To the Editor:
On behalf of the Board of Directors of The Friends of Special Children, a great big thank you must be given to all those who have helped with our 28th annual picnic. Our event was held June 19, at the Marist High School Sports Field for an estimated 1,200 children and chaperones. The day was filled with bright skies, smiles on the children’s faces, and the children had the time of their lives once again. Our organization and picnic have become known as Bayonne’s best kept secret, some secret when we attract over 1,200 participants, when the weather cooperates. We have over 150 volunteers who faithfully, rain or shine, give their time and services to our great cause. I only wish I could list each one of you individually, but that would be impossible. Thank you to everyone.
Although the volunteers have become our backbone, its our sponsors that help put the picnic on the map. The list is long, but I need to acknowledge and recognize each one. To begin the list, we thank The Starting Point Bar and Grill, city line McDonalds, Foley’s Funhouse, Eddie’s Bar, John’s Midtown Tavern, Kuhl’s Tavern, Pamrapo Savings Bank, 16th Street Produce, Scotty Baron, the Friendly Sons of the Shillelagh of the Jersey Shore, James Beckner and family, Diamond Beverage, D.C. Plastics, Bayonne Party Connections, Burger King, Petridis’ Hotdogs, Manny’s Liquors, C-Town, Senerchia’s Meats, Hendrickson’s, Tropicana, 51st Street Ace Hardware, Gene Perry, Mediterranean Restaurant, Chances Lounge, Gus of Mr. Softee Ice Cream trucks, Local No. 6 carpenter union, Stevie Bay and his band, DJ EZ Ray, A & P Food Store, and Imperial Paper. The list continues with Marist High School, Mayor Mark Smith and family, Gary Chmielewski, National Soda, the Face Painting Crew, Bayonne Dry Dock, Lambda Theta Phi Fraternity, Mi Sigma Upsilon Sorority, Bon Appetite, Café Bello, UNICO Club, Mike Wilson (the camera man), Bill Conway Inc., Control Demolition, Integrated Tire, Pete Manley Plumbing, Vital Signs, Weaver Electric, Fitzpatrick and Associates Construction, Garguilo Produce, Owens Corning, Trumbull Asphalt, EQ Northeast, Kenny T. Golf Outing. Gers Provisions, R & L Provisions, Bayonne Fire Department, Poland Spring and Pat Connors, Melone Bakery of Staten Island, Giannella Bakery of Paterson, Cas Chem, Beyers Dairy, JK Signs and Robert “WORM” Scerbo. Also we need to give a big thank you to Royal Caribbean, Bayonne Community Bank, and Richmond County Savings Foundation.
With the donations from our sponsors, we are able to provide our special guests with a petting zoo, dunk tank, characters, DJ, live band, all the food and beverages, clown, face painters, hats, shirts, decorations, paper and plastic products, tents, tables, chairs, and desserts. This wonderful affair began 28 years ago as a small backyard BBQ, and we have now amassed 1,200 attendees.
Some very important individuals that I must address are as follows: Bobby Bubnis of Control Demolition, Charlie Protnicki and Jay Olivia of EQ Northeast, Ed Zaleck, Tommy Kuca (our chef), Jim Maitner, and Bill Madson. These individuals go above and beyond the norm. On a personal note, I want to thank my son Ethan Kuhl, He did a fabulous job in the dunk tank, the place most of us wanted to be in a 92 degree day. I really must also thank Sue Timpanaro and Monica Markowski. These two women are our glue. They handle groups, goodie bags, and take control of the volunteer girls who help guide each and every group on this wonderful day.
Lastly, I need to thank my co-board members for their devotion, input, and countless hours of meetings and prep work. The board members are Anthony “Tippy” Timpanaro, Robert “Robe” Markowski, Brian “Julio” Ahern, Sean Tawes, Danny Yaroshewich and Robert Lesiak. With Tippy and Robe, we would have a long haul in front of us. Between them, they have 55 years with the organization. Our planning for the 2011 picnic will begin around January/ February, and the board is determined to make it the biggest and best ever.
Thank you once again to everyone. Bayonne does care.
KEVIN KUHL
Board of Director Friends of Special Children