Last Friday, 458 parishioners packed the ballroom for our annual Reverse Raffle. I would like to make one final THANK YOU to those who purchased tickets to this marvelous event. Now that many of you have experienced what a fun time was had by all, selling tickets next year should not be such a struggle. We made winners out of approximately 25 attendees, although as it turns out, there was only one BIG winner, claiming the entire $10,000.00 prize. After drawing the first 290 tickets, the remaining 10 ticket holders were invited to come up to the dance floor for the grand finale. Unfortunately, three of the final 10 were not in attendance so we continued drawing tickets. When we were down to the final two tickets, there was one person present and one that chose not to attend. As it turns out, Carol Swank was the last person standing and claimed the entire $10,000.00 grand prize. Carol Slater claimed the $750.00 side board prize, while Tom & Ginny Tette claimed the $1,500.00 side board prize.
After realizing that she had indeed won the grand prize, Carol was ecstatic and speechless at the same time. Ironically, Carol (a seasonal resident) just registered at the parish only two weeks ago. Asked what she was going to do with her new found fortune, Carol gave a truly selfless response. Carol is a member of a parish in Virginia which is over 150 years old. The roof on her northern church is in total disrepair and needs to be completely replaced. She is giving the entire $10,000.00 to this parish in order to replace the roof. She called her Pastor on Sunday morning and told him the great news. This is a truly heartwarming story and another example of the amazing parishioners we have within our parish. Congratulations Carol and thank you for your act of kindness.
I would like to give a “shout out” to the members of our youth ministry that helped with seating all of our 458 guests at the Reverse Raffle. This was a chaotic scene and your efforts helped this process run very smoothly.
Last week I alluded to the fact that I was attending the grand opening of Messner Publication
s’ new facility which houses their million dollar press which produces our bulletin. I have included several pictures of the press as well as a picture of the paper roll which ultimately becomes our bulletin. I was blown away by the entire process. The press is over 100 feet long and has countless moving parts. To think that we produce this publication weekly is truly amazing. The process begins with Kathy Sims (our bulletin editor) producing the electronic version of our bulletin in house. She then sends the finished version to Messner Publications. The digital version is then sent to a machine where plates are made. Only one plate is made for every four pages of our bulletin. The plates (8 for each four page run) are then inserted onto the press and the color enhancement process begins. Nearly 500 pages will print before the acceptable version is set. This process is repeated seven times in the case of our bulletin, which is 28 pages. Once all eight copies (four pages per copy) are completed, they are sent to a machine which cuts the sheet into four pages. A collating machine then arranges the bulletin which is then sent to a stapling machine. Finally, the finished product is then boxed and shipped via FedEx to St. John the Evangelist. I felt it worthwhile to let everyone know exactly what goes into the process of producing our new bulletin.
You are all aware that our parking lot has been the subject of numerous discussions over the years. Ironically, after completing the Claussen Center in 2006, there is more than ample parking for everyone. This does not stop many of you from parking anywhere you deem appropriate. The attached picture was taken during the 9:00 a.m. Mass this past Sunday. The driver of the vehicle in question must have felt that since one of their four tires was touching the grass that this was a legitimate spot. As it turns out, there were several parking spaces no more than 50 feet away which were vacant. Had an emergency taken place during Mass, the fire department would not have been able to navigate past this vehicle to attend to a sick or injured parishioner. In addition, we would have received a nice fine from the North Naples Fire Department as a result. As you can see from the picture, this was a beautiful morning and an extra few steps to Mass certainly would not have inconvenienced this individual. Please consider my comments when parking your vehicles in our parking lot.
Speaking of the parking lot, have you taken a look at the trees which line our grass parking areas and campus? The majority of these trees are mahogany, while we also have gumbo limbo, black olive and oak. All of these trees are deciduous, however, their cycle is much different than the deciduous trees many of you are familiar with up north which lose their leaves in the fall and bloom in the spring. By looking at our parking lot, you would think that it is fall rather than spring. All of these trees lose their leaves and bloom during a very short cycle which generally lasts no longer than two months. In addition, the mahogany produces a very obnoxious seed pod which litters our parking lot with debris. The good news is that this cycle is nearly complete and we will be able to appreciate the beauty of these trees for another 10 months until the cycle begins again.
Did you take a look at the Catholic Faith Appeal statistics in the bulletin? We have now exceeded 55% of our goal just over two months into the annual appeal. Thank you for your extreme generosity! Seasonal residents and visitors, please remember to make your check payable to the CFA with St. John the Evangelist in the memo line.
In His work together,
Scott Schlossberg, MBA
General Manager