Welcome to the September 2025 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 Wednesday, September 10th. 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 some of seats left for Comedy Night on Saturday, September 20th! Appetizers, buffet dinner, four hours open bar, dessert and a fantastic night of four headliners comedy, all for only $100 prepaid. For details, see the flyer below. Contact Bobby Palazzo at 845-216-1977 to make your reservation. (No walk-ins!) Proceeds will benefit an amazing charity: United for the Troops!

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

• At our business meeting on Wednesday, you will have an opportunity to reserve and prepay for our Oktoberfest celebration on Saturday, October 4th. More info is in the news item below, but come to the meeting, pay for your spot, and learn more about volunteer opportunities!

• You will also have an opportunity to make reservations for our event of the year: Our 54th Annual Dinner Dance & Awards Ceremony. See below for more information.

• Volunteers are needed this Thursday (9/11) starting at 10 a.m. to help unload and load food supplies for Putnam C.A.P. starting at the Putnam County garage located at 526 Gage Road in Brewster. Please contact Denis Hanrahan or Pat Barry if you are able to help. Please see our June 2025 newsletter for full details on this volunteer opportunity.

• 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!

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 Thursday, 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 sixteen Putnam Heroes who have passed as a result of their efforts in the aftermath of September 11th. This year, sadly, they will be adding three more names onto the Memorial: F.F. Patrick Tarpey, FDNY; P.O. Ronald Vance, NYPD, and Lt. David Rufo, NYSC.  

At this years' service, each of the Heroes families will be presented with a Flag of the United States which was flown over the World Trade Center Memorial. 

The guest speaker will be the CEO of Guardian Revival, Lt. Col. Aaron Leonard (U.S. Army. Ret.). 

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.

Volunteers are needed to help with setup in Cornerstone Park at noon and with breakdown immediately after conclusion of the ceremony.

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.

Our Oktoberfest is Back on October 4th!

Oktoberfest is back on Saturday, October 4th, featuring 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 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 $50 donation (save $5 - only $45 if 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 $50; children 12 and under pay $20.

Back by popular demand is our Big-Prize Oktoberfest 50/50, with three prize winners (1st - 25%; 2nd - 15%, & 3rd - 10%) and with proceeds going to St. James Parish. We'll be selling tickets after Masses at St. James the Apostle and Our Lady of the Lake/Mt. Carmel churches in the coming weeks. Get yours before they sell out, and help us sell them to make our annual fall parish fundraiser an even bigger success!

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 September 27th. If we are not already sold out, walk-ins will pay $50 and seating is not guaranteed.

Reserve Today for our 54th Annual Dinner Dance - Saturday, November 1st

Join us we celebrate our anniversary at our 54th Annual Dinner Dance and Awards Ceremony on Saturday, November 1st! Fine dining, top-shelf open bar, music, dancing, and recognition of our members who do so much to make our Council so special.

This year we return to Mill Creek Caterers in Hopewell Junction, which provided us with an outstanding catering experience last year. Starting at 6 p.m., we'll enjoy a cocktail hour, open bar, full buffet dinner, dessert, dancing, photo booth, and entertainment. The cost is $125 per guest, and it's well worth the price for an event of this quality and importance to our Council.

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.

We will be announcing our Knight of the Year and Family of the Year honorees at our business meeting on Wednesday, September 10th.

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 26th.

The night will start at 6:00 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!

A Message from our C&B Chair

There's still time to get in on the "Early Bird Drawing" for the 2025 C&B Raffle on September 28th. You too can be a winner!

Since our Council did not have a July meeting, we are behind our pace of 2024 book sales (167 in 2025 vs. 186 in 2024). We need to catch up!

I'm asking that ALL MEMBERS take at least two C&B Books. More is better!

C&B Books go for $15 each, two for $25, and (your best buy!) 5 or more books at only $10 each. I will have plenty of books at our next meeting on Wednesday, September 10th. 

Cash or checks are accepted. Please make checks payable to: "Council 6318 KofC ."

Checks or cash may be left with any of our bartenders, or you may send checks to me by mail at this address: Kevin Shea, 59 Blair Heights, Carmel, NY 10512. (Please do not mail cash.)

More good news: We've brought back our Football Fund Crazr, which runs from November 2, 2025, thru January 4, 2026 (10 Weeks). There will again be weekly prizes for the top five scores and lowest score of that week. That's ten weeks of prizes, six prizes a week, giving you sixty chances to win!

Tickets are $20 each, with $5 coming back to our council. Last year we sold out all the tickets at our first meeting, so get your tickets early! I have plenty of tickets this year, and they will be available at the September and October business meetings. Arrangements will also be made to have tickets at the bar. More details on that to follow.

Contact me at (914) 941-2105 or by email if you have any questions.

Remember, not only could you be a big winner, but the more C&B and Fund Crazr tickets we sell, the more our Council earns for our own charitable donations.

As usual, thanks for all your help. 

Fraternally,

Kevin Shea

C&B Program Chair

Sunday Cash Bingo Returns Sept. 21st!

Join us for a fun-filled day of CASH BINGO games on Sunday, September 21, 2025, presented by our Ladies Auxiliary.

Full card $500!

Proceeds will be going to a great local charity: Make a Wish Hudson Valley!

Doors open at 1:00 p.m. First game is at 2:00 p.m.

$40 at the door, or save $5 - only $35 if prepaid through Eventbrite (click here).

Must be 18 years or older. There will be concession sales and Bell Jar tickets.

Contact Ladieskofc@gmail.com for more information.

NYS Bingo License # BC37-201-60105578

Fourth Degree News

The next meeting of Mother Cabrini Assembly will be Thursday, September 18th 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.

• Sep. 26 (Fri.) - There will be an Admission Degree on Friday, September 26th, at 7:00 p.m. (Candidates should arrive by 6:00 p.m. properly attired!) All current members are encouraged to attend in support of our newest prospective brother Knights. The new degree ceremony is brief (approximately 30 minutes) and dinner will be served afterward. Please encourage your Catholic gentleman friends and family to join our Order and become a part of our incredible Council. Speak to GK Rick for more information

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