John Anderson

First of all, Happy New Year to one and all!

As the new year dawns, unfortunately we find ourselves smack in the middle of  the 3rd highest Covid case rate in the nation, and we have had to make some alterations to the upcoming event schedule as a result of this surge.

First and foremost, the men’s bowling league has instituted a pause for two weeks, starting with this evening.  We will reassess in two weeks and move ahead accordingly.  The goal is to keep the totality of the season as intact as possible, while keeping members safe at the same time.

The Italian Sunday Dinner, scheduled for January 16th, has been postponed, not canceled.  A new date is being sought.

Mixed Bowling is scheduled for the 22nd of January; that will be decided after the next ten days or so.

The Jess Dodd Endurance Tournament will be on Saturday, February 5th, the week before the Super Bowl.  Two man teams of league bowlers bowl 6 games in this event-details to follow.

Super Bowl Party is on Sunday, February 13th-still planning on holding our biggest party of the year, but we’re keeping a close eye on the variant situation.  Stay tuned.

The January board meeting is on Monday, January 17, and all members are welcome to attend.

The holiday coat drive was a tremendous success-thank you to all who donated!

That’s it for now-stay healthy and safe out there!

As the holiday season inexorably approaches (encroaches?), here are a number of events of note on the horizon:

The Club Christmas Party is on Saturday, December 18th from 7pm until midnight. It’s a casual affair for members and their other halves to drop by and have a drink and a nosh. We ask anyone who is coming to please bring an appetizer or dessert to share along with your good cheer, of course!

On Sunday, the 19th, Santa will make his long awaited return to the Club! He alights at 12pm and will stay until 1-ish if you want to bring the kinder and/or grandkinder to chat with the portly icon. Please RSVP by text to 973-746-2984 by December 15th or let Sandy know that you are coming.

Save the date for the Italian Sunday Dinner-always a big family fave, which will take place on Sunday, January 16th (the day preceding MLK B-day – which is a National holiday), additionally there are (3) NFL Wild-card games scheduled for Sunday. Great home cooked Italian fare and playoff football, what’s not to like?

Finally, we are continuing our annual holiday coat drive through the end of the year. If you have decent warm clothing, particularly coats, jackets, sweaters and footwear, please drop them off in the front of the game room. These will go to the Montclair Salvation Army to provide much needed warmth for those in our community who are in need, especially these days in particular. We have already delivered two large loads, let’s make one more big push before Christmas!

That’s it for now-check the website for all of this and more: www.commonwealthclub.net.

To make a donation or contribution to the Club’s capital fund, make a check out to Commonwealth Club or Venmo to: @Commonwealth-Club 1904

Lots of stuff happening at the Club as we head into the holiday season, so listen up:

There will be a meeting of the Community Action Committee at the club on Monday, the 8th at 7pm. If you’d like to join this committee and/or have ideas for how we can be more involved in our community, come on by!

Thirsty Thursday returns on Thursday, November 11th, with, shockingly, a Thanksgiving theme. That means a fresh fried turkey, courtesy of Lou Graham and bourbon cocktails and beer. Guests are welcome. $10 suggested donation to cover costs.

The really big upcoming event that we’re all excited about is the CC Comedy Circus on Saturday, November 20th; Multiple comedians, food, drink, all for $35! Get your tickets in advance here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-commonwealth-clubs-comedy-circus-an-evening-of-comedy-improv-tickets-203533061867?utm-campaign=social%2Cemail&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-source=strongmail&utm-term=checkoutwidget
This event could very well sell out, so you might want to get yours now-guests, of course, are very welcome!

The return of the Annual Turkey Shoot Tournament will be held on Tuesday, November 23rd. This is a single bowler tournament for current league bowlers and subs only., maximum 30 bowlers There will be an event notice on the Facebook page (which all of you should be a part of) as well as a sign up sheet down by the lanes.

Speaking of returns, Mixed Bowling will make a triumphant reappearance on Saturday, December 4th. This is couples team bowling for fun and profit and guests are welcome! Details to follow.

Finally, in the wake of our fantastically successful Halloween Portrait food exchange, we are starting our annual holiday coat drive this weekend. If you have decent warm clothing, particularly coats, jackets, sweaters and footwear, please drop them off in the front of the game room. These will go to the Montclair Salvation Army to provide much needed warmth for those in our community who are in need, especially these days in particular.

As we set sail into a new bowling season, with a new president, new board members, new website and, most importantly, 25-plus new members, it’s time to make the case for Club Committees.  This club is run by a volunteer board of officers and trustees.  The real work, however, of keeping the club viable, relevant and fun to belong to happens in the various committees that handle different aspects of club life.  
Below you will find the names of each committee, what that committee does and the contact info for the its chairman. What we are looking for are guys who would like to step up and have a real say in the direction and functionality of what is, quite literally, your club. All it will take is a lot of interest, a little time, and a desire to make the club better in any number of ways.  Please read this through and contact the chairman if you are interested in joining one (or more) of the following groups:
Entertainment, Trip Dixon, chairman; 862-596-5162, tripperino@aol.com.
Responsible for the creation and running of all social events at the club, which include staples like the Open House; Cajun Night, Super Bowl Party, Sunday Family (Italian) Dinner, BBQ Competition, Thirsty Thursdays, Bowling Tournaments, Golf Outings, etc. The CC Comedy Circus on November 20th is an example of a new event we’re going to try out, and we are always open to new ideas for any event that will engage our membership. 
Membership, Peter Zaret, chairman; pzaret@comcast.net.
Responsible for the welcoming of new members to the club, including tours and orientations so that each new member has a good grasp of the club, its activities, rules and place in the community.
House, Rich McMahon, chairman; 973-951-7962; rfmcmahon@gmail.com.
The House committee strives to maintain the physical plant of the club house through the work of member craftsmen (or those who are handy and interested in helping out) and outside contractors.  It’s an old building and needs a lot of upkeep, so this is a critical committee to join and make a discernible difference.
Communications, John Anderson, chairman; 646-591-2008; jfxa@blackwatchproductions.com;
Responsible for getting the word out to the members and the community at large regarding all things Commonwealth; publicizing events, general information, maintaining and updating the website, Facebook pages and Instagram page.  Can always use some tech-savvy people with good ideas who want to help out.
Bowling, Keith McKune, chairman; 973-819-8082; kmckune2008@gmail.com
The bowling committee, i.e., Keith, runs all aspects of the bowling league, which is the lifeblood of the club; he records the weekly results, standings and averages for over 120 team bowlers and subs. Rumor has it that is is looking to groom a replacement after over 20 years on the job.
Community Action Initiative, John Anderson, chairman; jfxa@blackwatchproductions.com; 646-591-2008
This is a simple concept: create a mechanism, and, hopefully, a culture, within the club that allows and encourages our members to become more actively involved within our communities.  Now that our membership is on the upswing after the pandemic, it’s seems fitting, if not obligatory, that the Club becomes a beacon of social responsibility; where members represent the club in a positive light through their actions within their communities. To that end, we have formed a Community Action Initiative in order to help implement this activity. 
The idea is to help the membership to get involved by becoming an active resource for opportunities to volunteer, to participate in fundraisers, to help out various youth organizations, in short, to become more fully engaged in the fabric of where we all live.  We are looking for more folks to become a part of this committee. 
This initiative, if successful, is a win-win for the Club in terms of positive public relations, possible new members and rentals, and, most of all, for the difference we can make in our communities by getting involved and being engaged.  I hope that many, if not all, of you will join us in this endeavor.
One of the events that falls under this heading is the annual Costume Portraits for Groceries that will happen at the Club on this Halloween Sunday, October 31st. We normally get around 80 families who come by and exchange a bag of groceries for a professional portrait by our own Michael Stahl.  We could really use 5 or 6 volunteers between 1:30 and 6pm to help with crowd control and the collection and sorting of the groceries, which are going to Toni’s Kitchen and Human Needs Pantry.

The Club’s second annual fall golf outing was held at Rock Spring again on Monday, October 11th. 75 golfers, including many guests, participated on a rain-free and ultimately sunny day. Craig Mohr’s foursome of Brett Muney, Ron Dapuzzo and Dan Hearne took first place at 6 under par, followed by the Herons Four of Neil O’Keefe, Tim DeLorme, Darren Klein and Rich Mahadeen at -5. Also coming in at -5 was Tom and Brian Alati, Don Bowles and Jeff Bromley.

After an extremely successful Open House, the Club would like to welcome it’s 25+ new members! Included in that number are several junior members, almost all of whom are sons of current members, and they have formed their own team that will participate in the 2021 bowling season, which kicks off on September 21st.

Other upcoming events of note are the Club Fall Golf Outing at Rock Spring on October 11th (guests are welcome) and the Club BBQ Bash on October 17th, which is always a great time featuring delicious home cooked foods and is open to the public.

The Club has also signed up for the Toni’s Kitchen Food Drive, so food donations can be left inside the game room up until 11am on Sunday, September 26th.

It’s a great thing to be up and running again at full functionality after a very challenging year. We are really looking forward to moving forward with a recharged sense of energy and purpose.