Welcome to the September 2024 edition of our Council newsletter!

As usual, here are a few quick but important items up-front before we get into the news.

• Our next regular business meeting will be THURSDAY, September 12th (instead of the usual Wednesday) starting at 7:30 p.m. This change is to due to September 11 falling on a Wednesday and the participation of many of our members in the Putnam County 9/11 Candlelight Vigil. (Please see the news item below for details.) All members are welcome and encouraged to attend our meeting. We'll be serving dinner for members at 6:30. Bring your C&B raffle ticket stubs and payments. (See more on C&B below.)

• There are still a small number of seats left for Comedy Night on Saturday, September 28th! Appetizers, buffet dinner, four hours open bar (6 - 10 p.m.), dessert and a fantastic night of headliner comedy, all for only $100 prepaid. For details, see last month's Lake Current by clicking here. Contact Bobby Palazzo at 845-216-1977 to make your reservation. (No walk-ins!)

• Our Lounge is now open on Sundays during football season, in addition to our regular hours on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings. It was such a hit last year that we're bringing back the Sunday Lounge Menu of delicious food offerings at low-low prices including wings, burgers, chicken fingers, fries, mozzarella sticks and hot dogs with all the fixings!

• There is still time to get in on the "Early Bird Drawing" for the 2024 C&B Raffle on September 28th. As we reported last month, Bob Manfredi of our Council was a first-place winner of the Quick Start drawing. You too can be a winner! Buy more books at Thursday's meeting and turn in your stubs for your best chance to win a prize. And as also reported last month, we've sold 186 books so far, which resulted in $1,116 coming back to the Council! If we can sell 260 books, we will not only be eligible for the first-tier bonus, but 65 books awarded for Bob Manfredi's first-place finish will be added to our total, which has the potential to push our Council into an even higher bonus level. Speak with our C&B Chairman, Kevin Shea, for more information and to get your raffle books.

• At our business meeting on Thursday, you will have an opportunity to prepay for our Oktoberfest celebration on Saturday, October 12th. Once again we're doing it is a Council event for members and our guests. More info is in the news item below, but come to the meeting, pay for your spot, and learn more about volunteer opportunities!

• Bartenders, Mason, and Electrician Wanted: Our Home Corporation is still 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.

• Our Draft Beer of the Month is Sam Adams Octoberfest! This rich, roasty Märzen is a pröst to fall. Its deep amber color, mild pleasant sweetness, and light hop character is a hearty (but not heavy) signal to make the most of the crisper days ahead. Like fall, it's here for a limited-time. Drink it in!

Welcome Our Newest Brother Knights!

Please join us in congratulating the following seven Catholic gentlemen who received the honors of our Order on August 16th at the Exemplification of Charity, Unity, and Fraternity held at our Council:

• Jeff Avitabile
• Michael Cazzari
• Raymond Kolkmann
• Fred Nicholson
• Christopher Roche
• Jonathan Schanil
• Eugene Seit

They are now Third Degree members of the Knights of Columbus and our Council!

Please welcome our new brothers and their families, and encourage them to take part in the many fun events and volunteer opportunities that we offer.

A big thanks to our in-house Degree Team for doing another fine job of presenting a dignified and impactful ceremony, and to Father Carolan for the opening and closing prayers and blessing. Thanks also to all who prepared and served a tasty dinner after the degree.

Remember and Honor our Heroes at the 9/11 Candlelight Vigil

Putnam County’s annual September 11th Candlelight Vigil will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 11th, at the Putnam Heroes Memorial located in Cornerstone Park, 1 Fair Street, Carmel, directly across from our Council.

This Memorial honors the eight Putnam Heroes who died on September 11th, 2001, and the fifteen Putnam Heroes who have passed as a result of their efforts in the aftermath of September 11th. This year, sadly, they will be adding one more name onto the Memorial: FF Mark Senno, FDNY.

At this year's service, the Senno Family will be presented with a Flag of the United States, which was flown over the World Trade Center Memorial.

The guest speaker will be Ret. Navy Lieutenant Alex Othmer, SEAL Team IV.

The musical guest will be The Putnam Chorale.

The following are the street closures for the ceremony:

- Fair Street will be closed from Vink Drive to Rt. 52 at 6:00 p.m.

- Rt.52 will be closed from Rt. 301 to Fowler Ave at 6:15 p.m.

- There will be parking in the County Parking lot, behind our Council Hall. Additional parking is available at Carmel High School.

The Candlelight Vigil will once again be live-streamed on the Putnam County website. In the event of any technical difficulties during the live-stream, the ceremony will be available for viewing on the County website after the service.

Members of Service are requested to wear Class A uniforms and to muster on Rt. 52.

Join Us For Our Oktoberfest on October 12th!

Join us on Saturday, October 12th, for authentic German cuisine, German beer, and live German music from the famous Austrian Boys Band!

This is a fun evening for our Council's members and their guests to enjoy all of the great food, great music, and great fun that you've come to expect from this annual event.

For your $40 donation (prepaid) you will receive admission, appetizers, a hearty buffet dinner, dessert, live music, and one draft German beer. Additional beer and other beverages will be available for purchase. Walk-ins (if we're not sold out) pay $45; children 12 and under pay $20.

We'll be serving appetizers starting at 5:30 p.m, and then at 6:30, a full buffet dinner featuring authentic wiener schnitzel and grilled bratwurst, with all of your favorite homemade sides including red cabbage, mashed potatoes, green beans amandine, home-style sauerkraut, German potato salad, and garden salad.

Fresh-baked apple strudel with ice cream will be served along with coffee and tea for dessert.

Our popular Stein-Lifting Contest -- an authentic Oktoberfest tradition -- for ladies and gents will be back! We'll also have some great raffles along with door prizes.

Our Lounge will be opening at noon that day for the enjoyment of our members and guests.

Seating will be limited, so save your spot by prepaying by October 5th. If we are not already sold out, walk-ins will pay $45 and seating is not guaranteed.

Click here for a copy of the flyer below that you can print or share to help spread the word to your friends and family:

Reserve Today for our 53rd Annual Dinner Dance - Saturday, November 2nd

Join us we celebrate our anniversary at our 53rd Annual Dinner Dance and Awards Ceremony on Saturday, November 2nd! Fine dining, open bar, music, dancing, and recognition of our members who do so much to make our Council so special.

This year we will be in a new, even closer venue: Mill Creek Caterers in Hopewell Junction, where we'll enjoy a cocktail hour, open bar, full buffet dinner, dancing, photo booth, and entertainment. The cost is $125 per guest, and it is sure to be well worth the price for this event.

We are looking into a hospitality suite for your enjoyment before the event and our now legendary Annual After-Party. We are also looking into the availability of hotel rooms at the Inn at Arbor Ridge, right next to the catering hall. Please watch for a special email with details as soon as arrangements can be confirmed.

Ensure your spot by dropping off your check at the Council or by mailing it in (10 Fair Street, Carmel, NY 10512, ATTN: Annual). Please give the names of your guests and enclose $125 for each. You may also pay by credit card at our September and October membership meetings.

This year we are honoring as our "Knight of the Year" Sir Knight Tim McDonald, PGK, and as "Family of the Year," The Dambra Family!

We are again having a large-format (8.5" x 11") souvenir journal this year with additional color pages in the center. Please click here to take an ad to honor a special person or group, or to promote your business or organization. No ads will be accepted without payment!

Reservations and pre-payment are absolutely required. No walk-ins and no payments at the door. All reservations and payments must be made by October 27th.

The night will start at 7:00 p.m. with a cocktail hour with plenty of hors d’oeuvres, followed by a great buffet dinner, our brief awards ceremony, entertainment and dancing, and delicious desserts & coffee. Open bar all night!

Reserve today!!! No reservations or sales after October 27th!

Fourth Degree News

The next meeting of Mother Cabrini Assembly will be Thursday, September 19th 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.

• Bingo is Back! Our Ladies Auxiliary is resuming their fun-filled bingo events, starting with Cash Bingo on Sunday afternoon, October 20th. They'll also be hosting another wildly popular Pocketbook Bingo on Saturday, November 9th. Proceeds always go to worthy charities and causes. Watch for details as the dates get closer.

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