Thank you to everyone who attended the 11:00 a.m. Mass this past Sunday, August 28, for the baptism of Ella, Mia and Nate. I was so thrilled to be able to have the baptism take place during Mass so that you could all see our triplets receive this sacrament. Fr. John did an outstanding job of making this moment incredibly special. Attached are a few pictures of the baptism.
We have completed numerous projects during the course of the summer. I would like to take a few minutes to address what has been done to improve the campus while many of our parishioners were away. Many of these projects were completed with the assistance of the Buildings and Grounds Committee, which has been an invaluable resource to me and to the parish.
- First and foremost, we have created a magnificent Prayer Garden. Due to the vision of Sandi Paniccia and the contributions of many parishioners, we were able to design and build what will be a showpiece for the parish and Diocese of Venice for many years to come. The granite for the benches and pedestals for the Stations is currently being engraved and will arrive in Naples within the next three weeks. Once everything arrives and is in place, we will make plans for the grand opening.
- We completely re-sealed and re-striped the parking lot which was a much overdue fix. We now have an attractive and functional parking lot. We are going to make one additional adjustment to the front parking lot to address the walkways from the lot to the Church so that they do not lead our parishioners to trip over the parking stops.
- The twenty year old crumbling street sign at the front of the site was replaced with a new modern looking sign featuring our logo.
- We completely renovated the Parish Life Center Kitchen. This included sandblasting the floor and installing a new epoxy resin material that is slip proof and virtually indestructible. All of the drywall from the floor to a height of four feet was removed and new water resistant material was installed and then covered with a vinyl backing to eliminate any future water damage. All interior walls were painted and all of the light fixtures were repaired and energy efficient bulbs were installed.
- In the Parish Life Center, we removed the old tile in the lobby and installed new 20” tile set on the diagonal. All of the bathrooms were repainted as well as many offices and ancillary spaces. We are currently in the process of sanding and repainting the exterior doors to a much more appropriate color. Beginning on September 12, we are going to install a new audio visual system in the ballroom which will include four ceiling mounted LCD projectors and four screens placed strategically so that everyone in the ballroom will be able to have unobstructed views of any presentation. I can only imagine what the Super Bowl party will be like in 2012. This aforementioned AV installation is being donated at no cost to the parish. We are also planning to sand and refinish the dance floor in the ballroom in September.
- In the Claussen Center, we re-wired all of the hallway and classroom lighting and installed energy efficient fluorescent bulbs. In addition, we replaced all 45 lighting bollards in the CFC parking lot, also at no cost to the parish.
- New paver walkways were installed around the campus with the excess pavers from the prayer garden. Now our parishioners will not have to choose which bush to navigate in order to access the church from the parking lot.
- Numerous enhancements were made to the Memorial Garden, including the addition of new landscaping and a beautiful new fountain as the focal point. A paver walkway was installed leading to the Knights of Columbus shrine. Ten new granite benches will be installed in the month of September.
- Upcoming improvements: We are currently working with several vendors to finally address the church lighting. As you know, this has been a recurring issue and one that is very irritating to everyone. Due to the fact that the fixtures are 20 years old and only accessible by a massive lift or scaffolding, maintenance has always and will always be a major issue. We are entertaining the idea of replacing the track lighting over the altar and the main down lights in the nave with new fixtures and energy efficient and extremely long life bulbs. Optimistically, this will take place during the month of September. Last but not least, the air conditioning units in the Parish Life Center are nearly 15 years old and in need of replacement. We have tried to develop reserves over the past several years in order to create a schedule for replacement, however, due to our tight budget, this has not been possible. We will continue to address the AC and come up with an appropriate solution.
Suffice it to say that we have been very busy this summer making enhancements and repairs to the campus. We will continue to work diligently to beautify the campus in the months and years to come. We truly hope that you appreciate all that we have done.
In His work together,
Scott Schlossberg, MBA
General Manager