DATE: 10 August 2020
This documents the monthly meeting of the Father Kelley Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians held on video via Zoom
DISCUSSION
- Meeting is called to Order
At 7:30 p.m. by the Division President John Masarick
- Recitation of the opening prayer & Pledge of Allegiance:
- Our Father x
- Hail Mary x
- Glory Be x
- St. Michael the Archangel x
- Pledge of Allegiance x
- Roll call of Officers for Fraternal Year 2019:
| Position | Name | By Exception: (P=Present, A = Absent E= Excused) |
| President | John Masarick | p |
| Vice President | Thomas Masarick | p |
| Chaplain | Fr. Ed Guilloux | E |
| Recording Secretary | Brian Tumulty | p |
| Financial Secretary | Richard S. Aleksy | p |
| Treasurer | Richard W. Ring | p |
| Standing Committee | Joe Cahill | p |
| Marshall | Bart Emanuel | p |
| Sentinel | Dan O’Leary | E |
| Immediate Past President | Richard W. Ring | p |
Communications and letters: Two thank you notes.
- Presidents Report:
Happy birthday to brother Rick Ring.
There were problems with WiFi in the Knights Hall when Inishfail tried to meet, so this meeting is being held entirely on Zoom.
The 2020 AOH-LAOH National Convention was conducted virtually on July 17 thru July 25.
The Coronavirus has affected many Brother Hibernians, their families, friends and members of our community. Please help our brothers, their families, friends and neighbors by donating money and or food to the Bethanie pantry, House of Mercy or other similar organization.
100th Binnual 2020 AOH National Convention
Congratulation to newly elected National President Danny O’Connell, Vice President Sean Pender, Secretary Jere Cole, Treasurer Liam McNabb and the newly elected Directors, Ed Halligan, Ray Lynch, Bob Mahrens, Tim McSweeney, Sean O’Dowd, and Rick Thompson.
JFK Award Congressman Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02) proudly accepted the prestigious John Fitzgerald Kennedy Memorial Medal for 2020 from the national chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) and the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians (LAOH). The medal is the highest honor that the Hibernians bestow.
Delegates and their Responsibility
Timothy McSweeney – Albany, NY
Raymond Lynch – Port Saint Lucie, FL
Edward Halligan – Oreland, PA
Sean O’Dowd – Chicago, IL
Richard J. Thompson – Watertown, MA
Robert E. Mehrens – Anaconda, MTArea of responsibility unknown at this time
Resolutions
Many Resolutions were offered to amend the requirements for the prestigious JFK Award and many were defeated.
- Chaplain’s Report: No report
- Propositions for membership: Report on candidates for membership Initiation of the candidates (Lesson of the Motto): None
- Report of the committee on the sick: No report
- Bills and Claims: Financial Secretary — Rich Aleksy
None
- Report on the Standing Committee: No Report
- Report on Special Committees:
| Committee | Chairman | Report / Discussion |
| Events/Calendar | Greg Rebbert | The events calendar is just a blog of paper. Vince has no word on the status of the Fall Festival. John Masarick said Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day is on the calendar. We need to check if it will be held. John said John Holohan did a great job with bingo kitchen on Aug. 2. |
| Freedom for all Ireland | Tom Masarick | Brexit still a big deal. A lot of Europe is still in the EU so this thing can have can have a lot of impact on Northern Ireland as well as the entire environment in England. |
| Historian | John Holohan | No report |
| Immigration | Rick Ring | No report |
| Trip to Ireland | J.P./Greg | Greg will check if the tickets have been ordered. John asked Vince for an updated certificate to send to the winners. |
| Parade | Vince Fitzpatrick | |
| Pro-Life | Mike McManus | No report |
| Webmaster | Brian Tumulty | No report |
| Political Education | Vince Fitzpatrick | No report |
| Veteran’s Affairs | Mike Riley | Eileen Marie Collins is a retired NASA astronaut and United States Air Force colonel. A former military instructor and test pilot, Collins was the first female pilot and first female commander of a Space Shuttle. Collins retired on May 1, 2006 and serves as a board member of USAA. Collins was born in Elmira, New York. Her parents were James E. and Rose Marie Collins. According to a speech she gave when she was inducted into the Irish American 2016 Hall of Fame, her ancestors came to America in the mid-1800s, settling in Pennsylvania and Elmira, New York. Air Force career Following graduation from Syracuse, she was one of four women chosen for Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma. After earning her pilot wings, she stayed on at Vance for three years as a T-38 Talon instructor pilot before transitioning to the C-141 Starlifter at Travis Air Force Base, California. From 1986 to 1989, she was assigned to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado, where she was an assistant professor in mathematics and a T-41 instructor pilot. In 1989, Collins became the second female pilot to attend the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and graduated with class 89B. She was selected for the astronaut program in 1990. Astronaut Collins first flew the Space Shuttle as pilot in 1995 aboard STS-63, which involved a rendezvous between Discovery and the Russian space station Mir. In recognition of her achievement as the first female Shuttle Pilot, she received the Harmon Trophy. She was also the pilot for STS-84 in 1997. Collins was also the first female commander of a U.S. Spacecraft with Shuttle mission STS-93, launched in July 1999, which deployed the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. Collins commanded STS-114, NASA’s “return to flight” mission to test safety improvements and resupply the International Space Station (ISS). The flight was launched on July 26, 2005 and returned on August 9, 2005. During STS-114, Collins became the first astronaut to fly the Space Shuttle through a complete 360-degree pitch maneuver. This was necessary so astronauts aboard the ISS could take photographs of the Shuttle’s belly, to ensure there was no threat from debris-related damage to the Shuttle upon reentry. |
| Hunger Project | Bart Emanuel | Stores are not taking applications yet to solicit |
| Project St. Patrick | Rich Aleksy | No report |
| Charities | Rich Aleksy | |
| Bylaws Committee | Rich Aleksy | |
| Trustees Report | J.P., Greg, Doug | |
| Bingo | Tom Masarick | John Holohan’s team worked Aug. 2 and Tom’s team 3 is scheduled for Sept. 6. The Knights hit their maximum of 80 players at the last couple of bingos. It has gone very well. We take temperatures at the door and require masks. The kitchen stays open later and Dave Riley has been a big help. |
| Audit | Vince Fitzpatrick Jerry Partsch Patrick Sullivan | |
| Club Room | Tom Masarick | Closed for the pandemic |
| Bereavement / Monuments Committee | Tom Masarick | His committee will meet tonight after the meeting. |
| Music | Jerry Laffey | |
| Spring festival | John Holohan | It was canceled |
- Receipts of the Meeting (Income): Financial Secretary — Rich Aleksy
We have no funds to transferred to the treasurer.
- Report of the Treasurer: Richard Ring
Starting Monthly Budget Balance for July 2020 = $16,196.11
No July deposits
July 2020 expenses= $250.00
Closing Bank Statement Balance= $15,946.11
Closing Bank Register Balance= $15,946.11
Treasurer’s Signature
Date Updated: 01 August 2020
Bank Register is Reconciled.
- Unfinished Business: none
- New business
The president asked those attending on Zoom if they each had anything to say to members of the division.
Hugh O’Brien said, “We all know about the legend of St. Patrick dragging snakes out of Ireland. Well, that’s became very personal, personal to me the other day when expectedly I found that a snake crawling through our living room.” Hugh said he managed to corner it and destroy it on a grassy knoll next door. So, if you ever have snakes, Hugh recommends calling upon St. Patrick.
Jerry Laffey said that he’s looking be looking forward to when we can have some activities and especially somewhere that he can play his bagpipes. He’s not much interested in practicing at the moment. “I hope you guys stay healthy and it’s always good to hear from you whether it’s on Zoom or in the flesh,” he said. “God bless you all.”
Patrick Sullivan said, “Well, it’s good to finally make a meeting. I still almost missed the one tonight.” He drove over the Knights Hall earlier thinking the meeting was in person and, when he discovered it was not, he drove back home just in time to make the Zoom meeting. “It’s good to be back in a meeting and see all the guy,” he said. “I hope everybody’s doing well.”
Brian Tumulty said, “So at the risk of repeating myself, my pandemic story is that my grandfather Peter Tumulty, was living in Manhattan at the time of the last pandemic. His wife, Bridget, died of the Spanish flu and their infant baby died. He was left with two daughters, took a boat back to Ireland, and they were raised by their grandparents. One of those two girls became a Sister of Charity, Sister Brendan, who I had the great pleasure to meet during a trip to Ireland in the 1970s. My grandfather took a boat back to New York met another Bridget. The first one was Bridget Harvey. This was Bridget King. He married her and had seven more children, including my Uncle Mike who became a Catholic priest. My father was one four brothers who served in the Navy during World War Two. And so that pandemic has been a family story for 100 years and I’m sure this pandemic and the loss of life and lives disrupted will be a story for another hundred years. I just want to think of all the people who have died in this pandemic and the great disruption it’s caused.
Hugh O’Brien said he had a similar story to Brian’s. His father first came to this continent from Ireland via Canada, where he married a French-Canadian woman who succumbed to the Spanish flu in 1918. He then moved down to the US to Delaware, where he met Hugh’s mother, who bore him six children. Three of them became Franciscan friars. And one of them was an author of several books, including the life of Christ. So, it’s similar to Brian’s tale.
Tom Masarick invited everyone who was participating in the Zoom division meeting to stay on after the meeting for his discussion about a bereavement ceremony that the division is considering adopting. He had planned an 8:30 p.m. meeting on WebEx, but said it is easier to just stay on this video.
Bart Emanuel asked for prayers for his mother-in-law who has been living in an assisted care facility in Massachusetts. She took a fall in the shower on Sunday and is in the hospital. She has a high fever or had a high fever. They tested her for COVID-19 and she was fortunately negative “But she is going to need to go to rehab,” Bart said. “And my wife has two of her sisters there who have been helping her, but you know, it’s a tough time for the family.”
Mike Riley said, “I’m fine. I’m happy see you too and I gave my report so you know, I’m alive and well. So, keep on trucking.”
Greg Rebbert said, “The one outdoor event we can do is road cleanup. I don’t recall the last time we did Stonewall, but that’s a great outdoor event for everyone.”
Rick Ring said he would check with the City of Manassas to ensure they will allow the division to do a cleanup. Rick said that doing a road cleanup was on his mind as well.
Someone interjected, “If we start collecting garbage and they don’t like it, we’ll have to put it back.”
Vince Fitzpatrick said the Innisfail directors plan on holding their annual meeting next Tuesday.
- Adjournment Motion & Closing Prayer
Prayers were offered.
- Closing Ode: none
- 19. Adjournment: Time: 8:13 pm
