Annual Founders' Day BBQ on Friday, June 4th.

Named in honor of founding Grand Knight Angelo Trongone, the well-deserved award was presented this year to Mike for his many years of dedicated service.

Mike served three terms as Grand Knight of our Council from 2004 to 2006, and currently serves as our Worthy Advocate and chair of our Public Relations Committee. He is a tireless volunteer and promoter of everything our Council does. Mike is also one of the anchors of both our Degree Team as well as our Kitchen Crew.

Despite having to be postponed for a week due to weather, the turnout to honor PGK Mike was excellent. Guests enjoyed a lavish feast that featured a pig roast and roast beef along with many other BBQ favorites.

With last year's event having been canceled due to the pandemic, everyone in attendance was happy to be able to resume this important annual tradition and honor Mike for his service and dedication.
Our Biggest (and Best!) Golf Outing Ever!

This year's George Dean Memorial Golf Outing was our most successful ever, with 132 golfers turning out on Friday, June 11th for a day of golf celebrated in loving memory of our dearly departed brother Knight.

Putnam County Golf Course was once again in fantastic shape, the weather was perfect, and the golfers enjoyed a spectacular day on the links that included golfer swag, a delicious lunch, a beverage cart, and lots of friendly competition and fun.

After shooting a great round, our golfers (and a bunch more!) gathered at the Council for appetizers, cocktails, a full filet mignon dinner and dessert, followed by an awards ceremony and lots of great raffle prizes.

Congratulations to the winning foursome of Ricky O'Connor, Jr., Mark Brager
Giuseppe Ruggiero, and Ghost Coviello, who won with a score of 65.

Coming in right behind them with a 66, and a winner of second place through a scorecard playoff, was last year's winning team of Tommy Feighery, Bill Carlin, Jorma Tompuri, and Kevin Quinn.

Also with a score of 66 was the third-place winning team of Bob Sleight, Ron March, Tony Sanders, and Adam Brandt.

Our winners of the "Closest To Pin" contests were Mickey Connelly for the men with 17 inches, and Amy McCarthy for the ladies with 162 feet.

Winners of the men's and ladies' "Long Drive" contest were Ricky O'Connor, Jr. and Kelly Pawlak.

Click here for a Facebook video montage of the outing posted by WGK Ralph.

Many thanks to our Golf Outing Committee, especially our tireless chairman Anthony Falco, for orchestrating another great outing. Thanks also to the Dean Family, our golfers, our sponsors, our unbeatable Council catering crew, and everybody who pitched in to make our major annual fundraiser such a great success.
otto romanino banner
"Hometown Heroes" Banners Proudly on Display!

Anyone who has driven around Carmel or Kent has surely seen the majestic banners honoring the military service of Putnam's "Hometown Heroes."

As we reported back in April, hundreds of banners recognizing Putnam’s veterans -- past and present -- will be adorning light poles from Mahopac and Carmel through the Town of Kent.
 
Members of the committee to procure these banners include two of our Ladies Auxiliary Past Presidents, Gail Driscoll Silke and Maria Barry. They have been busy arranging for delivery of the banners, and holding presentation ceremonies for the recipients and their families on the steps of Putnam County's Historic Courthouse.
Many banners have already been presented in honor of members of our Council or their family members, and even more are on order. Pictured above with GK Ralph Fleischman is brother Knight Otto Romanino and his brother Tom at their presentation ceremony. Our Council sponsored banners for Otto and Tom, and for our dearly departed brother Knight Mario Antoci (also pictured here).

You can join us and others throughout Putnam County who are honoring and saying “Thank You” to our military personnel by sponsoring a banner. They are being displayed from the Westchester County line in Baldwin Place, through the hamlets of Mahopac and Carmel, into Kent and up to the Dutchess County line in Stormville.
Click here to visit the program's information page.

Once there you will be able to click through to the sponsorship page to order a banner to honor a veteran. Be sure to select "Carmel" or "Kent" in the “Display Location” drop-down menu, in the Sponsorship Payment Section, so they know where to display your banner.

If you need any assistance or have a question please email Gail Silke at veteranshometownflags@aol.com.
13 New Members Welcomed in May Degree Ceremony

Our Council hosted an Exemplification ceremony on Sunday, May 23rd, that welcomed thirteen members to our honored Order and to our Council. They are Jay Bulding, Peter Erikson, A.J. Falco, Tom Febbraio, Brian Forde, Mario Gabrielli, Adam Keating Joseph Kenna, James Markumas, Bob McCarthy, Sean McCarthy, Andy Pile, and Michael Sormilic.

Our in-house Degree Team did their usual outstanding job to perform the ceremonials with conviction and dignity in order to instruct the candidates in the principles of our Order. We were honored to have Fr. Jon Tveit from St. James the Apostle serve as our Chaplain for the ceremonials.
(Many in attendance remarked how Fr. Tveit channeled our founder, Blessed Michael J. McGivney. Judge for yourself!)

Thanks to our Council's recruiting efforts, we were a winner of a $500 prize through the New York State Membership Incentive Program for bringing in new members between May 17 to June 25. There were 48 Councils in the state that brought in new members during the incentive period. Of those 48 councils, we were one of only 11 Councils with 3 or more members. 

Please join us in congratulating our newest members. When you see them, welcome them and encourage them to take an active part in the many activities our Council and our Order have to offer.
Our Golden Anniversary Gala is November 6th!

In recognition of the founding of our Council on November 4, 1971, we're celebrating our 50th Anniversary in a very special way at this year's Annual Dinner Dance and Awards Ceremony on November 6th!

The venue for our "Golden Gala" will be the beautiful Ethan Allen Hotel in Danbury, Connecticut. We've secured the hotel's most beautiful space, where we'll enjoy a cocktail hour, open bar, buffet dinner, dancing, photo booth, and live entertainment. The cost is $125 per guest, and it is sure to be well worth the price for this once-in-a-lifetime event.

We've also made arrangements with the hotel for a block of rooms for our guests at discounted rates. Follow this link or call (800) 742-1776 (mention "Knights of Columbus") and make your room reservations today!

It is very important that you make your dinner reservations early, and even more important that you book your hotel rooms early if you plan on taking advantage of the special rate.

We are also planning to have a large-format, color souvenir journal this year. Advertisers and sponsors will want to be a part of this special publication, so watch for the opportunity to take out an ad for your business, honor a special person or group, or congratulate the Council on five decades of Charity, Unity and Fraternity.

We are also continuing our call-out for photographs of our Council's members and events from throughout our 50-year history. (The older, the better!) If you have any special photos you'd like to share, please contact GK Ralph.

There will be a sign-up sheet for dinner reservations at our business meeting on Wednesday, July 14th. Contact GK Ralph to reserve your place or if you have any questions.
Fourth Degree News

The next meeting of Mother Cabrini Assembly will be Thursday, July 15th at our Council.

The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. All Fourth Degree Sir Knights are welcome and encouraged to attend the meeting.

We extend our congratulations to PGK Ted Czerniewski of Mahopac Council on his election as Faithful Navigator of Mother Cabrini Assembly, and to all of the other officers elected for the 2021-22 fraternal year.







Please make sure to SAVE THE DATE for our upcoming events!

  • 9/11 Memorial Ceremony: This year marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Please look for our announcements regarding events in our area that will commemorate this solemn occasion, which this year falls on a Saturday.

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.