Grand Knight’s Report – January 3, 2012
Welcome brothers and happy New Year. Thank you for coming out on this cold night. Today is the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus; tomorrow is the feast of Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American-born saint. Thursday, January 5th, is the feast of St. John Neuman, the first American-born bishop, and Friday, January 6th is the feast of Brother Andre Bessett, the first Canadian-born saint.
FYI, today we experienced a serious emergency that could have resulted in a fire, had not PGK John Magaletta checked the building. The oil burner had badly malfunctioned, black smoke was pouring out from the stack, the firebox in the furnace had actually burned up due to the clogged fuel filter and oil pump, resulting in serious combustion failure. Fortunately, due to the alertness of PGK Mageletta and the ingenuity of DGK Lou Marello, the situation was addressed. Wilco Energy was called; a serviceman was dispatched, and began making repairs and boiler cleaning at about 2:00 PM. I’ve spoken to Wilco and informed them not to make any further fuel deliveries unless and until we call them. They have been making small deliveries of fuel, the last on December 29th. Our tank is likely close to full. Our goal is to burn down the oil through the winter, in anticipation of changeover to gas in the spring.
The status of the 300 Club is the following: there are 25 unsold tickets, approximately 145 tickets have not been returned yet, but are anticipated as being sold; about 130 tickets have been returned. As I said in my recent email, the prizes are set and we must sell all tickets to make this a successful fundraiser for the Association. The net proceeds, as you know, are used to support the expenses of operating the building. Please return your tickets to Trustee Ralph Mola or to me as soon as possible.
The Right-to-Life is on Sunday, January 22nd, at St. Patrick’s Cathedral at 10:00 AM. Bus transportation is being arranged. All are invited to attend. The Seminarians dinner is Friday, February 3rd at 7:00 PM at Fr. John Grady Council in Port Chester. I hope we will put together a table from St. Dominic to support this worthy event. On Saturday, February 11th at 7:00 PM, we’ll have our Valentine Dinner –“Dancing with the Knights.” On Sunday, February 26th, the Brendan Toohay Breakfast will be held at Our Lady of the Lakes Council in Carmel, preceded by 9:00 AM mass at St James the Apostle Church in Carmel.
The Prayer Rally is scheduled for March 13th in Albany. Details of the bus schedule to follow. We will have our St. Patrick’s Dinner in honor of St. Patrick and St. Joseph on Saturday, March 17th. Faithful Navigator Charles Sacco has volunteered to cook, assisted by Sir Knight Mike DeFlorio. Any brother who can help in the kitchen, please let me know. The Westchester Conference/Chapter Annual Awards Ball will be on Sunday, March 25th, at Beckwithe Point in New Rochelle. We will honor a member of our council selected by the awards committee from the names of brothers who are submitted to them. The selected honoree does not have to be a Knight of Columbus, and can be any member of the community. I will contact our insurance company regarding coverage for the oil burner malfunction and smoke damage.
The semi-annual audit is due on February 15th. The next general meeting is on January 17th, and will be chaired by DGK Lou Marello. The 2nd degree ceremony will be here at St. Dominic on Wednesday, January 18th, chaired by DD Jim Collins. The next officers meeting will be on January 24th.
Thank you, brothers.