The Friends
are proud to announce that we have secured the following capacity
building grants that will greatly help us in strengthening our
organization for the benefit of Connetquot River State Park Preserve:
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Friends of Connetquot Gala 2008
2008 Annual Gala Event
Once
again, supporters showered the Friends with their
generosity. While, thankfully, Mother Nature did not
shower us with rain, but did contribute a splendid
day for the Gala festivities. Friends’ president,
Bob Labuski welcomed those in attendance and the
traditional equestrian parade followed.
In recognition of the importance that the hatchery
and trout fishing hold for the Park, this year the
Friends’ board chose to highlight these features at
the Gala (even though when this decision was made,
the impending closing of the hatchery was not yet an
issue of which the Friends were aware).
To help us
with this program, we enlisted the help of several
fishing clubs that generously responded by setting
up interesting fly-tying, fly casting, and other
fishing-related demonstrations. Two chapters of
Trout Unlimited sent presenters: George Costa and
Gil Miller from the Art Flick Chapter; Jay Mooney
and Peter Harris from the Long Island Chapter.
Presenters from other clubs were: Wolfgang Porte and
Herman Abrams from Long Island Flyrodders, as well
as Arthur Prevette and our long-time friend Dr.
Richard Steinberger from Idle Hour Fly Fishers.
Everyone took full advantage of the available
activities. Some people were interested in the
hay-wagon ride to the hatchery (contributed by The
Hay Loft and driven by Jerry Trapani and Ken Wilvert),
while others opted to take the horse and carriage
ride around the Park’s grounds (provided by
Authentic Carriage Co.). Loyal friend and carver,
Jamie Reason was there with his carving
demonstration. Also falconer, Tom Lowe brought his
Harris’s Hawk for a return engagement.
Under the dining tent, appetizers of various
cheeses, fresh fruit, smoked goose and other
delicacies whetted the guest’s appetite for the
large array of gourmet dishes that restaurants—such
as Snapper Inn, Irish Coffee Pub, Riverview, Viva La
Vida, and others (please see complete list that
follows)—magnanimously contributed. For the diners’
pleasure,
Little Toby Walker set a lively atmosphere
with his snappy music. For the dessert course, the
tone turned serene with the repertoire played by the
string quartet of Stan Kallenbach, Shelly Berner,
Harvey Hoffman, and Jody Ratner; the quartet’s
selections included Schubert’s piano quintet “The
Trout” (transcribed for string quartet by the
group.)
Board member and acting auctioneer, George Dagher,
assisted by Gil Bergen and Jerry Trapani, deftly
matched skills with eager bidders for the many
valuable treasures donated for our Live Auction:
an
original trout painting by Don Winter; two beautiful
carvings, one of a Eurasian Wigeon by Jamie Reason
and the other a Redshank by Ed Legg; a knife
hand-crafted by Steve Mikle; and a miniature Trout
carving by Tom Hubbard; as well as antiques and
other desirable items. Our Silent and Chinese
auctions sent many guests home with arms full of
beautiful gift baskets, framed photographs and
limited edition prints, as well as many other great
prizes.
We thank all who attended. Your continued support is
vital to the success of the Friends.
A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OUR GALA SUPPORTERS
It takes a great many people to bring about the
success of this important fund-raising event. The
tables below list the names of our supporters. All
these individuals, organizations, artists and
merchants generously contributed food, beverages,
prizes or their time. We ask that you please
act as our ambassador by patronizing the merchants,
restaurants and artists listed here and thank them
for their support of the Friends
If we inadvertently omitted anyone from this list,
please accept our apologies and be assured that we
greatly appreciate ALL our contributors.
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