Spring 2017
Revival of the Park Hill Racquet Club Theater Tradition!
“Lend Me a Tenor” by Playwright Ken Ludwig. Members of the Racquet Club on Park Hill and guests were treated early this spring to the first theater production at the club in three decades, as the Park Hill Players wowed crowds in the delightful Ken Ludwig farce, “Lend Me a Tenor.” In late March and early April, some 220 paying guests filled the seats in the big hall for three performances of the play. [See photo.]
The production followed a year of planning and preparations for the performances, thanks to the vision and persistence of Jim Beirne, who remembered when theater was a major feature of the club’s life from thirty years ago.
The cast – Kirsten Barbera, Jim Beirne, Chris Canty, Chris Gallin, Karen Lawrence, Mary Kay Moment, Steve Ross, and Karin White – got well-deserved standing ovations after each performance. Also, kudos were expressed for the outstanding stage set, expertly built for the occasion and attractively painted by club members.
Founding of the New PHRC Performing Arts Committee.
Determined not to sit on their laurels, the cast have quickly set up the new Performing Arts Committee (PAC) to plan for future productions. The Committee has three co-chairs: Jim, Kirsten and Chris Canty. They are reading a number of plays now, to recommend one to the Committee for its next production.
Another Wonderful Governors’ Ball
On Saturday, April 8th, the club held its annual Governors’ Ball in the beautifully decorated great hall. The theme this year was “masquerade” and a great many colorful masks could be seen circulating in the hall. Dinner was catered from The Dolphin restaurant. Members and their guests danced well into the night.
Nearly two dozen club members helped put up the decorations that turned a mundane space into a charming setting. Appreciation again went to Kathryn Buckley, Claire Miko and Karin White for leading the team that decorated the hall. Long-time members of the club said that the hall had never looked more beautiful.
Other club members who helped with decorations included: Rosemary Beirne, Jim Buckley, Patty Cecere, Paul Cecere, Annmarie Ennis, Chris Gamba, Patty Gamba, Justine Henry, Robert Klein, William Krawiec, Lyrica Leon, Mary Liberatore, Vic Mason, Renee O’Hanlon, Griffin O’Keefe, James Resnik, Joan Russo and Katherine Sokolnikoff. Special thanks go to Chris, Griffin and William for helping to serve appetizers, remove dishes from the tables and clean up later.
Committee Memberships for This Year
The Board is pleased to note that 52 adults are signed up as members of the Board and/or the various committees. This is a great example of participation in the work of this volunteer-run club and a sharing of its responsibilities, even as many members have young children to care for, full-time day jobs to do, or both. Listed below are those responsible for oversight of each committee:
Board of Governors: Directors: Patty Gamba, Steve Speigler & Renee O’Hanlon
Bar Committee: Co-chairs: Renee O’Hanlon and Annmarie Ennis
Bowling Committee: Chair: Jon Wallen
By-Laws Committee : Chair: Patty Gamba
Finance Committee: Treasurer: Matt Krawiec
House /Grounds Committee: Chair: Robert Klein
Marketing Committee: Chair: Dave Steck
Membership Committee: Co-chairs: Patty Gamba and Rosemary Beirne
Pool Committee: Co-chairs: Renee O’Hanlon and Annmarie Ennis
Rental Committee: Co –Chairs: Justine Henry & Claire Miko
Social Committee: Co-chairs: Renee O’Hanlon & Justine Henry
Tennis Committee: Co-chairs: Patty Gamba and Tom Westmoreland
Member News
In early April, former Director Kerry Schmid sent a letter of thanks to the club’s members on behalf of herself, husband Ed and son William for the many communications they had received from club members wishing Kerry a speedy recovery from her serious illness of the past six months. Kerry said the many calls, visits, emails and texts gave her encouragement and were deeply appreciated.
Meanwhile, the club welcomed back Steve Savard following his recent major surgery. Steve says the doctors report the operation was a complete success. Hardly missing a beat, Steve again organized and ran his popular annual jazz pancake breakfast on Sunday, April 30th.
Social Calendar
Recent Events. The club had its semi-annual karaoke party, organized by Tom Westmoreland and Patty Gamba, on March 4th, with the usual hearty contributions from many members and their guests. Once again, DJ Justine Faith did the honors running the karaoke machine, as the party-goers continued singing into the small hours. As usual, the occasion was very well-attended and the noisy lounge was packed.
A week later, on March 11th, the club held its annual St. Patrick’s Day party for families. Mairead Casey and Anne Marie Ennis hosted a well-attended gathering, preparing a mouth-watering Irish buffet of corned beef and cabbage, shepherd’s pie, potato leek soup, soda bread, macaroni and cheese and desserts. DJ Brendan provided the live music for the dancing, and a great time was had by all.
On Thursday, March 23rd, the club scheduled its first of many Thirsty Thursdays of the spring. Renee O’Hanlon organized the evening around the popular game of Scattergories.
Membership Open Houses were held on March 24th, April 9th and May 7th. The membership committee was on hand to welcome visitors– families and individuals – expressing interest in the club. As always, our best source of membership is personal referral by current members. If you know anyone who’s interested, please bring them by for a tour, dip in the pool, tennis game or some fun bowling!
The spring Fun Bowling League, organized by James Resnik, ended the first week of May. The summer league will begin in late June.
Kristen Napoli and Kristen Oates co-hosted the boisterous Derby de Mayo party on Saturday, May 6th, and a great time was had by the throngs of members and their families who attended and watched the running of the Kentucky Derby. Everyone enjoyed the scrumptious feast of Bourbon BBQ pulled pork, green chili pulled chicken, fish tacos, homemade taquitos, quesadillas, and mini-tacos – with thirsts quenched by margaritas, mojitos and mint juleps.
Upcoming Events
A sampling of upcoming events is below. Individual emails will be sent in advance of each event.
Thursdays, May 18th – June 8th 7 PM Vinyl Nights
Sunday, May 20th 2 PM Open House
Friday, May 26th 7 PM Italian night
Saturday, May 27th 11 AM Official Pool Opening
Sunday, May 28th TBA Memorial Day Fun Tournament & BBQ
Monday, May 29th TBA Memorial Day Fun Tournament & BBQ – RAIN DATE
Friday , June 9th 6 PM Friday Night Family BBQ’s Begin
Friday, June 23rd 730PM New Members’ Cocktail Party
Sunday, July 2nd TBD 4th of July Weekend Tournament & BBQ
Tuesday, July 4th TBD 4th of July Weekend Tournament & BBQ – RAIN DATE
Sunday, September 3rd TBD Labor Day/End of Summer Tournament & BBQ
Monday, September 4th TBD Labor Day/End of Summer Tournament & BBQ – RAIN DATE
TBD TBD Adult Poolside Luau
TBD TBD Children’s Poolside Luau
(Above Dates Subject to Change)
Bowling News
News from the Fun Bowling League. The club thanks James Resnik for organizing the six-week spring Fun Bowling League. Paul Cassidy has been in touch with the Board about resuming the Fun Bowling League in the summer, perhaps early in July.
News from the Winter Bowling League. The six-month season of the club’s Winter Bowling League recently concluded. The league expresses its appreciation to Steve Savard for doing the calculations of team and individual results throughout the six-month season – and catching not a few errors in results in the process.
The two-week post-season tournament has seven teams of two and ends this week. League President Jon Wallen has announced that the end-of-season Bowling Awards Banquet will be held at 7 pm on Friday, May 19th.
Final league standings were as follow: The Expendables (90 points), CSI (78), R&B (73), Brown (59) and 10 Pin Jihad (50). Distinguished personal game highs were recognized for the following bowlers: Jon Wallen, 233; Pat O’Hanlon, 231; Bill Dennison, 211; Jennifer Ringstad and Jose Alvarado, 205; Robert Klein, 204; Steve Savard and Paul Cecere, 200; Paul Meissner, 194; and Bill Coffey, 193.
Personal high averages were as follow: Jon Wallen, 166; Robert Klein, 152; Paul Cecere , 151; Paul Meissner, 149; Jose Alvarado, 149; Bill Dennison, 149; Jennifer Ringstad, 143 (143.204); and Fred Feldman, 143. Highest personal series were bowled by Jon Wallen, 573; Jennifer Ringstad, 568; Bill Dennison, 561; Paul Cecere, 528; Pat O’Hanlon, 521; Paul Meissner, 514; Jose Alvarado, 513; and Robert Klein, 507.
News from the Board.
The Board has agreed to hire Kevin Klein, Robert’s son, to supervise the alleys at bowling parties. Kevin knows the lanes and is responsible and diligent in observing the rules. A good bowler, Kevin can also give tips to beginners.
Clean-Up Week End
The club held its annual Clean-Up Week End on Saturday, April 22nd, and Sunday, April 23rd. Members worked diligently inside, cleaning the kitchen, the hall and the lounge areas.
Except for the drizzle on Saturday afternoon, the weather was good for the outside work of raking leaves, clipping branches, vines and undergrowth, and bagging the huge quantities of leaves and other debris removed from the woods. Thanks go to the following club members for their time and effort during those two days of clean-up activities: Rosemary Beirne, Laura Berning, Kathryn Buckley, Patty Gamba, Joan Gavila-Russo, Todd Geremia, Joe Harbeson, Kevin Klein, Robert Klein, Ingrid Krawiec, Matt Krawiec, William Krawiec, Lyrica Leon, Mary Liberatore, Vic Marino, Vic Mason, Lenox Ostergard, Beth Ostergard, Lynette Phillips, Hayden Prevor-Weiss, Meredith Prevor-Weiss, Kevin and Ben Puts, James Resnik, Jennifer Ringstad, Katherine Sokolnikoff, Kate Waters, Howie Weiss and Karin White.
Kathryn Buckley again took charge of the planters in front of the club, where the entrance is beautified by the handiwork of Kathryn and her helpers each year in the planting of the flowers.
Pool News
The Pool Committee is working diligently to prepare our pool for Memorial Day Weekend. Look for a separate email from the pool committeel with the daily and weekly operating schedule, as well as information about swimming lessons, pool parties and the popular Sunday Morning Aquacise classes, to be offered by Andrea Velasquez.
Tennis News
The rainy weather has caused a lot delays in opening the courts this spring. The Board expects them to be ready for play by the end of this week.
The Tennis Committee has a lot of tennis events planned for the members, regardless of experience or skill level. Specific information about each event, as well as about our youth program, will be sent separately.
The Committee is pleased to announce the arrival of a new pro at the club, Ola Roberts. Ola has appeared occasionally at the club in previous years so she has some familiarity with it. But now she will be the full-time coach. Ola is available to begin scheduling lessons and clinics whenever members are ready to do so. She can be reached at olatennis@icloud.com or via text or phone at (917) 637-9476.
As in past years, the club is again offering free tennis guesting in May. Since the courts have opened later than expected, this offering will be extended through Sunday, June 11th. Regular guest rules apply – that is, a maximum of two times for the same guest. This policy does not apply to the Memorial Day tournament.
Our Men’s and Women’s Inter-club Teams have begun their respective seasons. We will let you know in advance of their home matches so that you can plan your tennis games accordingly. Generally, the women’s team plays on Tuesday mornings, with a rain date of Thursday, and the Men’s team plays on either Saturday or Sunday afternoons. Each team has a handful of home matches over the course of the season. The next men’s home match is scheduled for Saturday 5/13 at 12:30.
(by Vic Mason)
