I hope everyone had an enjoyable and productive St. Patrick’s Day season. As always, St. Patrick’s Day is the time when we show our pride as descendants of those who trace their lineage back to the Island of Saints and Scholars. Hopefully, our public participation in events associated with St. Patrick’s Day celebrations helped tremendously with recruitment to our noble Order. Our efforts at on-line recruitment also continue. The backlog of on-line applications has been addressed. This is a valuable tool in ongoing recruitment. If an officer requests that you follow up on one or more applications, please do so as soon as possible, and be sure to report the results to those in leadership positions as soon as possible. I would like to give a shout out to NYS AOH Organizer Tim Weklar who has been coordinating the contact of these possible new members!
While recruitment issues have taken up most of the time of the National Board, other events are occurring. National President Sean Pender and our National Historian Dan Taylor led a group of Hibernians on a trip to Ireland, which boasted an itinerary that included stops at historical sites in Kilkenny, Kinsale, Killarney and Dublin. It sounds like quite the trip! If a similar trip is planned in the future, make plans to travel!
Speaking of Ireland. Kudos to FFAI Chairman Martin Galvin and Deputy FFAI Director Bob Bollbach for again doing an outstanding job in raising more than $150,000, a new record for the Christmas Appeal! These Grant donations were presented in a ceremony held at the Houben Centre in Belfast on April 5, by AOH and LAOH members. Please make plans to donate to the Christmas Appeal next year if you have not previously done so! Having been a part of this very worthwhile effort and presentation in the past, I have seen firsthand how much the groups who benefit from these grants rely on these AOH donations as they work for peace in Ireland.
I also look forward to continuing collaboration with my fellow Directors: Ryan Curry, Ed Dougherty, Keith Reynolds, Patrick Ryan, and Rory Schulte. There is a lot of energy within this group. We make an effective team!
If any AOH Brother needs to reach me to discuss any AOH issue, I can be reached at TomLambert12@aol.com or on my cell phone at 716-796-7687.