Dear Friends
I hope everyone who turned out for our July afternoon meeting had a good time and a good meal. I want to thank all of those who worked to purchase, prepare and serve the food: the Patton family, Del, Cathy, and Johnny also Elmo, Steve (middle Steve Balich), Kris, Annette, Jane, Ann and Jan. It was a great group effort and it was fun to work with such a fine group of people. Thanks also to Xavier, Steve, and any others who played for us. Hopefully we can do this again next summer.
Kris is planning on cooking his famous Gumbo for us again – probably at the October meeting. More on this later.
I saw Steve Balich (the elder) yesterday and he is on the road to recovery from his recent surgery. We are all looking forward to having him back at full strength in the next few weeks.
The Cotati Accordion Festival is upon us and I would like to thank Cathy and Art for selling tickets to raise funds for the club treasury. Our club has a booth at the festival again this year so please stop by and chat with a few prospective members if you’re at the festival.
Please remember that there WILL be a regular meeting on the third Monday this month. There was some confusion last year about whether or not we would have our regular meeting in August. We always have a third Monday monthly meeting with the exception of March, July, and December when we have special events.
There is sad news for our club this month. We have lost two of our members: Bill Ferrari and Dick Velloza. Services for Bill will be held at Parent-Sorensen Mortuary and Crematory, 850 Keokuk St., Petaluma on Sunday August 10 at 11 AM. There will be a Funeral Mass for Dick on Saturday, August 9, 2014, at 10:00 am at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Olema, CA. Our condolences go out to the loved ones and friends of these two fine men.
Bill was one of the founding members of our club and continued to be a staunch supporter even after he was no longer able to attend regular meetings. Dick along with his lovely wife May was a regular at our meetings. Please remember them in your thoughts and prayers. They will both be missed.
Tony Mustaro
President
Accordion Club of the Redwoods
