Dear Brother Knights: This is our first newsletter for the 2007-2008 year. Let me begin by saying that I am proud to be your Grand Knight again this year. We enjoyed a successful year last year as a result of your continued support of our council and I am optimistic that our success will continue again this year. Once again, we are committed to offering a full slate of activities and events. We will also continue to support our community and charitable causes that assist those less fortunate than ourselves. I hope you enjoyed your summer and will be an active member of Council #50 this upcoming year. Our monthly meetings resume again on Tuesday, September 4th and I look forward to seeing you there.

We open our year with a number of events including our annual Clam Bake and our Tootsie Roll Drive. I reference these two events in particular as we need your involvement and support to make them successful. The Clam Bake is an excellent event and is open to members, non-members and their families. In case you didn’t know, the Clam Bake is the Third Degree’s biggest fund raiser and proceeds are used to help pay our largest bills which include the annual per-capita dues bills to the Supreme and State councils. September is also the month for our annual Tootsie Roll Drive. Under the direction of Bro. Herman Roy, our Tootsie Roll Drive proceeds are used to benefit the Enfield Association of Retarded Citizens (ARC). I am making a special plea that you please support these two upcoming events. They are important to the well being of our council and our community and will get us off to a strong start to the 2007-2008 year. THANK YOU!!.

Clam Bake – Bro. Mario Cournoyer and his culinary staff will host our annual Clam Bake again this year. The Clam Bake will be held on Saturday, September 22nd from Noon to 5 PM. Tickets are $30/pp and include lobster, steak, clams, shrimp, hamburgers, hot dogs and of course, George and Betty Brassard’s clam chowder. Children’s tickets are $5 and include hamburgers and hot dogs only. Tickets must be purchased at the Club by September 16th so accurate food orders can be placed.

Tootsie Roll Drive – This year’s Tootsie Roll drive is scheduled for the weekends of September 22nd & 23rd and September 29th & 30th. We are fortunate once again to have Bro. Herman Roy leading this worthy cause. Please donate an hour or two of your time to help support retarded citizens in our community. Sign up at the council or by contacting Herman Roy

Men’s Golf Tournament – The Men’s Golf Tournament will be held at Grassmere golf course on Sunday, September 30th. Please sign up at the Council if you are interested in playing.

Steak Knight – Our first Steak Knight of the year is scheduled for Saturday, October 13th. Tickets are $12 per person. More information on this event and other upcoming events will be provided in next month’s newsletter.

We’ve had several successful events since we adjourned for the summer. I would like to thank Bros. Dave Andersen, Jeff Moody, George Brassard, Neil Henderson, Mike Barrett, Mike Jameson, John Guzie, Brain Davies, Wayne Samson and Tim Phillips for their help with this year’s Man’s Knight. I would also like to thank Bros. Joe Tiroletto and Dave Andersen for another great Saratoga trip this year. We are off to a good start and I look forward to another great year this year. In closing, I ask you to please consider attending the Clam Bake and participating in this year’s Tootsie Roll Drive. They are important events that can only be successful through your participation. Your suggestions for new events and ongoing improvements are always welcome so please make them known. Enjoy the remainder of your summer and I hope to see you at the September meeting.