Brothers,
I am proud to provide our quarterly update and highlights for your Division for the 4th quarter of 2019.
October 2019
Our Irish Music Festival in Wake Forest was an exceptional event. With the help of great weather and outstanding musical and dance performances, our primary goal of supporting Irish culture and local charities was a success. To all the Brothers and volunteers who put so much effort into the event we are grateful. To relive some of the fun and information, you can always visit our Irish Music Festival website at http://irishfestintheforest.com/, or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RaleighIrishMusicFestival/. Our charity for this years event (NC Diaper Bank (https://ncdiaperbank.org/) will receive their donation at the St. Patrick’s Day Dinner Dance on Saturday, March 7 at 8pm. To learn more about the dinner dance, purchase tickets or contact us, please go https://www.wakeaoh.com/dinnerdance2020/. Thank you again to all of our sponsors for Irish Music Festival http://irishfestintheforest.com/sponsors/.
Your AOH Division also supported “Wags for Tags” (https://www.wags4tags.org/) again this year and their mission to provide emotional support dogs for our veterans across NC with trained dogs rescued from high kill shelters.
November 2019
November was the official beginning of the 2019 holiday season including All Saints Day (a Holy Day of Obligation). November is also the month for our annual Turkey Drive for The New Bern House run by Helping Hands Mission (http://helpinghandmission.org/). With the help and extra efforts of our Brothers we were able to provide 66 turkeys and 3 hams along with pounds and pounds of side dishes from potatoes to deserts. The spiritual and energetic leader of the Helping Hands Mission, Sylvia Wiggins was there to express her overwhelming thanks for all the AOH does for this critical mission and the families they support. November was also the date for another of our sponsored charities “Three Bluebirds Farm” (https://www.3bluebirdsfarm.org/), formerly known as Three Irish Jewels. At their annual black tie dinner attended by Brothers Sullivan and Ryan and their wives, Three Bluebirds announced they were able to raise $125,000 for the most worth cause of children with autism.
We also began ticket sales for our Annual Trip to Ireland raffle. We are again selling 150 tickets at $100 each. For details visit https://www.wakeaoh.com/irelandraffle2020/. This is our most important fund raiser for the AOH Charity so please help this become the best ever.
December 2019
December is also a very happy and busy time for the Wake AOH. In addition to our annual Christmas Division meeting and the festivities, December is when we nominate new board members.
At this years meeting on December 11th at the Knights of Columbus club, we thanked departing Wake Division Board members Jack Ford (retiring Recording Secretary), Mike Scanlin (retiring Financial Secretary) and Jerry Ryan (retiring Marshall) for all they have done for the division and all they continue to do.
We also welcomed new Division Board Members Dennis O’Brien (Financial Secretary), Kevin Murray (Marshall) and George McEvoy (Recording Secretary). Very excited and thankful for the continuing support of the members especially in these essential roles.
At the Christmas event we raised $250 for the Freedom For All Ireland fund, and collected blankets, coats and glove again to provide to the homeless.
Of course at the very end of December (New Years Eve) Brother Jerry Ryan and his wife Susan organized another New Years Eve celebration with a toast for Ireland at the stroke of midnight in Ireland (7pm eastern time) and our very own Ewes Tree performed for the group (http://ewestree.com/). All the excess food (and there was a lot) was delivered to the New Bern House on New Years Day by Brother Jerry Ryan and Bob Klien.
In our Motto
Kevin Meagher
President, AOH, Governor Thomas Burke Division
