The Racquet Club on Park Hill

Our Club’s 2008-2009 membership season begins on March 1st, 2008. Your first dues installment will be billed at that time. This installment privilege is extended as a courtesy to members in good standing. We remind everyone to pay these installments in a timely manner. The Racquet Club counts onthese monies to cover annual insurance payments as well as seasonal set-up costs for the pool and tennis courts.

We hope that everyone has enjoyed the club in 2007 and we all look forward to the coming year. If, for any reason, you are not able to continue your membership in 2008, you are required to inform the Racquet Club Board of Governors in writing (or email) by March 1st, 2008. Also, if you are making any changes in your membership classification - upgrade/downgrade/family/single – please let us know now so that Patty Gamba can make the appropriate changes on our Quickbooks account before the new billing cycle.

The Racquet Club depends upon the collaborative effort of ALL of our members. Committees are preparing nowfor the upcoming season. A sampling of these committees are: Membership Development, Member Relations, Social Events, Children’s Activities, Tennis, Pool, Building & Operations, Grounds & Landscaping, Bar, and Bowling. We encourage you to join a committee and do your share to make our club a better one. Even an occasional hour or two can make a huge difference, especially to those of us who have been doing the “lion’s share” of volunteering. If someone calls for your help, please give it good consideration. If you don’t want to wait to be asked, you can let us know your interests by sending an email to parkhillracquetclub@yahoo.com, or by dropping a note with your monthly payment. Thank you!

New Members!

Please welcome another family to the Racquet Club:
Susanne and Stephen S., and their daughters

Get Well Soon

Vinnie D. had another round of back surgery last week. We hope that he’s doing well and will soon be pain-free. Mary C. is making good progress and getting her strength back after her surgery. We wish her a speedy recuperation too!

Bowling started at the Park Hill Country Club in 1897. The ledgers, photos and archives of this bowling activity at our club were painstakingly preserved by Charles S and subsequently cared for by Bob R. Bob has decided to turn over these historic documents to the Yonkers Riverfront Library, which already houses an extensive Park Hill collection from Charlie’s estate. I have reviewed these leather-bound ledgers and newspaper clippings and find them to be a fascinating history of our club over the past 100 years – through World Wars, the Great Depression and into the modern era. I am working with both the Park Hill Residents’ Association and the library and will transfer the collection soon, where it will be well cared-for and available to us for special showcase occasions. Sincere thanks go to Bob R and the Shakeshaft Family for making these living documents available to future historians of the Racquet Club on Park Hill.

Bowling League Standings

As of January 29th, Paul Cecere’s Blue Team has pulled away from the pack and leads the league with a commanding 64 win record. Fred Feldman’s Green Team holds second with 52 wins, Jim Corbett’s Red Team has 48 and Jon Wallen’s Brown Team trails with 32. It’s been an enjoyable, competitive season so far.

Two more Friday Movie Nights were held on our big screen in January. Our FOTC (Friends of the Cinema) movie committee conducted in-depth email discussions in order to select the movies to be shown. A return to the quaint olden days of party lines (remember what those are?) and white-gloved dinners took place with the showing of Pillow Talk, starring Doris Day & Rock Hudson. Two weeks later, Big Night was screened, with Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub (of Wings and Monk fame) as Italian brothers trying to make a go of the restaurant business on the Jersey Shore. The food was enough to make your mouth water! The “double feature” of the night was completed with live coverage of the women’s final of the Australian Open. We thank Patty & Paul Cecere for obtaining the films & setting things up for us.

Our first Kids’ Saturday Movie Matinee was a great success with 20 kids and almost as many adults in attendance. Armed with juice boxes & goldfish crackers and sitting in small folding chairs, the kids were all really well-behaved watching Madagascar. Those who lost interest in the movie went up into the playroom to play quietly and would pop back in occasionally. The children all got up and danced during the music parts. Parents enjoyed cocktails and snacks on the couches and actually enjoyed the movie too! Others took turns watching the kids in the playroom. Gabriella Gamba did an excellent job of distributing the snacks, corralling the kids and playing with the younger ones in the playroom. It was fun – for everyone! Our thanks go to Patty Schumann & Dave Steck for making it all happen.

Our annual Indoor Tennis Party was again held at Yonkers Indoor on a chilly January night. More than 30 players joined in a four hour round robin session. All six courts were active all night long with six-game match ups. Groups were continually formed at random as players came off the courts. It all ran quite smoothly, thanks to Wendy Bodner’s organization, and a little “fortification” of fabulous finger food, soft drinks & wine too!

The kids had a great time at our first Kid’s Bowling Party. A light attendance gave the kids many turns on the lanes. Thanks go to Stuart M for maintaining order and troubleshooting the pin setters, to Nora B for volunteering to supervise the children outdoors when they decided to take a “bowling break” in the playground, and especially to Karin W for organizing the day.

Our holiday season couldn't get started without the hours of decorating time donated by a small group of creative members. Our thanks go to Matt Krawiec, Karin White, Kieran Michael Brown, Hestia DeVries, Dot Hackett, Laura Weinfield, Paul Meissner, Jennifer Ringstad, and Patty & Gabriella Gamba for "festivizing" the ballroom. Paul Cecere spent a couple of hours setting up the projector for children to watch Polar Express while their parents helped out decorating the ballroom. He & Jill Feldman transformed the lower bar with hand-made bird ornaments hung from the ceiling, new larger-than-life decorations (donated by Dennis Lindsey & Greg Vann) on the front windows, our popular bar wreath, as well as other various table arrangements. Mike D'Angelo donated the tree in the lobby. We have amassed a great collection of seasonal trimmings through members' generosity.

About 30 people joined together to celebrate the season at our annual Holiday Pot-Luck Cocktail Party . The decorations wowed all of us as we entered the bar, many of us wishing that we could have them up year-round. We had a feast which varied from Patty Gamba's water chestnuts wrapped in bacon and covered in BBQ sauce, Kathryn Buckley's mixed spiced nuts and sugar-coated cranberries to Bobby D's desserts. That's D for delicious! An array of delectable food was sampled throughout the evening. Some of the food contributions: chicken satay, sweet & sour meatballs, pasta salad, shrimp, Asian spring rolls, bread & pate spreads, cheese & crackers, crudités & more. We have quite a few chefs at the Racquet Club. Fiona served up drinks and Paul Cecere kept the music playing. Some guests stayed after midnight. Thank you, everyone, for your contributions & thank you, April Feldman, for organizing the night!

The playgroup's Cookies & Cocoa party on December 9 th was a great success with over a dozen families attending. Pre-baked gingerbread cookies were decorated by the children, and the few cookies that were not immediately eaten were taken home to serve as Christmas decorations. A simple buffet and, of course, hot chocolate milk were also enjoyed. The ambience was very festive, largely thanks to the decorations and lights, and the helpful crew of mothers' helpers (Morgan, Madison, Christopher & Gabriella) dressed in red & white. The older kids had great fun bowling with bumpers. Thanks go to Stuart for the bowling supervision, Laura for help with the set-up, Patty G. for welcoming guests, and Patty S., Karin, Annette and Hestia for the cooking and baking.

After a week's weather delay, our family-favorite Breakfast With Santa still had a good turnout. Patty Gamba, Adrienne D'Alessio, Jim Beirne & Nora Beirne got the room set up for the party. 28 kids and 37 adults attended. Santa (Jim) seemed to be wrestling with his beard during the delivery of presents. A little two-sided tape seemed to do the trick. Thanks, Hestia, for the quick thinking! We had plenty of food: spiral ham and quiches were a big hit. Donna Ventarola again led a piano-accompanied sing-along. Many members contributed to My Sister's Place. We thank them for their generosity and spirit-of-giving. Rosemary & Jim Beirne delivered the gifts to the shelter in time for Christmas. Lots of folks pitched in for clean up after the party. We thank Patty Gamba, once again, for leading the team for a wonderful day.

Several families enjoyed a few hours of playtime and talk time at the New Year's Day Brunch , hosted by the playgroup. Our vast collection of ride-on, slide-on, jump-on, make-believe, educational and not-so-educational toys were shared by the tots while mommies & daddies discussed all the topics that needed discussing. A spread of brunch-type pastries, muffins & breads were downed with cups of hot coffee, mimosas & bloody Mary's. Our thanks go to Patty Schumann & Hestia DeVries for organization, set up and clean up.

The playgroup meets for three sessions per week: Sundays 4-6 PM, Mondays 9:30-11 AM, and the newest session on Thursdays 3:30-4:30 PM. Time slots will be continued (or eliminated) as attendance dictates. Everyone appreciates the dedicated job that Hestia DeVries has been performing by opening and closing the club and supervising all of our playgroup sessions. Thank you so much, Hestia.

The 16 members of our Bowling League are in two heated battles. Paul Cecere's Blue Team (41/29) is still nosing-out Fred Feldman's Green Team (40/39) for first place. Jim Corbett's Red Team (29/41) is nipping at Jon Wallen's Brown Team's (30/40) heels for third. At this early stage of the season, it's too hard to make any predictions. Notable "highs" for the season so far:

Youngsters from toddlers to teens are invited to attend our first Kids' Bowling Party on Saturday, January 26 th from 2 till 4 PM. See the attached flyer. Now that we have bowling bumpers, we are encouraging people to spend some quality time with the family. If you are interested in using the lanes with your kids and are unfamiliar with procedure, please contact Jon Wallen for pertinent information. The bowling lanes are available for open bowling on Sunday afternoons when the bartender is on duty.
owlerina promised us a Year-End Round Up . Alas, she reports that she has overextended herself again, but will send us something soon!

We extend our best wishes for speedy recoveries to Mary C and Aodhan B on their recent surgeries.

We thank Adrienne and Vinnie D'Alessio for their most generous donation of $1000 to the Racquet Club. This money is earmarked towards the cost of purchasing a new shed for our tennis roller and equipment.

Please join us in showing our appreciation to those staff members (houseman, bartenders, and lifeguards) on whom we've counted in 2007. If you would like to participate, please return a separate second check made out to the Racquet Club, along with the tear-off sheet at the end of the newsletter. Note "Holiday Fund" in the comments section of your check. They will appreciate your generosity this holiday season.

About 30 folks (mostly children) took part in our second session of Family Karaoke . Parents and kids alike took turns at the mike. The most popular choices were from Disney's High School Musical , High School Musical II , and the Cheetah Girls . Noteworthy performances (in no particular order) included: Alicia Figura - "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes", Anthony Figura & Christopher Gamba - "I Don't Dance", Vincent Ventarola "The Black Parade", The Moment Family - "I Won't Back Down", St. Ann's 6 th Grade Girls - "Celebration", Christopher Gamba - "Runnin' With The Devil", and Robert Moment trying to sing "Over The Moon" (from Rent) in between every song ! Everyone feasted on pizza, chips, dips & homemade brownies. Thanks again, Patty Gamba for taking care of everything!

Ou r "ad hoc" Winterizing Committee performed a well-coordinated group effort a couple of weeks ago. Heavy plastic sheeting (donated by Fred & Larry Feldman) was attached to all the windows in the ballroom, kitchen, snack kitchen & office. Claire Miko, Katherine Haas, Andrew James & Karin White did the most difficult job of holding the plastic over their heads to staple it on! Richard Haas did a killer job of measuring. Maura Laverty kept us all well-fed with hors d'oeuvres. Karin went up & down those ladders like a real pro - oh right, she IS a pro! Great job on the duct-taping too, Karin. Bob D. helped outdoors to get the windows screwed tightly closed. Of course, Jill had the important job of installing staples into the staplers & generally pointing out what needed to be done! Laura Weinfield came by a little later on & helped Claire do the finishing touch of taping the kitchen window. It was all accomplished in ninety-or-so minutes. Thank you everyone!

Bonfire Night was well-attended that Friday. About 30 people, consisting of both established and new members, enjoyed mulled apple cider, S'mores, clam dip, baked bananas and more tidbits which were generously contributed. Sparklers and other harmless light sources were enjoyed. We thank everyone for their participation, Charles Baker for the wood and Robert Moment for organizing the evening.

After a week's postponement, Lebowski Fest II was held for about 15 bowlers. After a couple of regular games, bowling got much cozier when guests shared a "Scotch" game on two lanes. These bowlers were serious - about having a good time! We thank Jason Feldman for lending his MP 3 player (and his collection of tunes), Patty Gamba, Deane Prouty & Paul Meissner for helping to set up the lights, etc. in the bowling alley, Paul Cecere for helping break things down, Jill Feldman for helping to organize the bowlers & Karen Lorence for running the whole shindig! Bowlerina promises a Year-End Round Up in our next issue.

Nuts & Bolts - The lanes have been undergoing a general refurbishment, and have already proven to be more reliable. Tuesday evenings are more stress-free with fewer adjustments or repairs. Remember the loud squeaking that we all used to endure? It's gone! We will continue to keep the lanes operating smoothly with regularly scheduled tune-ups. Some of our regular bowlers - Fred Feldman, Karen Lorence, Paul Cecere, Paul Meissner & Jill Feldman -donated last year's winnings to pay a good chunk of this major overhaul. We appreciate their generosity.

Bring the Kids - Several of our parents had taken advantage of Jon Wallen's maintenance clinic in September, and are now getting the chance to spend quality time bowling with their children. To encourage more family bowling, the club has bought enough lightweight piping to serve as bowling bumpers for one lane. It's a great way for the children to practice their skills without being discouraged by gutter balls. We thank Karin White for researching options & making the purchase. If you are interested in using the lanes with your kids, please contact Jon Wallen (jwall41@aol.com or 914-476-8675) for pertinent information.

Women's Bowling Night continues all winter too. If you want to get out and let your hair down, this is the time to do it. We invite women to join us for talk, wine & a couple of games. Generally, these sessions will be celebrated once a month; you will receive email confirmations a few days before each session.

The playgroup is now meeting for three sessions per week: Sundays 4-6 PM, Mondays 9:30-11 AM, and the newest session on Thursdays 3:30-4:30 PM. Time slots will be continued (or eliminated) as attendance dictates. Some new families have been attending the group and are interested in joining the club! The next playgroup party is the second annual Cookies & Cocoa Party , which is scheduled for Sunday December 9 th from 4-6 PM. Older children are invited to come too - bowling (with bumpers) will be offered for a small additional charge. See attached flyer for details & RSVP information.

A few hearty souls have been sighted this month. Jim Beirne & Todd Sacktor were seen on Court 3 as late as November 18 th (even though it was in the 40s). They even took the time to sweep up after themselves! Now that's dedicated. Bob Reape & friends have donned their gloves & braved the cold almost every morning this month to get a game together.

Premium red wines are now available at our bar, and are sold only by the bottle:

A small group of folks gathered on a lovely evening for this year's Oktoberfest. Strings of lights & homemade banners gave our front porch area a biergarten atmosphere. Homemade brats, potato salad & apple strudel were washed down with several helpings of "lemon drops". We thank Patty Schumann for preparing the food and organizing the event, Maura Laverty for her tray of brats & Hestia DeVries for the decorations.

A gang of football buffs partook in our Giants/Jets Tailgate Party . The club was bustling both inside and out with a football pool & trivia contest, dominoes on the front porch, tennis games & plenty of eating. Our thanks go to Scotty McCambridge, who spent much of the weekend preparing a feast which included delicious deep-fried turkey. We thank Mike Karol for organizing the event and for frying up the turkeys by the pool. Mm mm good!

A "baker's dozen" of moviegoers got cozy on the couches to watch The Uninvited at our latest Movie Night. We thank Paul Cecere for setting up the show, as well as Mike Karol, for obtaining the film as well as an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents . We'll be showing more movies around once a month over the winter. Watch for email notices!

Patty Gamba reports: Thanks to all our volunteers for making this year's Kids Halloween Party run smoothly and successfully. Our final count was 58 adults and 58 children. The party was great in spite of what seemed like one hurdle after another:

• Oriental trading sent the wrong stuff! - Rosemary Beirne came to the rescue with help from past years' leftover crafts.

• Costco had a power outage! - Luckily, Ilene Rosenthal picked up the cakes in time to divert a catastrophe.

• The balloon shop was closed on Sunday! - Hestia DeVries ran around and found some replacement balloons.

• A flat tire for parade leader Ray DeAngelis! - Mike Karol stepped in and led the kids around the block.

Sunny the Clown was the highlight of the day, leading the children in songs and dances. "Bubble wrap freeze dancing" was especially well-received. Everyone got to do crafts & went home with personal pumpkins and goodie bags. It was a wonderful day!

Additional thank yous go to Mary Kay Moment for picking up paper goods, to Patty Schumann for getting the pumpkins, to Ray DeAngelis for pumpkin carving, and to Abi Wright, Diane Scott et al for general setup and cleanup.

The club thanks Patty Gamba for once again heading up the Halloween committee. Her efforts included taking reservations & door check in, orchestrating ballroom decorating, supervising purchases, preparing goodie bags and more. Several "no-shows" & "show-ups" made the committee's job much more difficult with additional runs to the stores for last-minute supplies. We urge members to RSVP on time & to honor those reservations for future parties.

The Tuesday night Winter Bowling League is now under way. The captains and their teams:

Our teams enjoy a weekly three-string match up, which is enhanced with cable tv coverage of the evening's sports, background music provided by Paul Cecere and "newcomer" Jason Feldman, snacks & bar service, and the added bonus of weekly highlight coverage by our own Bowlerina.

Women's Bowling Night continues on a once a month basis. All women are invited to join us for talk, wine & a couple of games. Our next session is Wednesday November 14 th at 7:30 PM. Email reminders will be sent.

Lebowski Fest II (otherwise known as Adult Bowling) is scheduled for Saturday November 17 th at 8PM.

We thank our Grounds Committee of two, Hestia DeVries & Jennifer Ringstad. Hestia donated some spring-flowering bulbs to the club & they both took a couple of hours on a Sunday to plant them. We'll all appreciate their work next April!

About 25 people attended the Tennis Awards Breakfast last month . Muffins, bagels, lox & more were served up on the front porch. Those tournament winners who didn't want a trophy were given "IOU"s for a choice of Racquet Club towel, visor or hat instead. Everyone enjoyed a day of fine tennis as well. We thank Claire Miko & the tennis committee for organizing the breakfast & for running all the tournaments this year.

Hestia DeVries reports: The Sunday afternoon playgroup has a steady group of about 4 families participating. We have been playing outside because of the fantabulous weather. (Did you notice the sunflowers planted with help from the kids are still blooming?) The Monday morning playgroup has had very low participation. I am thinking about canceling unless another host comes forth. We are adding a Thursday afternoon (3:30-4:30) playgroup as an experiment, starting this week. Elizabeth Mayer is attempting to form a playgroup for older children, with organized activities.

If you have any questions regarding these or any playgroup activities, please contact Hestia or Patty at parkhillplaygroup@gmail.com.

We extend our best wishes for a speedy recovery to John A, Adrienne D and Ken J who have all undergone surgeries this month.

Please join us in showing our appreciation to those staff members on whom we've counted in 2007. If you would like to participate, please return a separate second check made out to the Racquet Club, along with this tear-off sheet. Note "Holiday Fund" in the comments section of your check. Thank you for your generosity!

Please welcome to our club new members Jacquie & Grant and their daughter Ayana.

Our summer season ended with a beautiful weekend's weather for this year's Labor Day Picnic & Doubles Fun Tournament . Six women's & six men's teams enjoyed a friendly round robin, organized and run by Wendy Bodner, Patty Cecere & Karen Lorence. The top two teams in each division played a final set to determine the winners. The results:

Patty Gamba once again headed up the picnic committee; after taking a couple of hours doing another "Costco run" for the provisions, she worked up a sweat serving up burgers, dogs, chicken & the like. She was assisted at the grill by her brother, Vinnie D'Alessio, Jr., Rosemary Beirne, Jim Beirne & Laura Weinfield. Toni Buono, Jill Feldman & Dot Hackett helped out with carrying & cleanup. We thank everyone for making the day so wonderful for the rest of us! (Next year we'd like to see some new faces in the kitchen.)

A new Park Hill Playgroup season of toddler-oriented activities began last month with another Pot-Luck Party , which has proven to be the best venue for our young families. It was fun (as usual) for the seven families who shared homemade foods, drinks & playtime on September 16 th . More parties are in the works, and are listed in the Playgroup section below.

An Outdoor Movie Night was held to christen our newly-purchased projector. A small group shared a few laughs watching Young Frankenstein and The Pink Panther on a cool, crisp night. We thank Paul Cecere & Mike D'Angelo for setting up the system for us. We would also like to thank Mike for donating some speakers & Karen Lorence for donating a brand new receiver (with surround sound capability) to the club. We could use some more speakers & a sub-woofer in good condition. If you've got some lying around & would like to donate them, please contact the club. Oh - and keep checking your emails for the next Movie Night installment!

Fifty people had a ball at our latest Karaoke Night . Claire Miko & gals were prepared with props, this time for their rendition of the theme from Secret Agent . Trench coats, fedoras & phony handguns made everyone laugh. Richard & Phyllis Cavaliere wowed us with their terrific voices. Actually, every performance that night was worthy of our applause. Thanks again to Patty Gamba (assisted by Robert Moment, Jill Feldman, Adrienne D'Alessio & Claire Miko) for bringing us another fabulous night of songs and laughter.

The Competitive Mixed Doubles Tournament was played on a beautiful September morning. After a couple of postponements, we were pleased to get 10 teams to participate. The finalists went to a three set match. The results:

The Competitive Singles Tournament was also well-represented. Each finalist pair chose to play each other at a later date. Both finals proved to be quite evenly matched three-set affairs. Paul Koors defeated Paul Meissner in the Men's Division. Jill Feldman managed to come back from several match points to win a three hour match against Patty Gamba in the Women's Division.

We have had several winners in our various Competitive and Fun Tournaments over the summer. To celebrate everyone's victories, the Tennis Committee is holding an informal Tennis Awards Breakfast at 9 AM on Saturday, October 6 th . Come, eat, play some tennis & give your friends a round of applause! $10 per person. RSVP NOW to Claire Miko: clarabell711@aol.com

On Saturday, October 13 th , an Indoor Round Robin Tennis Party and Fundraiser will be held at Yonkers Indoor Tennis Center from 8:30 PM till 12:30 AM . All proceeds will be donated to the Yonkers High Schools Boys & Girls Varsity Tennis Teams (a combined team for all five Yonkers high schools). Yonkers Indoor has donated their courts for this event. The donation for this ADULTS ONLY event is $50 per person. Since space is limited, please contact Donna Tahir to see if there is still room. Can't attend? Share your passion for the game by making a donation to Yonkers High Schools Athletic Department . Call Donna for additional information.

The first practice and organizational meeting for our Winter Bowling League will be held Tuesday October 9th at 7:30. The league will begin on Tuesday October 16 th . It doesn't matter whether you're an expert or novice bowler - assigned handicaps even out the playing field. There is a weekly fee which pays for your games and substantial prizes awarded at the end of the season. ALL interested members (both old-timers and newbies) must contact Bowling Chairman Jon Wallen at jwall41@aol.com .

We thank Jon Wallen for presenting a Bowling Operations Mini-Clinic last month. A core group of individuals were taught the basics in order to use the bowling lanes without "official" supervision.

Our Women's Bowling group will continue on a once a month basis. Bowling experience is definitely not necessary. Creative email reports from our fearless leader, Bowlerina, are an added bonus! Next installment will be announced (via email) soon.

The group of young club families (aka the Park Hill Playgroup), headed up by Hestia deVries & Patty Schumann, has announced their upcoming calendar - which is chock full of fun for everyone.

Weekly activities include two playgroup sessions: Monday mornings from 9:30 till 11 AM and Sunday afternoons from 4:30 till 6 PM. Both are headed up by Hestia and are basically unstructured with a story telling finish. If weather permits it is held outside. Hestia welcomes any assistance you can provide.

A Soccer Camp is held by Max Sanchez on the first Sunday of the month from 9 till 10:30 AM. (Bring your own coffee!)

New Years' Day Brunch Playgroup - Tuesday, 1/1/08 from 10 AM till Noon. Details to follow

If you have any questions regarding these or any playgroup activities, please contact Hestia or Patty at parkhillplaygroup@gmail.com.

Please welcome to our club new members Todd, and Chris & Geraldine ... and another little member: congrats to Justine & Greg with the arrival of Louis Henry on the 4th of July.

Our two pros are ready to share their expertise to introduce you to the sport or simply to help you hone up your skills, strategy or endurance. Kirill Kasyanov continues with private or semi-private tennis lessons . Many of our men prefer his strong rallying skills. Please contact him for pricing and available times: kkasyanov@yahoo.com or call 917-207-6332.

Sanae Oyama is offering a host of summer activities; ALL of our members' children are invited to sign up for our Summer Tennis Camp . Come for one week or several. For those of you whose memberships do not currently include tennis, we welcome you to give your children the opportunity to enjoy learning this fun, lifetime sport. Sanae's August sessions are all available for additional campers. If your child gets the "tennis bug" we hope to entice you to take a Full Family membership next year! We've enclosed her flyer for your convenience. Please call Sanae for information on her cell: 917-405-9304 or at Yonkers Indoor Tennis: 914-968-6918 Ext. 315. Sanae offers private and semi-private lessons for adults too! Women will appreciate her gentle, cheerful manner. Her two Friday Cardio Tennis sessions (5-6 or 6-7 PM) are a wonderful way to run off your week's stress buildup. Players of all abilities easily mix together in this format. Pricing: $20 per person with a 6 person maximum per session. Weekly sign-up sheet is on the front porch.

A hazy, muggy day tried our competitors' endurance in the club Singles Tournament on July 29 th . Six women and seven men played in 8-game pro set elimination rounds. Some close matches made for enjoyable watching. Our four finalists chose to have their 3 set matches at a later date; everyone was sweat-soaked and exhausted at the end of the day! The men's finals will be All Paul: Paul Koors vs. Paul Meissner. Our "dueling directors", Patty Gamba & Jill Feldman, will represent the women.

The annual competitive Mixed Doubles Tournament is now scheduled for Saturday August 18 th . Start lining up your partners. E-mail reminders will certainly follow!

Women's bowling is continuing every other Monday night this summer. We welcome any woman who still wants to join us. If you plan on attending on a particular evening, just let Bowlerina (Karen Lorence) know by e-mail: karen@gs-america.com or by phone. We bowl two games, eat snacks, have a beverage and chit-chat, all for $10, which is billed to your account. We start at 7:30 PM and usually finish around 10 PM.

Another beautiful summer's day ushered in our annual Independence Day Picnic and Tournament . A mid-week July 4 th kept many members in town; lots of folks participated in the Mixed Doubles Fun Tournament . Our finalists this year were Robin Ricca & May SooHoo taking First Place with Bob Reape and Kim Buono taking Second Place. Congratulations to our winners and all our participants. Thank you, Paul Meissner, for organizing the tournament.

Our picnic was made possible by a crew of tireless regulars; we thank Claire Miko for chairing the event, Patty Gamba for picking up the food (again), Bob D. for manning the grill, Daphne Romeo for bringing in fruit for our morning's tennis, and general help from Rosemary Beirne, Patty Cecere, Wendy Bodner & Maura Laverty.

This year's New Members' Patio Cocktail Party was considered by many of the 45-50 guests who attended to be one of the best ever. People brought several great dishes & great fellowship, as well. Everyone talked, shared food and played darts late into the night. About five of our newest members made it; for those of you who couldn't - we'll see you next year - but hopefully sooner on the tennis courts, of course!

Another series of Vinyl Nights brought a little music and fun that brightened up our Thursday nights. Food was brought and shared while platters were spun, often bringing a round of song or an impromptu spate of dancing. Although the nights were billed "Adults Only", some of our older kids looked forward to hanging out with club friends too - outdoors, of course! Thank you, Paul Cecere, for being our D.J. each time. Our "Final Vinyl" will be held on Thursday, August 9 th at 7:30 PM.

We invite all our members this Friday July 6 th , to welcome our newest members at the annual outdoor New Members Cocktail Party . Bring an hors d'oeuvre to share.

Our Women's MITL Team has won their C Division, Flight IV with a fabulous 22 win/6 loss record! We thank our Captain Daphne Romeo for her leadership. Flight III, here we come!

An absolutely gorgeous day greeted our teams for the Men's & Women's Doubles Tournament . Four teams for each division played a round robin format. The top teams competed in a finals round later in the day. We congratulate all the winners & hope that every team enjoyed some friendly competition! The results:

The next competitive tournament will be Mixed Doubles, Saturday morning July 14th. Find a partner and sign up on front porch or e-mail Patty Cecere: patriciacecere@yahoo.com .

Kirill Kasyanov, continues with private or semi-private tennis lessons. Please contact him for pricing and available times: kkasyanov@yahoo.com or call 917-207-6332.

Our new pro, Sanae Oyama, is offering a host of summer activities; we've enclosed her flyer which gives information on Adult Clinics, Tots Clinics, Cardio Tennis, Private/Semi-Private Lessons and the Summer Junior Tennis Camp. Please call her for information at 914-968-6918 Ext. 315. Flyer enclosed.

All our tennis players are welcome to attend our weekly Sunday Round Robins throughout the summer. We also encourage folks to come out and play each Tuesday and Thursday evening at 6 PM for impromptu "show-up-and-play" sessions.

A small crew of trivia buffs enjoyed our first Game Night in the lower bar. April Feldman served up a Mexican-Style meal as well as a tome of trivia games. Armed with pencils and answer pads, contestants tallied their responses on several quizzes: spelling, TV trivia, & cocktail ingredients. (What's in a Long Island Iced Tea? You don't want to know!) The evening was finished off with a competition vying the men against the women. It was a lot of laughs! Thank you, April, for coming up with a great idea.

About 30 folks filled our lower bar with songs and laughter at our latest installment of Adult Karaoke . Our regulars keep raising the entertainment bar; each time we think they've put on the best performance possible, they outdo it the next time! Claire Miko, along with sisters Mary & Annette, and her cousin Rosemary, sashayed in sequined sashes to "Walk Like an Egyptian". Their dance routine clearly took a few rehearsals to perfect! The room was rockin' with other excellent performances by Paul Cecere ("Jessie's Girl), Larry Feldman ("You Really Got Me"), and Jill Feldman, with a perfectly stuttered version of "My Generation" as well as "Hotel California". Donna Ventarola, as always, proved her singing chops, this time with "On My Own". And the grand surprise was when Peggy Howland got up and offered stirring renditions of "Climb Every Mountain" and "I Could Have Danced All Night". Who knew? Our thanks go to Patty Gamba for organizing the event. When can we do it again, Patty? .

Bowlerina reports on our first two evenings of Ladies Bowling : Our first evening was a great success, and despite some minor injuries we all came out alive - with some players showing some very impressive bowling chops. We draw particular attention to Miss Holland, who got a strike on the very first frame, and to Miss Mary (Sistah Swingah) for taking Miss Jill's instruction literally and developing a killer technique! There were times when we were taking things a little too seriously - this is supposed to be non-competitive after all - so yours truly made every effort to lower the tone of the evening with ranting and raving and profanity, though I must strenuously object to Miss Patty G's (Power Pat) use of the word "poop," which I think is a little too refined for the atmosphere we are trying to maintain in this league.

After night one, Bowlerina says "Girlfriends, we need to take this to the next level and get proper shoes and bowling balls and keep injuries to a minimum and foolishness to a maximum..." so, what then transpired?... Night two was yet another successful evening - there was music, dancing, romance... Oh wait - that was the Governor's Ball! Silly me! Snaps to Power Pat for zhizzhing it up with her slick new ball and hurling rocks down the lanes! And welcome to Celine Geiger, Sistah's Sistah, who HAS HER OWN BALL and played a very good game, despite exclamations of "I haven't played in 30 years!" We know a ringer when we see one! Miss Loretta is another one of these stealth bowlers... don't let the shoes fool ya! Speaking of fashion - it was disappointing that I didn't see more brand new bowling attire and accessories on our second night - after all, are we women or are we, well, men?! Sheesh. And Ladies, would you wear your husband's shoes to a cocktail party? You know who you are! Speaking of men - a few tried to sneak in and blend in with the crowd - AS IF! The guilty parties were roundly ejected, and we went on to bowl like the Bombshells we are and have a fabulous time.

We implore the ladies of the Club to join us for our next evening of sport, carousing and chit chat on Monday, July 2 at 7:30 PM. Bowlerina says: "It's more important to look good than to bowl good!" See you then!

Everyone has started enjoying the summer months in an informal manner. Half a dozen families got together for a pot-luck picnic on June 24 th . The day included lots of good food, wading pools, cocktails & perfect weather. The children started in the morning attending soccer practice with Coach Max Sanchez and tried out some (very basic) badminton and croquet. (You're never too young to start!) It was a very mellow day.

Our club has another new member to welcome. Congratulations to Mairead Coffey & Bill on the birth of their son, Pierce Thomas, who arrived on June 7th. (Congrats to his sister Eavan too!)

We're sure that everyone has noticed all the changes around the club: our new courtside sign and windscreens, our new net posts on courts 1 and 4, the vastly improved lighting in our parking lot, the kid-friendly pebble flex in the sprinkler pool, and the fresh paint on the patio and around the pool. Our Board of Governors, as well as other volunteers, has worked hard in their spare time to implement these improvements. We all appreciate it!

Sunday Grillin' starts this week. Freshly grilled burgers, hot dogs and veggie burgers will be sold from noon till 4 PM.

We invite all our members to save the date, Friday July 6 th , to welcome our newest members at the annual New Members Cocktail Party . Bring an hors d'oeuvre to share.

Make your child's summer birthday a memorable one. Pool Parties can be arranged through Kevin Fahy, our Head Lifeguard at 914-439-0577. Price is $50 plus $5 per non-member child.

Playgroup families and volunteers enjoyed a sunny day and the company of fellow members at the annual Playgroup Tag Sale . The kids played together, got their faces stamped and got their portraits taken by local professional photographer, Eve Prime, who donated her talents. Adults had an opportunity to empty out their attics and basements and to reconnect for the new summer season. Leftover donations were picked up by Westchester Families/Big Brothers & Big Sisters. We sincerely thank everyone for their generous donations and support: Kieran Michael Brown, Kathryn Buckley, Mairead Coffey, Ray DeAngelis, Patty & Gabriella Gamba, Justine Henry, Annette Maier, Elizabeth Mayer, Robert, Mary Kay, and Madison Moment, Jennifer Ringstad, Daphne Romeo, May SooHoo, and Karin White. These volunteers worked hard either gathering donations, setting up tables, purchasing & selling food, entertaining the children, washing dishes - you name it, they did it! Thank you all! Special thanks go to Patty Schumann, Hestia DeVries and Diane Scott for coordinating the event. Proceeds will be used for club play equipment for the children.

Our Playgroup families are hosting a Disco Ball on Sunday, June 24 th for 0 to 8 year olds. Dance to music with DJ Twindaddy. Snacks, "chill out" rooms, give-aways. All for $10 per person. See enclosed flyer for details.

We are gauging interest for Toddler Soccer, most likely on Sunday mornings. Interested parents should contact us via parkhillplaygroup@gmail.com . Coach Max "Gooooaal" Sanchez has been volunteered to wrangle our budding players.

The Playgroup has a few wading pools in the backyard for members' use and their toddlers' enjoyment. Pools are to be filled before use and must be emptied at days' end by the caregivers. Children must be under STRICT SUPERVISION and accompanied by an adult AT ALL TIMES. (This area is NOT under supervision of our lifeguard staff.) If you have any questions, please contact Hestia DeVries at the above e-mail address. Thank you.

Congratulations to Michael, son of Bob and Lois on his marriage to Tamara on April 22 nd .

Chris, son of Maura and Ken, is graduating from New Rochelle High School. He will be attending New York University.

Jada, daughter of Julio (and Judy), is graduating from The Masters School. She will be attending Northeastern University in Boston.

Lynn, daughter of Paul and Jennifer, is graduating from the Yonkers International Baccalaureate High School as Salutatorian. She will be attending the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Thomas, son of Dana and Tom, grandson of Mary, is graduating from Sacred Heart High School.

Rose, daughter of Todd and Bette, is graduating from the Horace Mann School. She will be attending the University of Michigan.

Emma, daughter of Jon and Kathy, is graduating from the Fieldston School. She will be attending Colby College in Maine.

Helen, our beloved bartender, has received her Bachelor of Arts in Accounting with a minor in Health Care Administration from Herbert H. Lehman College, CUNY.

Lastly, Dr. Jennifer, daughter of Jill and Larry, has received her Doctor of Medicine from New York Medical College. She will perform her 5 year residency in General Surgery at North Shore/Long Island Jewish Hospital.

Spring is in the air, and plenty is already in the works in preparation for another fun-filled "high season" at the Racquet Club. Our Board of Governors has been meeting every three weeks to plan, review, hire-out, and implement a number of improvements in the next few months, including:

Our first Open House was held on Sunday, April 22 nd . We were blessed with a gorgeous day! A Pot Luck Brunch greeted both current and prospective members. Although turnout was small, those who came enjoyed bagels & lox, quiche, matzo brei, homemade cherry cake and more. Thanks go to Rosemary Beirne for organizing the event, along with Maura Laverty, Patty Gamba, Jill Feldman and Jim Beirne, who gave personal tours to our guests, as well as setting up the brunch. We also thank Laura Weinfield and Scotty McCambridge for helping with cleanup.

Although two "official" open house dates remain on the schedule, we remind everyone that every day is a potential open house day. Visitors are welcome to our club anytime. All our members are considered part of the Membership Committee and can show visitors around the club. Membership packets - which include membership fees, answers to FAQ's, and a club brochure - are always available on the lobby table for handout. A solid membership base is crucial to our club's continued success. Do your share to make that happen!

On Sunday, May 20th , the Racquet Club's Playgroup will be hosting a Tag Sale. We will have a concession stand, lemonade stand, face painting & other activities to amuse the children. A portion of the proceeds will go towards play equipment for the children. If you would like to participate, please contact Patty Schumann: parkhillplaygroup@gmail.com or call her at 914-968-9645. Details will follow soon by e-mail.

We welcome another member to our club! Congratulations to Abi W., Stuart M. and family on the birth of their baby girl.

We also congratulate Bette S. for completing the Boston Marathon. What a fabulous achievement!

We announce the marriage of Daphne R's granddaughter, Samantha, wed on April 14th to Dr. Luigi C. We share this proud moment with Daphne!

Our deepest thanks go to Scotty M., Mike M. & Robert M. for taking a day to clean out and cart away the accumulated debris on the Glenbrook side of the club. We also thank Bob R.for repairing the broken water pipe on court 4. We appreciate it!

Lastly, graduation time is upon us, and we want to congratulate all our high school and college graduates on their achievements. If you child is graduating this month or next, please provide me with their name, high school attended (and college acceptance).

	2007-2008 Board of Governors
		Patty Gamba Jill Feldman Patty Cecere Patty Gamba Patty Cecere Vacant	Director Director Director Treasurer Asst. Treasurer Secretary
HOME • Tennis • Pool • Bowling • Social Events • RC Kids • Membership • History • Directions


This is the Mar 07 - Mar 08 Season Newsletter archive Click here to return to the current newsletters FEBRUARY 2008 NEWSLETTER 2008 Season Begins March 1st Our Club’s 2008-2009 membership season begins on March 1st, 2008. Your first dues installment will be billed at that time. This installment privilege is extended as a courtesy to members in good standing. We remind everyone to pay these installments in a timely manner. The Racquet Club counts onthese monies to cover annual insurance payments as well as seasonal set-up costs for the pool and tennis courts. We hope that everyone has enjoyed the club in 2007 and we all look forward to the coming year. If, for any reason, you are not able to continue your membership in 2008, you are required to inform the Racquet Club Board of Governors in writing (or email) by March 1st, 2008. Also, if you are making any changes in your membership classification - upgrade/downgrade/family/single – please let us know now so that Patty Gamba can make the appropriate changes on our Quickbooks account before the new billing cycle. 2008 Committees The Racquet Club depends upon the collaborative effort of ALL of our members. Committees are preparing nowfor the upcoming season. A sampling of these committees are: Membership Development, Member Relations, Social Events, Children’s Activities, Tennis, Pool, Building & Operations, Grounds & Landscaping, Bar, and Bowling. We encourage you to join a committee and do your share to make our club a better one. Even an occasional hour or two can make a huge difference, especially to those of us who have been doing the “lion’s share” of volunteering. If someone calls for your help, please give it good consideration. If you don’t want to wait to be asked, you can let us know your interests by sending an email to parkhillracquetclub@yahoo.com, or by dropping a note with your monthly payment. Thank you! New Members! Please welcome another family to the Racquet Club: Susanne and Stephen S., and their daughters Get Well Soon Vinnie D. had another round of back surgery last week. We hope that he’s doing well and will soon be pain-free. Mary C. is making good progress and getting her strength back after her surgery. We wish her a speedy recuperation too! 110+ Year History of Bowling at our Racquet Club Bowling started at the Park Hill Country Club in 1897. The ledgers, photos and archives of this bowling activity at our club were painstakingly preserved by Charles S and subsequently cared for by Bob R. Bob has decided to turn over these historic documents to the Yonkers Riverfront Library, which already houses an extensive Park Hill collection from Charlie’s estate. I have reviewed these leather-bound ledgers and newspaper clippings and find them to be a fascinating history of our club over the past 100 years – through World Wars, the Great Depression and into the modern era. I am working with both the Park Hill Residents’ Association and the library and will transfer the collection soon, where it will be well cared-for and available to us for special showcase occasions. Sincere thanks go to Bob R and the Shakeshaft Family for making these living documents available to future historians of the Racquet Club on Park Hill. Bowling League Standings As of January 29th, Paul Cecere’s Blue Team has pulled away from the pack and leads the league with a commanding 64 win record. Fred Feldman’s Green Team holds second with 52 wins, Jim Corbett’s Red Team has 48 and Jon Wallen’s Brown Team trails with 32. It’s been an enjoyable, competitive season so far. January Event Recap Two more Friday Movie Nights were held on our big screen in January. Our FOTC (Friends of the Cinema) movie committee conducted in-depth email discussions in order to select the movies to be shown. A return to the quaint olden days of party lines (remember what those are?) and white-gloved dinners took place with the showing of Pillow Talk, starring Doris Day & Rock Hudson. Two weeks later, Big Night was screened, with Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub (of Wings and Monk fame) as Italian brothers trying to make a go of the restaurant business on the Jersey Shore. The food was enough to make your mouth water! The “double feature” of the night was completed with live coverage of the women’s final of the Australian Open. We thank Patty & Paul Cecere for obtaining the films & setting things up for us. Our first Kids’ Saturday Movie Matinee was a great success with 20 kids and almost as many adults in attendance. Armed with juice boxes & goldfish crackers and sitting in small folding chairs, the kids were all really well-behaved watching Madagascar. Those who lost interest in the movie went up into the playroom to play quietly and would pop back in occasionally. The children all got up and danced during the music parts. Parents enjoyed cocktails and snacks on the couches and actually enjoyed the movie too! Others took turns watching the kids in the playroom. Gabriella Gamba did an excellent job of distributing the snacks, corralling the kids and playing with the younger ones in the playroom. It was fun – for everyone! Our thanks go to Patty Schumann & Dave Steck for making it all happen. Our annual Indoor Tennis Party was again held at Yonkers Indoor on a chilly January night. More than 30 players joined in a four hour round robin session. All six courts were active all night long with six-game match ups. Groups were continually formed at random as players came off the courts. It all ran quite smoothly, thanks to Wendy Bodner’s organization, and a little “fortification” of fabulous finger food, soft drinks & wine too! The kids had a great time at our first Kid’s Bowling Party. A light attendance gave the kids many turns on the lanes. Thanks go to Stuart M for maintaining order and troubleshooting the pin setters, to Nora B for volunteering to supervise the children outdoors when they decided to take a “bowling break” in the playground, and especially to Karin W for organizing the day. Playgroup Sessions Continue The playgroup meets for three sessions per week: Sundays 4-6 PM, Mondays 9:30-11 AM, and on Thursdays 3:30-4:30 PM. Check with Hestia DeVries for any changes or cancellations JANUARY 2008 NEWSLETTER New Members! Please welcome another family to the Racquet Club: Siobhan & Adam L., and their daughters Hailey and Ava December Event Recap Our holiday season couldn't get started without the hours of decorating time donated by a small group of creative members. Our thanks go to Matt Krawiec, Karin White, Kieran Michael Brown, Hestia DeVries, Dot Hackett, Laura Weinfield, Paul Meissner, Jennifer Ringstad, and Patty & Gabriella Gamba for "festivizing" the ballroom. Paul Cecere spent a couple of hours setting up the projector for children to watch Polar Express while their parents helped out decorating the ballroom. He & Jill Feldman transformed the lower bar with hand-made bird ornaments hung from the ceiling, new larger-than-life decorations (donated by Dennis Lindsey & Greg Vann) on the front windows, our popular bar wreath, as well as other various table arrangements. Mike D'Angelo donated the tree in the lobby. We have amassed a great collection of seasonal trimmings through members' generosity. About 30 people joined together to celebrate the season at our annual Holiday Pot-Luck Cocktail Party . The decorations wowed all of us as we entered the bar, many of us wishing that we could have them up year-round. We had a feast which varied from Patty Gamba's water chestnuts wrapped in bacon and covered in BBQ sauce, Kathryn Buckley's mixed spiced nuts and sugar-coated cranberries to Bobby D's desserts. That's D for delicious! An array of delectable food was sampled throughout the evening. Some of the food contributions: chicken satay, sweet & sour meatballs, pasta salad, shrimp, Asian spring rolls, bread & pate spreads, cheese & crackers, crudités & more. We have quite a few chefs at the Racquet Club. Fiona served up drinks and Paul Cecere kept the music playing. Some guests stayed after midnight. Thank you, everyone, for your contributions & thank you, April Feldman, for organizing the night! Event Recap The playgroup's Cookies & Cocoa party on December 9 th was a great success with over a dozen families attending. Pre-baked gingerbread cookies were decorated by the children, and the few cookies that were not immediately eaten were taken home to serve as Christmas decorations. A simple buffet and, of course, hot chocolate milk were also enjoyed. The ambience was very festive, largely thanks to the decorations and lights, and the helpful crew of mothers' helpers (Morgan, Madison, Christopher & Gabriella) dressed in red & white. The older kids had great fun bowling with bumpers. Thanks go to Stuart for the bowling supervision, Laura for help with the set-up, Patty G. for welcoming guests, and Patty S., Karin, Annette and Hestia for the cooking and baking. After a week's weather delay, our family-favorite Breakfast With Santa still had a good turnout. Patty Gamba, Adrienne D'Alessio, Jim Beirne & Nora Beirne got the room set up for the party. 28 kids and 37 adults attended. Santa (Jim) seemed to be wrestling with his beard during the delivery of presents. A little two-sided tape seemed to do the trick. Thanks, Hestia, for the quick thinking! We had plenty of food: spiral ham and quiches were a big hit. Donna Ventarola again led a piano-accompanied sing-along. Many members contributed to My Sister's Place. We thank them for their generosity and spirit-of-giving. Rosemary & Jim Beirne delivered the gifts to the shelter in time for Christmas. Lots of folks pitched in for clean up after the party. We thank Patty Gamba, once again, for leading the team for a wonderful day. Several families enjoyed a few hours of playtime and talk time at the New Year's Day Brunch , hosted by the playgroup. Our vast collection of ride-on, slide-on, jump-on, make-believe, educational and not-so-educational toys were shared by the tots while mommies & daddies discussed all the topics that needed discussing. A spread of brunch-type pastries, muffins & breads were downed with cups of hot coffee, mimosas & bloody Mary's. Our thanks go to Patty Schumann & Hestia DeVries for organization, set up and clean up. Playgroup News The playgroup meets for three sessions per week: Sundays 4-6 PM, Mondays 9:30-11 AM, and the newest session on Thursdays 3:30-4:30 PM. Time slots will be continued (or eliminated) as attendance dictates. Everyone appreciates the dedicated job that Hestia DeVries has been performing by opening and closing the club and supervising all of our playgroup sessions. Thank you so much, Hestia. Bowling News The 16 members of our Bowling League are in two heated battles. Paul Cecere's Blue Team (41/29) is still nosing-out Fred Feldman's Green Team (40/39) for first place. Jim Corbett's Red Team (29/41) is nipping at Jon Wallen's Brown Team's (30/40) heels for third. At this early stage of the season, it's too hard to make any predictions. Notable "highs" for the season so far: Youngsters from toddlers to teens are invited to attend our first Kids' Bowling Party on Saturday, January 26 th from 2 till 4 PM. See the attached flyer. Now that we have bowling bumpers, we are encouraging people to spend some quality time with the family. If you are interested in using the lanes with your kids and are unfamiliar with procedure, please contact Jon Wallen for pertinent information. The bowling lanes are available for open bowling on Sunday afternoons when the bartender is on duty. owlerina promised us a Year-End Round Up . Alas, she reports that she has overextended herself again, but will send us something soon! Get Well Soon We extend our best wishes for speedy recoveries to Mary C and Aodhan B on their recent surgeries. Thank you! We thank Adrienne and Vinnie D'Alessio for their most generous donation of $1000 to the Racquet Club. This money is earmarked towards the cost of purchasing a new shed for our tennis roller and equipment. An industrious team of six put their "shoulders to the fence" and took down our windscreens for the winter. We thank April & Fred Feldman, Patty & Paul Cecere, Wendy Bodner & Jim Beirne. (Fred & Jim's height came in handy too!) Everything was accomplished in a little over an hour, which included folding the screens and storing them away. DECEMBER 2007 NEWSLETTER Holiday Fund Please join us in showing our appreciation to those staff members (houseman, bartenders, and lifeguards) on whom we've counted in 2007. If you would like to participate, please return a separate second check made out to the Racquet Club, along with the tear-off sheet at the end of the newsletter. Note "Holiday Fund" in the comments section of your check. They will appreciate your generosity this holiday season. November Event Recap About 30 folks (mostly children) took part in our second session of Family Karaoke . Parents and kids alike took turns at the mike. The most popular choices were from Disney's High School Musical , High School Musical II , and the Cheetah Girls . Noteworthy performances (in no particular order) included: Alicia Figura - "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes", Anthony Figura & Christopher Gamba - "I Don't Dance", Vincent Ventarola "The Black Parade", The Moment Family - "I Won't Back Down", St. Ann's 6 th Grade Girls - "Celebration", Christopher Gamba - "Runnin' With The Devil", and Robert Moment trying to sing "Over The Moon" (from Rent) in between every song ! Everyone feasted on pizza, chips, dips & homemade brownies. Thanks again, Patty Gamba for taking care of everything! Ou r "ad hoc" Winterizing Committee performed a well-coordinated group effort a couple of weeks ago. Heavy plastic sheeting (donated by Fred & Larry Feldman) was attached to all the windows in the ballroom, kitchen, snack kitchen & office. Claire Miko, Katherine Haas, Andrew James & Karin White did the most difficult job of holding the plastic over their heads to staple it on! Richard Haas did a killer job of measuring. Maura Laverty kept us all well-fed with hors d'oeuvres. Karin went up & down those ladders like a real pro - oh right, she IS a pro! Great job on the duct-taping too, Karin. Bob D. helped outdoors to get the windows screwed tightly closed. Of course, Jill had the important job of installing staples into the staplers & generally pointing out what needed to be done! Laura Weinfield came by a little later on & helped Claire do the finishing touch of taping the kitchen window. It was all accomplished in ninety-or-so minutes. Thank you everyone! Two events were offered over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend this year. Bonfire Night was well-attended that Friday. About 30 people, consisting of both established and new members, enjoyed mulled apple cider, S'mores, clam dip, baked bananas and more tidbits which were generously contributed. Sparklers and other harmless light sources were enjoyed. We thank everyone for their participation, Charles Baker for the wood and Robert Moment for organizing the evening. After a week's postponement, Lebowski Fest II was held for about 15 bowlers. After a couple of regular games, bowling got much cozier when guests shared a "Scotch" game on two lanes. These bowlers were serious - about having a good time! We thank Jason Feldman for lending his MP 3 player (and his collection of tunes), Patty Gamba, Deane Prouty & Paul Meissner for helping to set up the lights, etc. in the bowling alley, Paul Cecere for helping break things down, Jill Feldman for helping to organize the bowlers & Karen Lorence for running the whole shindig! Bowlerina promises a Year-End Round Up in our next issue. More Bowling News Nuts & Bolts - The lanes have been undergoing a general refurbishment, and have already proven to be more reliable. Tuesday evenings are more stress-free with fewer adjustments or repairs. Remember the loud squeaking that we all used to endure? It's gone! We will continue to keep the lanes operating smoothly with regularly scheduled tune-ups. Some of our regular bowlers - Fred Feldman, Karen Lorence, Paul Cecere, Paul Meissner & Jill Feldman -donated last year's winnings to pay a good chunk of this major overhaul. We appreciate their generosity. Bring the Kids - Several of our parents had taken advantage of Jon Wallen's maintenance clinic in September, and are now getting the chance to spend quality time bowling with their children. To encourage more family bowling, the club has bought enough lightweight piping to serve as bowling bumpers for one lane. It's a great way for the children to practice their skills without being discouraged by gutter balls. We thank Karin White for researching options & making the purchase. If you are interested in using the lanes with your kids, please contact Jon Wallen (jwall41@aol.com or 914-476-8675) for pertinent information. Women's Bowling Night continues all winter too. If you want to get out and let your hair down, this is the time to do it. We invite women to join us for talk, wine & a couple of games. Generally, these sessions will be celebrated once a month; you will receive email confirmations a few days before each session. Playgroup News The playgroup is now meeting for three sessions per week: Sundays 4-6 PM, Mondays 9:30-11 AM, and the newest session on Thursdays 3:30-4:30 PM. Time slots will be continued (or eliminated) as attendance dictates. Some new families have been attending the group and are interested in joining the club! The next playgroup party is the second annual Cookies & Cocoa Party , which is scheduled for Sunday December 9 th from 4-6 PM. Older children are invited to come too - bowling (with bumpers) will be offered for a small additional charge. See attached flyer for details & RSVP information. Family Karaoke report contributed by Patty Gamba. Bonfire Night report contributed by Robert Moment. Any news to tell? Contact Jill Feldman at jillfeld52@hotmail.com or 914-423-3328 __________________________________________________________________________ Tennis Die Hards A few hearty souls have been sighted this month. Jim Beirne & Todd Sacktor were seen on Court 3 as late as November 18 th (even though it was in the 40s). They even took the time to sweep up after themselves! Now that's dedicated. Bob Reape & friends have donned their gloves & braved the cold almost every morning this month to get a game together. What a nice, long season it has been! New Wines Premium red wines are now available at our bar, and are sold only by the bottle: Kunde Estate Merlot Estancia Cabernet Sauvignon Our house wine selection now includes Jacob's Creek Cabernet Sauvignon. More wines will be available soon! __ Holiday Fund Contributions will be distributed to houseman, lifeguards & bartenders. Thank you for your generosity! Name_______________________________Check # _________Amt._________ NOVEMBER 2007 NEWSLETTER New Members Jacquie J & Grant C and their daughter, Ayana Jason Feldman Event Report A small group of folks gathered on a lovely evening for this year's Oktoberfest. Strings of lights & homemade banners gave our front porch area a biergarten atmosphere. Homemade brats, potato salad & apple strudel were washed down with several helpings of "lemon drops". We thank Patty Schumann for preparing the food and organizing the event, Maura Laverty for her tray of brats & Hestia DeVries for the decorations. A gang of football buffs partook in our Giants/Jets Tailgate Party . The club was bustling both inside and out with a football pool & trivia contest, dominoes on the front porch, tennis games & plenty of eating. Our thanks go to Scotty McCambridge, who spent much of the weekend preparing a feast which included delicious deep-fried turkey. We thank Mike Karol for organizing the event and for frying up the turkeys by the pool. Mm mm good! A "baker's dozen" of moviegoers got cozy on the couches to watch The Uninvited at our latest Movie Night. We thank Paul Cecere for setting up the show, as well as Mike Karol, for obtaining the film as well as an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents . We'll be showing more movies around once a month over the winter. Watch for email notices! Patty Gamba reports: Thanks to all our volunteers for making this year's Kids Halloween Party run smoothly and successfully. Our final count was 58 adults and 58 children. The party was great in spite of what seemed like one hurdle after another: • Oriental trading sent the wrong stuff! - Rosemary Beirne came to the rescue with help from past years' leftover crafts. • Costco had a power outage! - Luckily, Ilene Rosenthal picked up the cakes in time to divert a catastrophe. • The balloon shop was closed on Sunday! - Hestia DeVries ran around and found some replacement balloons. • A flat tire for parade leader Ray DeAngelis! - Mike Karol stepped in and led the kids around the block. Sunny the Clown was the highlight of the day, leading the children in songs and dances. "Bubble wrap freeze dancing" was especially well-received. Everyone got to do crafts & went home with personal pumpkins and goodie bags. It was a wonderful day! Additional thank yous go to Mary Kay Moment for picking up paper goods, to Patty Schumann for getting the pumpkins, to Ray DeAngelis for pumpkin carving, and to Abi Wright, Diane Scott et al for general setup and cleanup. The club thanks Patty Gamba for once again heading up the Halloween committee. Her efforts included taking reservations & door check in, orchestrating ballroom decorating, supervising purchases, preparing goodie bags and more. Several "no-shows" & "show-ups" made the committee's job much more difficult with additional runs to the stores for last-minute supplies. We urge members to RSVP on time & to honor those reservations for future parties. Bowling The Tuesday night Winter Bowling League is now under way. The captains and their teams: Jim C , Bob R, Tom H, Charles B Jon W , Toni B, Paul M, Deane P Paul C , Karen L, Ralph F, John C Fred F , Jason F, John C, Jill F Our teams enjoy a weekly three-string match up, which is enhanced with cable tv coverage of the evening's sports, background music provided by Paul Cecere and "newcomer" Jason Feldman, snacks & bar service, and the added bonus of weekly highlight coverage by our own Bowlerina. Women's Bowling Night continues on a once a month basis. All women are invited to join us for talk, wine & a couple of games. Our next session is Wednesday November 14 th at 7:30 PM. Email reminders will be sent. Lebowski Fest II (otherwise known as Adult Bowling) is scheduled for Saturday November 17 th at 8PM. Thank You! We thank our Grounds Committee of two, Hestia DeVries & Jennifer Ringstad. Hestia donated some spring-flowering bulbs to the club & they both took a couple of hours on a Sunday to plant them. We'll all appreciate their work next April! Tennis Finale About 25 people attended the Tennis Awards Breakfast last month . Muffins, bagels, lox & more were served up on the front porch. Those tournament winners who didn't want a trophy were given "IOU"s for a choice of Racquet Club towel, visor or hat instead. Everyone enjoyed a day of fine tennis as well. We thank Claire Miko & the tennis committee for organizing the breakfast & for running all the tournaments this year. Playgroup Activities Hestia DeVries reports: The Sunday afternoon playgroup has a steady group of about 4 families participating. We have been playing outside because of the fantabulous weather. (Did you notice the sunflowers planted with help from the kids are still blooming?) The Monday morning playgroup has had very low participation. I am thinking about canceling unless another host comes forth. We are adding a Thursday afternoon (3:30-4:30) playgroup as an experiment, starting this week. Elizabeth Mayer is attempting to form a playgroup for older children, with organized activities. Next Events on the Playgroup Calendar: Disco Ball - Toddler Dance Extravaganza! Date & details to be announced Cookies & Cocoa Sunday 12/9 4 till 6 PM Decorate (and eat) gingerbread cookies This was a lot of fun last year. Price: $10 per child New Years' Day Brunch Playgroup Tuesday, 1/1/08 10 AM till Noon Nurse your hangover while the kids play! Details to follow If you have any questions regarding these or any playgroup activities, please contact Hestia or Patty at parkhillplaygroup@gmail.com. Get Well Soon We extend our best wishes for a speedy recovery to John A, Adrienne D and Ken J who have all undergone surgeries this month. Any news to tell? Contact Jill Feldman at jillfeld52@hotmail.com or 914-423-3328 ______________________________________________________________________________ Holiday Fund Please join us in showing our appreciation to those staff members on whom we've counted in 2007. If you would like to participate, please return a separate second check made out to the Racquet Club, along with this tear-off sheet. Note "Holiday Fund" in the comments section of your check. Thank you for your generosity! Name_________________________________Check #_________Amt._________ OCTOBER 2007 NEWSLETTER Please welcome to our club new members Jacquie & Grant and their daughter Ayana. Event Report Our summer season ended with a beautiful weekend's weather for this year's Labor Day Picnic & Doubles Fun Tournament . Six women's & six men's teams enjoyed a friendly round robin, organized and run by Wendy Bodner, Patty Cecere & Karen Lorence. The top two teams in each division played a final set to determine the winners. The results: Women's Division 1 st Place Georgia Stamoulis & her friend, Melena 2 nd Place Lois Reape & Jill Feldman Men's Division 1 st Place Paul Meissner & Joe Gamba 2 nd Place Charles Baker & Patty Cecere Patty graciously "subbed" for us!! Patty Gamba once again headed up the picnic committee; after taking a couple of hours doing another "Costco run" for the provisions, she worked up a sweat serving up burgers, dogs, chicken & the like. She was assisted at the grill by her brother, Vinnie D'Alessio, Jr., Rosemary Beirne, Jim Beirne & Laura Weinfield. Toni Buono, Jill Feldman & Dot Hackett helped out with carrying & cleanup. We thank everyone for making the day so wonderful for the rest of us! (Next year we'd like to see some new faces in the kitchen.) A new Park Hill Playgroup season of toddler-oriented activities began last month with another Pot-Luck Party , which has proven to be the best venue for our young families. It was fun (as usual) for the seven families who shared homemade foods, drinks & playtime on September 16 th . More parties are in the works, and are listed in the Playgroup section below. An Outdoor Movie Night was held to christen our newly-purchased projector. A small group shared a few laughs watching Young Frankenstein and The Pink Panther on a cool, crisp night. We thank Paul Cecere & Mike D'Angelo for setting up the system for us. We would also like to thank Mike for donating some speakers & Karen Lorence for donating a brand new receiver (with surround sound capability) to the club. We could use some more speakers & a sub-woofer in good condition. If you've got some lying around & would like to donate them, please contact the club. Oh - and keep checking your emails for the next Movie Night installment! Fifty people had a ball at our latest Karaoke Night . Claire Miko & gals were prepared with props, this time for their rendition of the theme from Secret Agent . Trench coats, fedoras & phony handguns made everyone laugh. Richard & Phyllis Cavaliere wowed us with their terrific voices. Actually, every performance that night was worthy of our applause. Thanks again to Patty Gamba (assisted by Robert Moment, Jill Feldman, Adrienne D'Alessio & Claire Miko) for bringing us another fabulous night of songs and laughter. Tennis The Competitive Mixed Doubles Tournament was played on a beautiful September morning. After a couple of postponements, we were pleased to get 10 teams to participate. The finalists went to a three set match. The results: First Place - Patty Cecere & Joe Harbeson Second Place - Wendy Bodner & Fred Feldman The Competitive Singles Tournament was also well-represented. Each finalist pair chose to play each other at a later date. Both finals proved to be quite evenly matched three-set affairs. Paul Koors defeated Paul Meissner in the Men's Division. Jill Feldman managed to come back from several match points to win a three hour match against Patty Gamba in the Women's Division. We have had several winners in our various Competitive and Fun Tournaments over the summer. To celebrate everyone's victories, the Tennis Committee is holding an informal Tennis Awards Breakfast at 9 AM on Saturday, October 6 th . Come, eat, play some tennis & give your friends a round of applause! $10 per person. RSVP NOW to Claire Miko: clarabell711@aol.com On Saturday, October 13 th , an Indoor Round Robin Tennis Party and Fundraiser will be held at Yonkers Indoor Tennis Center from 8:30 PM till 12:30 AM . All proceeds will be donated to the Yonkers High Schools Boys & Girls Varsity Tennis Teams (a combined team for all five Yonkers high schools). Yonkers Indoor has donated their courts for this event. The donation for this ADULTS ONLY event is $50 per person. Since space is limited, please contact Donna Tahir to see if there is still room. Can't attend? Share your passion for the game by making a donation to Yonkers High Schools Athletic Department . Call Donna for additional information. Bowling The first practice and organizational meeting for our Winter Bowling League will be held Tuesday October 9th at 7:30. The league will begin on Tuesday October 16 th . It doesn't matter whether you're an expert or novice bowler - assigned handicaps even out the playing field. There is a weekly fee which pays for your games and substantial prizes awarded at the end of the season. ALL interested members (both old-timers and newbies) must contact Bowling Chairman Jon Wallen at jwall41@aol.com . We thank Jon Wallen for presenting a Bowling Operations Mini-Clinic last month. A core group of individuals were taught the basics in order to use the bowling lanes without "official" supervision. Our Women's Bowling group will continue on a once a month basis. Bowling experience is definitely not necessary. Creative email reports from our fearless leader, Bowlerina, are an added bonus! Next installment will be announced (via email) soon. Playgroup Activities The group of young club families (aka the Park Hill Playgroup), headed up by Hestia deVries & Patty Schumann, has announced their upcoming calendar - which is chock full of fun for everyone. Weekly activities include two playgroup sessions: Monday mornings from 9:30 till 11 AM and Sunday afternoons from 4:30 till 6 PM. Both are headed up by Hestia and are basically unstructured with a story telling finish. If weather permits it is held outside. Hestia welcomes any assistance you can provide. A Soccer Camp is held by Max Sanchez on the first Sunday of the month from 9 till 10:30 AM. (Bring your own coffee!) Several special events have been planned for the rest of the year as well: Halloween Costume Swap/Donation Sunday 10/14 from 4:30 till 6 PM. Cookies will be baked on the premises! Disco Ball - Toddler Dance Extravaganza! Date & details to be announced Cookies & Cocoa Sunday 12/9 from 4 till 6 PM - $5 per child New Years' Day Brunch Playgroup - Tuesday, 1/1/08 from 10 AM till Noon. Details to follow If you have any questions regarding these or any playgroup activities, please contact Hestia or Patty at parkhillplaygroup@gmail.com. Any news to tell? Contact Jill Feldman at jillfeld52@hotmail.com AUGUST 2007 NEWSLETTER Please welcome to our club new members Todd, and Chris & Geraldine ... and another little member: congrats to Justine & Greg with the arrival of Louis Henry on the 4th of July. TENNIS Our two pros are ready to share their expertise to introduce you to the sport or simply to help you hone up your skills, strategy or endurance. Kirill Kasyanov continues with private or semi-private tennis lessons . Many of our men prefer his strong rallying skills. Please contact him for pricing and available times: kkasyanov@yahoo.com or call 917-207-6332. Sanae Oyama is offering a host of summer activities; *ALL* of our members' children are invited to sign up for our Summer Tennis Camp . Come for one week or several. For those of you whose memberships do not currently include tennis, we welcome you to give your children the opportunity to enjoy learning this fun, lifetime sport. Sanae's August sessions are all available for additional campers. If your child gets the "tennis bug" we hope to entice you to take a Full Family membership next year! We've enclosed her flyer for your convenience. Please call Sanae for information on her cell: 917-405-9304 or at Yonkers Indoor Tennis: 914-968-6918 Ext. 315. Sanae offers private and semi-private lessons for adults too! Women will appreciate her gentle, cheerful manner. Her two Friday Cardio Tennis sessions (5-6 or 6-7 PM) are a wonderful way to run off your week's stress buildup. Players of all abilities easily mix together in this format. Pricing: $20 per person with a 6 person maximum per session. Weekly sign-up sheet is on the front porch. A hazy, muggy day tried our competitors' endurance in the club Singles Tournament on July 29 th . Six women and seven men played in 8-game pro set elimination rounds. Some close matches made for enjoyable watching. Our four finalists chose to have their 3 set matches at a later date; everyone was sweat-soaked and exhausted at the end of the day! The men's finals will be All Paul: Paul Koors vs. Paul Meissner. Our "dueling directors", Patty Gamba & Jill Feldman, will represent the women. The annual competitive Mixed Doubles Tournament is now scheduled for Saturday August 18 th . Start lining up your partners. E-mail reminders will certainly follow! BOWLING Women's bowling is continuing every other Monday night this summer. We welcome any woman who still wants to join us. If you plan on attending on a particular evening, just let Bowlerina (Karen Lorence) know by e-mail: karen@gs-america.com or by phone. We bowl two games, eat snacks, have a beverage and chit-chat, all for $10, which is billed to your account. We start at 7:30 PM and usually finish around 10 PM. EVENT REPORT Another beautiful summer's day ushered in our annual Independence Day Picnic and Tournament . A mid-week July 4 th kept many members in town; lots of folks participated in the Mixed Doubles Fun Tournament . Our finalists this year were Robin Ricca & May SooHoo taking First Place with Bob Reape and Kim Buono taking Second Place. Congratulations to our winners and all our participants. Thank you, Paul Meissner, for organizing the tournament. Our picnic was made possible by a crew of tireless regulars; we thank Claire Miko for chairing the event, Patty Gamba for picking up the food (again), Bob D. for manning the grill, Daphne Romeo for bringing in fruit for our morning's tennis, and general help from Rosemary Beirne, Patty Cecere, Wendy Bodner & Maura Laverty. This year's New Members' Patio Cocktail Party was considered by many of the 45-50 guests who attended to be one of the best ever. People brought several great dishes & great fellowship, as well. Everyone talked, shared food and played darts late into the night. About five of our newest members made it; for those of you who couldn't - we'll see you next year - but hopefully sooner on the tennis courts, of course! Another series of Vinyl Nights brought a little music and fun that brightened up our Thursday nights. Food was brought and shared while platters were spun, often bringing a round of song or an impromptu spate of dancing. Although the nights were billed "Adults Only", some of our older kids looked forward to hanging out with club friends too - outdoors, of course! Thank you, Paul Cecere, for being our D.J. each time. Our "Final Vinyl" will be held on Thursday, August 9 th at 7:30 PM. *New* Summer Bar Hours Monday - Friday : 3 PM till closing Saturday - Sunday : Noon till closing Pool Café (lower bar): Open for families every day 3 till 6 PM microwaveable foods, snacks & iced treats, as well as beverages (both soft and alcoholic) JULY 2007 NEWSLETTER Please welcome two more families: Dennis & Marci, their children, Brianna & Jason, and Anne Lena & Family: Angelo, Gina Marie, Joseph & Adrianna We invite all our members this Friday July 6 th , to welcome our newest members at the annual outdoor New Members Cocktail Party . Bring an hors d'oeuvre to share. Tennis Our Women's MITL Team has won their C Division, Flight IV with a fabulous 22 win/6 loss record! We thank our Captain Daphne Romeo for her leadership. Flight III, here we come! An absolutely gorgeous day greeted our teams for the Men's & Women's Doubles Tournament . Four teams for each division played a round robin format. The top teams competed in a finals round later in the day. We congratulate all the winners & hope that every team enjoyed some friendly competition! The results: Men's Division 1st Place: Paul Koors & Jon Wallen 2nd Place: Deane Prouty & Harry Shen Women's Division 1st Place: Claire Miko & Jill Feldman 2nd Place: April Feldman & Patty Cecere The next competitive tournament will be Mixed Doubles, Saturday morning July 14th. Find a partner and sign up on front porch or e-mail Patty Cecere: patriciacecere@yahoo.com . Kirill Kasyanov, continues with private or semi-private tennis lessons. Please contact him for pricing and available times: kkasyanov@yahoo.com or call 917-207-6332. Our new pro, Sanae Oyama, is offering a host of summer activities; we've enclosed her flyer which gives information on Adult Clinics, Tots Clinics, Cardio Tennis, Private/Semi-Private Lessons and the Summer Junior Tennis Camp. Please call her for information at 914-968-6918 Ext. 315. Flyer enclosed. All our tennis players are welcome to attend our weekly Sunday Round Robins throughout the summer. We also encourage folks to come out and play each Tuesday and Thursday evening at 6 PM for impromptu "show-up-and-play" sessions. Event Report A small crew of trivia buffs enjoyed our first Game Night in the lower bar. April Feldman served up a Mexican-Style meal as well as a tome of trivia games. Armed with pencils and answer pads, contestants tallied their responses on several quizzes: spelling, TV trivia, & cocktail ingredients. (What's in a Long Island Iced Tea? You don't want to know!) The evening was finished off with a competition vying the men against the women. It was a lot of laughs! Thank you, April, for coming up with a great idea. About 30 folks filled our lower bar with songs and laughter at our latest installment of Adult Karaoke . Our regulars keep raising the entertainment bar; each time we think they've put on the best performance possible, they outdo it the next time! Claire Miko, along with sisters Mary & Annette, and her cousin Rosemary, sashayed in sequined sashes to "Walk Like an Egyptian". Their dance routine clearly took a few rehearsals to perfect! The room was rockin' with other excellent performances by Paul Cecere ("Jessie's Girl), Larry Feldman ("You Really Got Me"), and Jill Feldman, with a perfectly stuttered version of "My Generation" as well as "Hotel California". Donna Ventarola, as always, proved her singing chops, this time with "On My Own". And the grand surprise was when Peggy Howland got up and offered stirring renditions of "Climb Every Mountain" and "I Could Have Danced All Night". Who knew? Our thanks go to Patty Gamba for organizing the event. When can we do it again, Patty? . Bowling *Bowlerina reports on our first two evenings of Ladies Bowling :* Our first evening was a great success, and despite some minor injuries we all came out alive - with some players showing some very impressive bowling chops. We draw particular attention to Miss Holland, who got a strike on the very first frame, and to Miss Mary (Sistah Swingah) for taking Miss Jill's instruction literally and developing a killer technique! There were times when we were taking things a little too seriously - this is supposed to be non-competitive after all - so yours truly made every effort to lower the tone of the evening with ranting and raving and profanity, though I must strenuously object to Miss Patty G's (Power Pat) use of the word "poop," which I think is a little too refined for the atmosphere we are trying to maintain in this league. After night one, Bowlerina says "Girlfriends, we need to take this to the next level and get proper shoes and bowling balls and keep injuries to a minimum and foolishness to a maximum..." so, what then transpired?... Night two was yet another successful evening - there was music, dancing, romance... Oh wait - that was the Governor's Ball! Silly me! Snaps to Power Pat for zhizzhing it up with her slick new ball and hurling rocks down the lanes! And welcome to Celine Geiger, Sistah's Sistah, who HAS HER OWN BALL and played a very good game, despite exclamations of "I haven't played in 30 years!" We know a ringer when we see one! Miss Loretta is another one of these stealth bowlers... don't let the shoes fool ya! Speaking of fashion - it was disappointing that I didn't see more brand new bowling attire and accessories on our second night - after all, are we women or are we, well, men?! Sheesh. And Ladies, would you wear your husband's shoes to a cocktail party? You know who you are! Speaking of men - a few tried to sneak in and blend in with the crowd - AS IF! The guilty parties were roundly ejected, and we went on to bowl like the Bombshells we are and have a fabulous time. We implore the ladies of the Club to join us for our next evening of sport, carousing and chit chat on Monday, July 2 at 7:30 PM. Bowlerina says: "It's more important to look good than to bowl good!" See you then! Playgroup Activities Everyone has started enjoying the summer months in an informal manner. Half a dozen families got together for a pot-luck picnic on June 24 th . The day included lots of good food, wading pools, cocktails & perfect weather. The children started in the morning attending soccer practice with Coach Max Sanchez and tried out some (very basic) badminton and croquet. (You're never too young to start!) It was a very mellow day. Congratulations! Our club has another new member to welcome. Congratulations to Mairead Coffey & Bill on the birth of their son, Pierce Thomas, who arrived on June 7th. (Congrats to his sister Eavan too!) JUNE 2007 NEWSLETTER Our Fresh New Look We're sure that everyone has noticed all the changes around the club: our new courtside sign and windscreens, our new net posts on courts 1 and 4, the vastly improved lighting in our parking lot, the kid-friendly pebble flex in the sprinkler pool, and the fresh paint on the patio and around the pool. Our Board of Governors, as well as other volunteers, has worked hard in their spare time to implement these improvements. We all appreciate it! Summer Bar Hours Monday - Friday at 6 PM Saturday - Sunday at Noon Sunday Grillin' starts this week. Freshly grilled burgers, hot dogs and veggie burgers will be sold from noon till 4 PM. Pool Hours Saturdays & Sundays in June 6/2, 6/3, 6/9, 6/10, 6/16, 6/17 11 AM TO 7 PM Monday - Friday 6/18 - 6/22 2 PM TO 7 PM Full-Time Hours start Saturday 6/23 Open Daily 11 AM TO 7 PM Wednesdays & Fridays TILL 8 PM New Members Please welcome more new members and the return of one dear friend: Holland and Loretta, and Loretta's mom, Esther Noreen and her son, Matthew Celine (welcome back Celine!) Regina, her daughter, Wendy and Regina's mom, Jean Harry We invite all our members to save the date, Friday July 6 th , to welcome our newest members at the annual New Members Cocktail Party . Bring an hors d'oeuvre to share. POOL PARTIES Make your child's summer birthday a memorable one. Pool Parties can be arranged through Kevin Fahy, our Head Lifeguard at 914-439-0577. Price is $50 plus $5 per non-member child. Playgroup Tag Sale Playgroup families and volunteers enjoyed a sunny day and the company of fellow members at the annual Playgroup Tag Sale . The kids played together, got their faces stamped and got their portraits taken by local professional photographer, Eve Prime, who donated her talents. Adults had an opportunity to empty out their attics and basements and to reconnect for the new summer season. Leftover donations were picked up by Westchester Families/Big Brothers & Big Sisters. We sincerely thank everyone for their generous donations and support: Kieran Michael Brown, Kathryn Buckley, Mairead Coffey, Ray DeAngelis, Patty & Gabriella Gamba, Justine Henry, Annette Maier, Elizabeth Mayer, Robert, Mary Kay, and Madison Moment, Jennifer Ringstad, Daphne Romeo, May SooHoo, and Karin White. These volunteers worked hard either gathering donations, setting up tables, purchasing & selling food, entertaining the children, washing dishes - you name it, they did it! Thank you all! Special thanks go to Patty Schumann, Hestia DeVries and Diane Scott for coordinating the event. Proceeds will be used for club play equipment for the children. Playgroup Activities Our Playgroup families are hosting a Disco Ball on Sunday, June 24 th for 0 to 8 year olds. Dance to music with DJ Twindaddy. Snacks, "chill out" rooms, give-aways. All for $10 per person. See enclosed flyer for details. We are gauging interest for Toddler Soccer, most likely on Sunday mornings. Interested parents should contact us via parkhillplaygroup@gmail.com . Coach Max "Gooooaal" Sanchez has been volunteered to wrangle our budding players. The Playgroup has a few wading pools in the backyard for members' use and their toddlers' enjoyment. Pools are to be filled before use and must be emptied at days' end by the caregivers. Children must be under STRICT SUPERVISION and accompanied by an adult AT ALL TIMES. (This area is NOT under supervision of our lifeguard staff.) If you have any questions, please contact Hestia DeVries at the above e-mail address. Thank you. Bowling Awards Dinner An intimate gathering of friends attended the annual Bowling Awards Dinner on May 4 th . We thank Jon Wallen for organizing the dinner. More importantly, we thank Jon for all his work at Bowling Chairperson: running the league, keeping the lanes operational, ordering bowling supplies, coordinating bowling parties, and all the other duties he performs each year. We appreciate it! We thank Toni Buono for her assistance with collection of monies (and bringing the snacks) each week. Thanks go to Bob Reape for all his behind-the-scenes work with keeping the alleys in top form. Lastly we thank Karen Lorence, Paul Cecere, Paul Meissner & Jill Feldman for their generous gesture of donating their winnings to the club; these funds will be used to refurbish the lanes. Personal Notes Congratulations to Michael, son of Bob and Lois on his marriage to Tamara on April 22 nd . Congratulations Graduates! Chris, son of Maura and Ken, is graduating from New Rochelle High School. He will be attending New York University. Jada, daughter of Julio (and Judy), is graduating from The Masters School. She will be attending Northeastern University in Boston. Lynn, daughter of Paul and Jennifer, is graduating from the Yonkers International Baccalaureate High School as Salutatorian. She will be attending the University of California at Santa Cruz. Thomas, son of Dana and Tom, grandson of Mary, is graduating from Sacred Heart High School. Rose, daughter of Todd and Bette, is graduating from the Horace Mann School. She will be attending the University of Michigan. Emma, daughter of Jon and Kathy, is graduating from the Fieldston School. She will be attending Colby College in Maine. Helen, our beloved bartender, has received her Bachelor of Arts in Accounting with a minor in Health Care Administration from Herbert H. Lehman College, CUNY. Lastly, Dr. Jennifer, daughter of Jill and Larry, has received her Doctor of Medicine from New York Medical College. She will perform her 5 year residency in General Surgery at North Shore/Long Island Jewish Hospital. Congratulations to everyone on their achievements! May 2007 NEWSLETTER Spring is in the air, and plenty is already in the works in preparation for another fun-filled "high season" at the Racquet Club. Our Board of Governors has been meeting every three weeks to plan, review, hire-out, and implement a number of improvements in the next few months, including: Professional repair and painting of the tennis patio area & ballroom balcony Replacement of net posts on courts 1 & 4 Purchase of new tennis wind screens Installation of "pebble flex" material in the baby sprinkler pool for safety Installation of improved lighting for the parking lot Purchase of a projector to be used for movie nights & other club functions Refurbishing of our bowling machinery Other club enhancements are still in the planning stages; we'll keep you posted as they develop! Membership Our first Open House was held on Sunday, April 22 nd . We were blessed with a gorgeous day! A Pot Luck Brunch greeted both current and prospective members. Although turnout was small, those who came enjoyed bagels & lox, quiche, matzo brei, homemade cherry cake and more. Thanks go to Rosemary Beirne for organizing the event, along with Maura Laverty, Patty Gamba, Jill Feldman and Jim Beirne, who gave personal tours to our guests, as well as setting up the brunch. We also thank Laura Weinfield and Scotty McCambridge for helping with cleanup. Our two final Open Houses are scheduled on the following dates: Saturday, May 6th & Sunday, May 19th from 1 till 4 PM Although two "official" open house dates remain on the schedule, we remind everyone that every day is a potential open house day. Visitors are welcome to our club anytime. All our members are considered part of the Membership Committee and can show visitors around the club. Membership packets - which include membership fees, answers to FAQ's, and a club brochure - are always available on the lobby table for handout. A solid membership base is crucial to our club's continued success. Do your share to make that happen! Tag Sale On Sunday, May 20th , the Racquet Club's Playgroup will be hosting a Tag Sale. We will have a concession stand, lemonade stand, face painting & other activities to amuse the children. A portion of the proceeds will go towards play equipment for the children. If you would like to participate, please contact Patty Schumann: parkhillplaygroup@gmail.com or call her at 914-968-9645. Details will follow soon by e-mail. Personal Notes We welcome another member to our club! Congratulations to Abi W., Stuart M. and family on the birth of their baby girl. We also congratulate Bette S. for completing the Boston Marathon. What a fabulous achievement! We announce the marriage of Daphne R's granddaughter, Samantha, wed on April 14th to Dr. Luigi C. We share this proud moment with Daphne! Our deepest thanks go to Scotty M., Mike M. & Robert M. for taking a day to clean out and cart away the accumulated debris on the Glenbrook side of the club. We also thank Bob R.for repairing the broken water pipe on court 4. We appreciate it! Lastly, graduation time is upon us, and we want to congratulate all our high school and college graduates on their achievements. If you child is graduating this month or next, please provide me with their name, high school attended (and college acceptance). April 2007 NEWSLETTER 2007 Membership Drive Open Houses As everyone knows, our club is always on the lookout for new members. We encourage everyone to become a Racquet Club advocate. Bring a friend or neighbor to the club! We are hosting three open houses this spring: Sunday, April 22 nd from 1 PM till 4 PM Sunday, May 6 th from 1 PM till 4 PM Saturday, May 19 th from 1 PM till 4 PM On the first day, April 22 nd , the club will be having our annual Pot Luck Brunch from 11 AM to 1 PM to reunite members for the new season. Bring a dish to share . See the attached flyer for details. Our open house on April 22 nd also coincides with Earth Day. Our Grounds Committee will be planting daylilies and hostas along the fence near the club entrance. All the soil tilling and prep work will have been done. We've left the fun part for our members. E-mail the club at parkhillracquetclub@yahoo.com if you'd like to help us out. Bring garden gloves, kneeling pad & trowel if you have them. Planting will begin at 9 AM. Take a break at 11 AM and join everyone for brunch! Tennis News We are pleased to introduce Justin Hogh of Knickerbocker Sports to our pro roster. He will be running children's after school tennis clinics this spring at the Racquet Club. Each session is six weeks long, beginning the week of May 7 th through the week of June 11 th . We welcome the students he is bringing from his previous location; this is a good opportunity for the Racquet Club to increase our membership base and get more tennis players into our ranks. Club members' kids are invited to attend these 1 ½ hour sessions at a reduced rate . Please refer to the attached schedule and contact him at hoghj@yahoo.com , or call 212-595-1613 . He will also be offering private and semi-private lessons for adults and children alike. The Racquet Club is a member of the Women's MITL (Metropolitan Interclub Tennis League). We are in the "C" Division. We are looking for additional women players to get involved, practice with us and compete when needed. Four doubles teams play each week. C Division matches are held each Tuesday (rain date Thursday) for the months of May & June. The matches begin at 10 AM, and are played either at home or at the opposing club, depending on the schedule. Interested? We'd love to have you join us! Contact our captain, Daphne Romeo , at daphneromeo@aol.com , or call her at 914-591-8250. Event Report This year's St. Patrick's Party brought out the Irish in all of us. Nearly 90 attendees donned their green to come and enjoy delicious traditional corned beef & cabbage, shepherd's pie, and Irish soda bread prepared by Morley's. A special thank you goes to all those who donated prizes: Mary Liberatore, the Laverty-James family, the Gamba family, and the Beirne & McManus families. We also thank Rita Concannon of Morley's for donating the beautiful Irish food basket. Most of all, we thank the Beirne family for once again organizing this successful yearly event. Our ballroom was transformed into a Japanese tea garden, thanks to the tireless efforts of our decorating crew, all in preparation for a fabulous 2007 Governors' Ball . Karin White once again "raided" the New York City Opera warehouse to borrow lots of paper parasols, Japanese lanterns, decorative urns and floral arrangements. With her assistance, Paul Cecere put his creativity in motion to embellish every square inch of the room. The results were absolutely breathtaking! Instead of traditional flowers, table centerpieces took shape as mini Zen gardens. Parasols hung from the ceiling. The dance floor was defined by floating lights & lanterns. All 61 guests were blown away by the atmosphere he created. We also thank Claire Miko & Jill Feldman for their decorating assistance. Thanks go to April Feldman & Patty Cecere for pre-washing all the dishes & setting all the tables. We all enjoyed the delicious meal from American Bistro, the great hors d'oeuvres contributed by our board members, and the lively music and dancing. Can't wait for next year! This Memorial Day weekend we will be hosting a Pig Roast , complete with tennis tournament, kids' games, bocce tournament, and more! This event requires a lot of planning, preparation and people power. We need your help to purchase/cook food, organize games, set up/clean up - whatever! Contact Robert Moment : rjmoment@optonline.net or 914-376-0255. Personal Notes We wish Mary L. a speedy recovery from her recent surgery. We want you well and back on the court, Mary! We welcome another new member to our club! Congratulations to Nora and Phillip B. on the birth of their son. Kudos to our budding young thespian, William K., for his performances in the New York City Opera production of Madame Butterfly! St. Patrick's report contributed by Rosemary Beirne MARCH 2007 NEWSLETTER NEW MEMBERS - Please welcome Carolyn, John and their daughter Abi, Stuart and their children Calum, Ann and baby on the way! Maread, William and their daughter 2007 Membership Drive Open Houses - As everyone knows, our club is always on the lookout for new members. We encourage everyone to become a Racquet Club advocate. Bring a friend or neighbor to the club! We are hosting three open houses this spring: Sunday, April 22 nd from 1 PM till 4 PM Sunday, May 6 th from 1 PM till 4 PM Saturday, May 19 th from 1 PM till 4 PM Our open house on April 22nd coincides with Earth Day. Our Grounds Committee will be readying our flower beds and planters for the warm season. We can use your help! E-mail the club at parkhillracquetclub@yahoo.com and let us know if you are available. Event Reports! Our latest Karaoke Night had the highest attendance to date; over 60 people RSVP'd, requiring more space than our lower bar would allow. Our party committee thought on their feet and moved the entire stock of furniture - couches, tables, stools, the works - to the ballroom the night before the event! Patty Gamba, Claire Miko and Jill Feldman all put their heads together and created a cozy stage and seating area for the night's entertainment. Everyone had a wonderful time and many stayed long after the music ended. We thank Paul Cecere and his assistant for orchestrating the downstairs set-up (only to have it moved)! Our thanks also go to Donna Ventarola and Adrienne D'Alessio for their assistance in the kitchen and for helping Patty set out a great spread of food. We appreciate Kevin & Ceeba, who assisted us in moving all the furniture! A core gathering of football fans enjoyed a pot-luck spread and some friendly wagering on Super Bowl Sunday . Thanks go to Robert Moment (with Helen's help) in organizing the event. About 30 adults and young children attended our latest Pasta Party . A pot-luck format resulted in an array of pasta, salads, cookies & juice for everyone to enjoy while the children played. We thank Patty Schumann & Hestia DeVries for organizing the day. Special thanks go to Kieran Michael Brown for doing kitchen detail.		DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE! Click here to read it Any news to tell? Contact Jill Feldman @ jillfeld52@hotmail.com

Lakeside Drive and Glenbrook Avenue Yonkers NY 10705 Office: 914.969.6770 Clubhouse: 914.963.2339 email: parkhillracquetclub@yahoo.com Copyright 2007 -- The Racquet Club on Park Hill, Inc. Web Hosting by Beacon Computers