Greenlight A Vet
Greenlight A Vet is a campaign to establish visible national support for our veterans by changing one light to green.
Please go to www.greenlightavet.com for more information.
ER's Message
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
It’s so hard to believe that the year is over; it went by so quickly. This year was a big learning curve and thank you to everyone for their patience. Thanks to this past year’s officers for your energy and support in making this year possible. Thanks to all the committees, their chairs, all the crews for dinners and breakfasts, and the parking crews. My family and I want to thank each and every one of you for your time, support, and consideration over this year. Hopefully, you feel, as I do, that this past year was an overall success.
As far as this past March, it was another busy month. Like last year, we had to close the lodge due to weather. For this year, it occurred on March 7th, due to a beauty of a snowstorm. The Vegas crew had a good night on March 9th. Thanks to Larry Eleby and his staff for trying so hard to right this fundraiser.
On Saturday, March 17th, we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day. Chris Akers and his crew did a fabulous job with this dinner. The dinner was a great time; from the corned beef (and ham for some) to the Irish soda bread, to the turnout of over 60 people.
On the very next day, March 18th, the District held a district wide initiation of new members at the Hudson lodge. There were a total of 7 new members, of which 2 are from Kinderhook. I want to thank Frank Masten, PER (Esteemed Leading Knight), Sharon Deck (Chaplin), and John Deane (Organist) for performing their parts of the Ritual, and from memory.
A short 6 days later, we held the installation of the 2018-19 officers for Kinderhook. The PERs did a wonderful job performing the ceremony. Thanks to Jerry Shook, PSP for doing the role of Grand Exalted Ruler and Carmen ‘Buster’ Esposito, PDD for being Grand Esquire. Thanks to Abby Shook for the wonderful job with the appetizers.
And then there was dinner. We had a ‘brief’ delay for dinner where the Master of Ceremony PDD Leo Buell told jokes, Chris Akers, PSVP and I gave our reports, and we then presented the annual awards:
- Kinderhook Lodge – Grand Lodge Exalted Ruler Special Citation
- Richard Fisher – Grand Lodge Exalted Ruler Citation
- Leo Buell, PDD – Grand Lodge Exalted Ruler Citation
- Anne Leiser – Officer of the Year
- Ida Leiser – Elk of the Year
Dinner was wonderful. I have always heard about ‘Franks meatloaf’ and it definitely lived up to its reputation. It was wonderful. Thanks to Frank, Dottie, their crew of workers, and the Girl Scouts for volunteering to do the dinner.
On March 31st, the Easter Bunny made a special appearance at the Kinderhook gazebo. The Easter Bunny was kind enough to allow pictures to be taken with those that wished to, and had delicious treats for the kids. A big thanks to Larry Knott and his crew on a job well done. Also, thanks to Stewarts for donating ice cream to those attending, to the Village of Kinderhook for the use of the space, and to all the businesses and individuals who made donations, which allow this event to happen.
Speaking of the Easter Bunny, another thanks for attending our Sunday Breakfasts on March 25th and April 1st. The Easter Bunny allowed pictures with the kids that attended and provided treats to them. Between those two dates, over 160 people attended. In addition, the Easter Bunny spent a portion of Easter Sunday at Barnwell’s Grand Rehabilitation Center visiting with patients and their families. We are so blessed having the Easter Bunny making these visits during its busy time.
This April we have a few events:
- April 7th – Homecoming for SVP Deb Miners at Hudson Lodge; cocktails @4/ dinner @5
- April 13th – Vegas Night
- April 14th – District Clinic at Red Hook/Rhinebeck Lodge; breakfast @ 9am/ mtg after
- April 21st – Homecoming for SP Phil Conaty at the Sullivan
- April 28th – Veteran’s event at the Kinderhook Sportsmen’s Club
- April 29th – PER Breakfast
- April 29th – Parking for Sean’s Run
May this coming year be even better than this past year.
ER John Piddock