Welcome to the July 2025 edition of our Council newsletter!

A few quick but important items up-front before we get into the news.

• There will be NO regular business meeting for July. Due to the absence of many of our officers and the upcoming Feast of Saint James, we are unable to meet this month. Our August meeting will be on the usual second Wednesday of the month, August 13th.

• VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! We still need help staffing the many areas our Council takes charge of at the Feast of Saint James, which is Thursday 7/17 and Friday 1/17 from 6-10 p.m., and Saturday 7/19 from 5-11 p.m. See the item below for more information.

Council & Corporation Election Results

At our business meeting on June 11th, our Council held elections for all eligible offices. The following members were elected to serve for the 2025-26 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: Adam Brandt, Stephen Crecco, Daniel Dolenk, Louis Noble, Michael Vrabel
• Three Year Trustee (2024-2027): Ralph Fleischman, PGK

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 Steve Gheduzzi (One Year) and PGK Rob Firriolo (Two Year). All offices became effective on July 1st.

Please join us in congratulating all of of our new and returning officers, as well as Anthony Falco, Pat Barry, and Mike Tomassi, 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 2028.

Our 2025 Fish Fry Raised $9,500 for Charity!

Each year for the last eleven years, our Lenten Fish Fry has raised thousands of dollars for a variety of charities and causes in our community. We're happy to announce where this year's proceeds are going.

Thanks to the hard work of the Fish Fry Crew and the support of our members and St. James parishioners, we set a new record and are donating a total of $9,500 to these important charities:

• $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);

• $1,000 to CAREERS Support Solutions;

• $1,000 to Tunnel to Towers;

• $1,000 to Putnam C.A.P. for Thanksgiving turkeys; and

• $500 to Guardian Revival.

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

We keep our food prices low for the benefit of our members and fellow parishioners, helping us all fulfill our Lenten obligations of abstinence from meat. But we also manage to make a small profit, and thanks to the volume of our sales, that profit really adds up!

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 Parish Feast - Thursday, Friday & Saturday, July 17-19

The 2025 Feast of Saint James is back on Thursday 7/17 and Friday 1/17 from 6-10 p.m., and on Saturday 7/19 from 5-11 p.m. Please see the flyer below for more information.

On Saturday, July 19th, our Parish will salute and join in celebrating our brave volunteer firefighters as the Carmel Volunteer Fire Department marks and celebrates 110 years of service to our community. St. James Parish welcomes their parade at 6 p.m. and invites all first responders and their families to join us afterward for the feast.

Due to the parade, parking will be limited on Gleneida Avenue all afternoon and evening on Saturday. You will not be able to park on Gleneida Avenue for Confessions and the 5 p.m. Mass. Parking will be available behind the courthouse.

Just a final reminder that we will need even more Council volunteers this year! We still need more volunteers for the casino, the Polish food booth, and assisting with the inflatable attractions. Speak with our Grand Knight about how to get involved.

Members interested in dealing cards in the casino should speak with PGK Bobby Palazzo. We also need volunteers familiar with roulette to act as croupiers.

Summer Blood Drive Nets 94 Units on a Sunday!



Our 2025 Summer Blood Drive on June 29th was another great success, collecting 94 units of blood. That is a very good number, especially considering that the drive was, for the first time, on a Sunday and at the start of the week with the Independence Day holiday.

Our Council is proud to sponsor this drive along with FOP Driscoll Lodge 704 and local members of the F.D.N.Y.

Over the last several years, we've held our summer blood drive at the end of 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 19th meeting, the membership of Mother Cabrini Assembly elected Sir Knight Michael Vrabel from our Council to lead the Fourth Degree as Faithful Navigator for the 2025-26 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 17th, the men of our Council treated our fabulous Ladies Auxiliary to a barbecue dinner to express our appreciation for all that they do for our Council and our community. On the menu were smashburgers, pulled pork sliders, mojo chicken over arugula, Caprese salad, tossed greens with pears, chevre & candied walnuts, along with other BBQ favorites and capped off with a sumptuous dessert of gourmet brownies, fresh fruit salad, and other delights. Thanks to all who volunteered to make the dinner special for our very special Ladies.

• Kitchen Cleanup Accomplished: We gave our kitchen and barbecue area a deep and thorough cleaning on Saturday, June 21st, at our annual Kitchen Cleanup. Our small but intrepid crew got the job done in time to be out of the way of a hall rental in the afternoon. Thanks to all who pitched in, and we look forward to seeing more of our members at next year's cleanup!

• Rosary Rally - Jul. 26 (Sat): All are invited to join brother Knight Jim McGuire for a Rosary Rally at noon on Saturday, July 26, at Cornerstone Park in Carmel. The Blessed Mother and Jesus will be honored as we pray for peace during the summer for our families and our nation. Prayers will be offered to end abortion, drug abuse, and sex trafficking and for a return to traditional American values. Contact Jim at 845-225-4675 with any questions.

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.