By Dee Richard
One of the fun things about this job is going to places, meeting people from all walks of life, and being exposed to all the multi-faceted wonders not only of Queens, but all of New York City as well. Case in point, the mysterious world of golf. Mysterious because my only golf experience has been as a dinner guest at one of the clubhouses or being invited to one of the many fund-raisers held at same.
For three years in a row, my friend Phyllis Shaffran and myself, tried to help Father Coleman Costello run his golf outings. Two were at the Garden City Country Club and the third was at East Rockaway Country Club. The good father always claimed he lost money at these events, which sort of defeated the purpose of it all. Phyllis in the meantime had gone on to working for Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin, and I took on some additional responsibilities.
I haven't seen or heard from Father Costello in quite awhile. If he is still running his golf outings he hasn't invited us or asked for our help, but I do hope he has found the right formula for being able to turn a profit. We miss not being part of his event.
Monday, Aug. 4, the Queens County Democratic Organization held its annual golf outing at the Inwood Country Club. Now that group obviously knows how to run a profitable fund-raiser.
On Monday, Aug. 11, the Queens Chamber of Commerce held its golf event at the West Hempstead Golf Club in Port Washington. The way Chamber President George Rozansky and Executive VP Bill Eagen were smiling, it's safe to assume they also did rather well.
The county outing was a political Who's Who in Queens with Congress members, Senators, Assembly members, Council members, district leaders, judges, lawyers, lobbyists, political appointees plus all the regular faithful. It would take two pages to list them all by name.
It's a lovely club with great food; the only downside is that the club is hard to find. In the three years that I have covered it, I have also managed to get lost three times. And of course, anyone you stop to ask for directions. But the directions they give you are always wrong. Why can't people simply say, “I don't know, you'll have to ask someone else” or would that simplify life too much? The next car I buy is going to be equipped a GPS map system.
A great big thank you to state Sen. Ada Smith for clueing me in on the correct date. For some reason it was listed in my datebook for the following week. Can you imagine being lost, riding around for an hour in the hot humid heat and when you finally get there, only to find out it was the wrong date and no one is there? Thanks again Senator Ada!
The Chamber outing was a breeze to find, the club entrance is right on Port Washington Boulevard. Gerard Conway, general manager of the club, went out of his way to be hospitable to all the Chamber members. They all said it was a fun day and they were looking forward to a repeat performance next year. The weatherman predicted downpours all day, but somebody up there must love the Queens Chamber because not one drop was in sight for the whole day and the evening.
Thursday was supposed to be a busy, busy day. It was the day of state Assemblyman Mark Weprin's pool party at the Deepdale Club. It was also the day for the fund-raising dinner for Morshed Alam at the Malabar Palace when hen, bingo! at 4:10 P.M. the biggest blackout every to hit the East Coast happened. No electricity, no phones, no faxes, no cell phones, no computers, no scanners, no printers, and no air conditioning in fact no anything. Did any of us ever realize bow dependent we are on electricity or do most of us just take it for granted? From all reports New Yorkers are to be commended. They didn't panic and they were helpful and kind to one another. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone would treat each other that way every day without a catastrophe?
This will be a short column this week as all the events scheduled for Thursday and Friday were canceled. As soon as they are rescheduled, 'we will apprise you of the new dates. For those of you who are unaware, there are photos on the “Focus On Queens” page that depict the events mentioned in this column.
If you have any events or invitations you would care to share fax me at 718-7460066 or phone me at 718-767-6484.
Til next week,
Dee
