December Anniversaries

25 Years with the FSOS

Bennett McLaughlin

20 Years with the FSOS

Michael Kelly
Vincent Woods

15 Years with the FSOS

Jason Howe

10 Years with the FSOS

John Condon

Thanksgiving - we did it.

A time to give thanks for all we have and for some a reminder of what we have not. As what has been an especially difficult year for many draws to a close, Ray Costello once again organized the FSOS family and put his efforts into providing at least a Thanksgiving lift to those who most needed it. Seeing that the need was substantially greater this year, Ray took on the challenge of providing not for 24 families but for 48.

By all accounts we met the challenge and surpassed it. More fundraising by Ray and more foodstuffs provided by the membership helped. But  doubling the number of families also meant greater preparation was going to be necessary if the delivery was to go off smoothly on Saturday morning. So the night before the baskets were assembled Ray and a small army of helpers got busy setting out the non perishables on tables in the hall.

Saturday morning arrived and so did the unsung heroes of the day, Bobby Quinn, Kevin Morgan and Pat Donnelly. They got busy straight away in the kitchen churning out hot coffee and breakfast sandwiches for the volunteers. I cried tears of joy when I saw the bacon egg and cheese sandwich with my name on it.

Tommy Keegan took on the job of guarding the food packing bags and God help anybody who tried to get a bag out of turn…. Those teeth leave a mark. As usual folks were organized into groups of three and the loading began. When all was said and done we had 144 bags (one basket being three bags). The job now was to deliver the baskets and this too was organized with efficiency as drivers after receiving final instructions from Ray were loaded up outside before heading off on deliveries.

Theodore Roosevelt said, “Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds. “

The FSOS Family lives by this principle all year long… but it’s rarely more evident than on the Saturday morning before Thanksgiving.

More photos courtsey of John DeMaio, Jack Walsh and Dave Cummins

Trick or Treat

Candy, costumes, arts and crafts and all set to the music of DJ Casey… does life get any better when you’re a kid? I think not. The Halloween party was once again a fun time for all those who attended, be they young or maybe not so young. Much thanks and congratulations for a job well done go out my wife Joanne, Maureen McKiernan and of course our good humored president Rob Mckiernan. They spent numerous hours preparing for this event and when they could have bolted they stayed behind and ran it. Casey Schuld (Jeff's son) was our DJ and he did a super job. Imagine Jeff with hair, 30 plus years younger, 100lbs lighter, with a good sense of music and funny… that’s Casey.

In addition to our entertaining DJ, all children had the opportunity to decorate pumpkins, do arts & crafts, play games, dance and feast on delicious sweet snacks, hot dogs & ice cream sundaes. For some reason all kids seemed wired & energized at the end of the party… mission accomplished. A special thanks to Tom Esser who brought ghoulish stuffed animals for each child. As a final treat, goody bags were given to each child during the course of the evening and on this evening… no tricks.

Of course none of this would have been possible without you the parents. To all the parents and members who were a part of the evening ….. Many thanks.

Marty Cameron

More Photos

Fleet Valid Hits the Big Time

We ran the shillelagh horse "Fleet Valid " in the $300,000 grade 1 race at Laurel race track in Laurel, Maryland on Saturday, Oct 24. After winning 4 straight races including the $100,000 Teddy Drone Stakes and the $75,000 Icecapade Stakes at Monmouth Park, we decided that he had earned a shot at the big time. We thought he was a winner at the 1/16 pole but the favorite and the co-favorite closed on him and we got beat a little less than a length. He ran a great race on what was a really muddy Saturday. He proved he can run with the best in the country. The horse that beat us was bought by a sheik for $9,000,000. The Fleet came back good and will live to run another day. Not bad for a horse we claimed for $14,000.

Jackie Breen

November Anniversaries

20 Years with the FSOS

Stephen Dunnigan
Richard Murray

15 Years with the FSOS

William Dwyer
Keith Gardner
Thomas Judd
Francis Kist

10 Years with the FSOS

John Sheridan

The Diary Gets a New Look

Believe it or not the FSOSDiary went online on February 8, 2008. Since then we've had a consistent theme that most of you have gotten used to. However as activity as increased on the site it has become neccessary to add a third column to make things a little easier to navigate. It was also time to update the look and feel of the site with a new coat of paint. There will be a few more minor changes in the coming weeks but nothing too drastic. Comments and suggestions are always welcome so if you have them contact me from this page or via email, Editor@FsosDiary.Com.

Dave Cummins

Pipes and Drums Recruiting

The pipes and drums are looking for new members. If you or a friend would like to join then this is your opportunity. Take it and become a part of the award winning FSOS Pipes and Drums.

We're looking for both experienced players and beginners looking to learn.

For more information contact John Hatton or come down to the club on Monday nights.

John Hatton

Clothing Drive

While most of us were still sleeping, Gene Moore, Tom Esser and Rob McKiernan were loading the clothing drive donations to the truck that arrived in the wee hours of Saturday morning. FSOS... making a difference in our community.

Dart Social Scores a Bullseye

In the words of John Sheridan," Great effort Lads (Tom and Dennis) - a pure homerun, organized chaos in the beginning... but all came together in the end. Friends worked for weeks with a final push on Saturday to carry off this event. And did you hear the band?

For those of you wondering who got the big prize, wonder no longer... it was Marty. What do you call the first man out in a dart tournament? The most dangerous man in the room. What did the rest of us do when he finally put the darts down? We laughed, we cried but mostly we breathed a sigh of relief.

First Man Out - Marty Cameron

First Place - Charlie Collick

Second Place – Gus Hoban

Third Place - Jim Lundy

Woman who went furthest – Gotta Prize.

"Paul Q, Paul Q, do you know Paul Q? I’m looking for Paul Q." "I don’t know him but do you know Mary McGuire?"…  this was how the night went. But for as chaotic as it was, it was also a lot of fun. Some might say it was a miracle that with all these people milling around with beer, with wine and with darts we didn't get one  burst balloon. I'd say it was no miracle, once we got the darts out of Marty's hands it was nothin' but board.

At times we had to shout at one another because the folks around us were just laughing so loud. If you won, you laughed, if you lost, you laughed. And if it happened to one of your friends, you laughed louder.

We're definitely going to do this again - a yearly thing.

Article by Tom Esser with Dave Cummins

Check out Photos from the evening at least three of them show darts in flight... wow, must have been a really great photographer... really.

Chairman Joe

An FSOS golf update from Ocean City, Maryland.

With a large contingent of the FSOS membership sharing a male bonding experience down in Maryland, Joe Patterson, Chairman of the Entertainment Committee has been hard at work to see that all goes well. Seen here Joe is deep in the zone, focused on his game plan for the weekend. At least that's the way it looks. And just how seriously does he take this job? When he goes to bed... he takes his chair with him!

Photos and Story posted by John Sheridan.