By now most of you have probably read of the death of Andy Harkness in yesterday’s newspaper.  Andy has been a personal friend of Nancy & I for nearly 40 years and was the cornerstone of our Fund Raising team which meets every Tuesday morning here in our dining room.  Andy was to have been on the CCAT agenda at our next Board of Directors meeting to give the “update”.  Andy has provided rock solid guidance and direction all along the way.  When we sit down again tomorrow morning for our weekly meeting there will be an empty chair between Nancy & I  – - – - and I expect it will remain empty for a very long time to come.  This is a very sad time for Nancy & I personally and for our collective efforts here in Cheshire.

http://obituaries.mpnnow.com/obituaries/mpnnow/obituary.aspx?n=andrew-m-harkness&pid=144945224

Yesterday’s PICNIC IN THE PARK presented by Donny & Sandy Colf netted $714 in profit for the Cheshire Meeting Hall Project.  A contractor named Brad Chrysler also came forward afterward to offer a donation of his labor and equipment to the project if we could come up with a few volunteers who could/would swing a hammer.  I told him we’d be in touch.  This was about $200 more than we netted last year so we couldn’t be happier and more appreciative of Donny & Sandy’s interest, LOYAL SUPPORT and efforts on our behalf.  There’s just no way to say thank you enough to somebody who steps up and does something like that for a cause such as ours.

We also sold quite a few more T shirts to benefit the CCAT but have not yet totaled that amount.

Hey, Folks. We’re making preparations for this year’s TP fest. Things will be a little different this year. So prepare to decorate your porches, decide which Alice in Wonderland character you want to be ’cause Halloween is a comin’.

For all present and past Cheshire residents. I have just found out that there will be a benefit dinner for Stephanie Ganoe, a long ago former resident, who was electrocuted while working with her father, Les Ganoe, earlier this summer. It would be great to show our support and help with the long recovering still ahead of her. The details that I know of now are:

Sunday, September 19th at the Moose lodge, Ontario Street Extension, Canandaigua.

CCAT and The Cheshire Meeting Hall restoration project will have a booth at the Annual Rotary Pier Festival on the Canandaigua City Pier, August 14 and 15. Please make an effort to drop by to see our Power Point presentation. www.canandaiguarotary.org

Donny and Sandy Colf have once again agreed to present a musical event in support of the Grange project as they did last year.  This years PICNIC IN THE PARK will be the afternoon of AUGUST 29TH at PIERCE MEMORIAL PARK in Cheshire.   The price of admission will be on a donation basis, all proceeds going to support the CHESHIRE MEETING HALL ( Grange ) Project.

Donny and Sandy have performed for many years throughout the South, ( including Nashville, TN), Southwest and West  Coast.  Being “snow birds” they now winter over in the sunny south and come home during the summer months where they perform locally.

Last years concert was a tremendous help to our effort and we look forward to another great turnout again this year.  Please put this event on your calendar, support the cause and enjoy some GREAT music in the process, here in Cheshire.   Local support such as that offered here by Donny and Sandy is very much needed and very much appreciated.

Additional details will be made forthcoming as they become available.  Promotion of the event will begin around August 1st.  The main thing right now is to give plenty of advance notice so you can save the date on your calendar.

Come out to Cheshire on July 10th from 10 – 3 for the “Focusing on the Fingerlakes” Tent Sale at the Cheshire Union.

Fifteen local artists and entrepreneurs will be offering their goods for sale.  Fred will be Playing for the Grange and There will be “Cheshire Amusement Co.” playbill reproductions for sale to raise money and awareness about the Cheshire Meeting Hall Our Community Center.

Come one, come all and join in the fun.

I’d like to congratulate our winners: Tom C, Sharon K, Justin M, Bob N, Kevin P, and Dave W.  Each won 50 lbs of beef donated by Ken Naples Farms.  CCAT would like to extend thanks to everyone who purchased tickets.  We also had a side competition among our ticket sellers, Gale H sold the most tickets and will receive approximately 10 lbs of beef.  Congrats Gale, your hard work paid off.

The total amount raised was $1480.50 (don’t ask were the 50 cents came from but every little bit helps).  Total deductions for the processing fees and purchasing the raffle tickets came to $386.53 resulting in $1093.97 net total raised to help CCAT in its many endeavors to make Cheshire and the surrounding area a better place to raise our families.

The Goodnow’s will be playing from 12:00PM until 1:00 PM on the 4th at the Brown Hound Bistro.