LAOH News

LAOH Division #23

Monthly Membership Meeting – Minutes
Friday, April 10, 2026, 7:00pm

Opening Prayers/Special Intentions:
Prayers

 Pray for all the people who are inflicted with this latest round of the flu or whatever is going around.
 Please keep Sis Roche (mother of our sister Sallie Ollio) in your prayers as she takes on medical challenges and unbearable pain.
 Please pray for Regina’s co-worker’s mom, she had brain surgery this week. Please pray for a speedy recovery.
 Please pray for a co-worker who has passed away
 For a family friend
 A co-worker who is fighting cancer and needs a bone marrow transplant.
 Please pray for the repose of the soul of Eileen (Keohane) Schilken. I read her obituary and she sounded like a wonderful woman. Someone who embraced her Irish heritage and led a rich and fulfilled life. EILEEN (KEOHANE) SCHILKEN Obituary | 2026 | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 Please pray for the Astronauts as they return to Earth.
 Please pray for a peaceful end to the war in Iran and bring our troops home.
 Please pray for the City of Pittsburgh as we host the NFL Draft. May the preparations and plans be carried out flawlessly and safely.

Praises

Pledge of Allegiance:

Roll Call:

Present: President (Regina Byrnes), Treasurer (Kara Purnell), Financial Secretary (Fran Pischke), Recording Secretary (Carmella Law), Missions and Charities (Sue Bryan)
Excused: Sentinel (Lois Callwood), Vice President (Colleen DeFilippo), Catholic Action (Jamie DePastino), Historian (Patty (Chavez), Mistress at Arms (Germaine D’Amico)

Motion for Last Month’s Meeting Minutes:

Gina sent out the meeting minutes for our March meeting, can I get a motion to accept the
minutes as is without reading them? Motion made by Erin and seconded Tricia DeYoung.

Installation of New Members:

No new members were initiated this month

The tags are in the monthly drawing for the following:

 Holly Victor
 Brogan Victor
 Liz Shovlin-Grinko
 Dawn Smith
 Molly Kuczinski

The following members were not present at the meeting and still do not have tags:

 Sr. Sue Fazzini
 Mary Hasson
 Karen Farrell

I have an updated Members List that I am going to be sharing with the men. This list is for
them to know who all are active so when they pull a name, they can verify by checking the
list. Gina will also go through all the names and double check to make sure we are current.

Correspondence:

Email from Pittsburgh Pirates. (See attached Flyer) Irish Heritage night is Wednesday,
May 27th at 6:40 pm. Not only will our very own MSIE 2026 Molly McKenna be
highlighted during the pierogi race, but a portion of the tickets purchased will support
the rebuilding of Riley’s Pour House in Carnegie! The Irish Heritage Night includes
an exclusive co-branded Pirates Irish-themed jersey and comes with a
loaded value that can be used for concessions and merchandise on the day of the
game. Seats start @ $36/pp and would put us at the 300 level. We can always opt to
upgrade if we want. I have forwarded the link to sign up so we gauge the interest of
the group. If there are enough members who want to upgrade to better seating, we
will look into costs.
*
Gina read a thank you note from Molly McKenna. Molly was very pleased with the
banner that was created for her for the parade, and we were all touched by her
outpouring of gratitude.
Received the calendar for the AOH Club upcoming Events. (See attached)
We must host the County Meeting either in May or June. I will check the calendar and
will finalize a date. We will also decide if we will cater the event or ask for
contributions from our members. We can talk about it at the May meeting.
 Note all attachments will be sent electronically only with the minutes

Officer Presentations:

PRESIDENT:

We got a core group together for the St Kieran’s all class reunion. Gina is the
Chairperson. We met earlier in the evening. She will post any updates on our meeting
minutes as well as put a post on the St. Kieran’s page on Facebook. There will be food
trucks. Nan is coordinating the game wheels that the Gottschalk and Byrnes families
used during the St. Kieran’s Bazaars, the game wheels are being stored at St. Raphael’s. Several bands will be playing. Costs to enter will be $15 in advance and $20 at the door.
The parade awards (And we won one!) is on Monday 4/13 @ 7:00 pm at the Harp & Fiddle. Tricia DeYoung volunteered to accept the award on our behalf, but Colleen DeFilippo will also be at the event.
I think the main focus of this meeting should be the Cash Bash, so I won’t bog this agenda down with a bunch of stuff from me.

VICE PRESIDENT:

Junior Update:

Next meeting is April 19th, @ 3:00 pm at the McKenna House. If you want to go let Regina or Colleen know and we will give you the address.
Two of our very own members of our group, Mary Turak and Theresa Orseno have published their 2nd children’s book. WAY TO GO LADIES! Check them out on Amazon at:
Amazon.com: Mommy’s Favorite Sport: 9798250929240: Turak, Mary, Orseno, Teresa, Isenberg, Amber: Books
Amazon.com: Mommy’s Favorite Color: 9798298907996: Turak, Mary, Orseno, Teresa: Books

TREASURER:

 Details on above transactions available upon request.
 Tshirt orders are in. If you didn’t pick them up at the meeting please reach out to Kara to arrange pickup. https://www.customink.com/g/dqe0-00d1-hu4j
Cash Bash update-Sunday May 31st. Doors open at 1:30 and it starts at 2:00. $25 a ticket. See Colleen or Kara for a ticket. About 52% of the 250 available tickets have been sold. Volunteers are needed, please reach out to Kara or Colleen.
Please remember that we are accepting donations of new leggings, sweatpants, underwear & socks size kids 5-12 this meeting and next meeting. You can send cash to Kara or bring donations into the meeting. This is for Megan’s nursing office in the elementary school.

RECORDING SECRETARY:

 Memorial Day Parade will be discussed at May Meeting.

FINANCIAL SECRETARY:

We have 113 members
37 Unpaid (Nan is going to send a friendly reminder email)
Nan suggested we give Sr. Sue her money back and that we should carry her as she is Clergy and we all agreed.
We are unable to hold the Flower Sale this year. Nan is going to Ireland for six weeks and there was not a person to fill the spot for the work that she does for this fundraiser.
Nan will be coordinating a request for the St. Rapheal’s Bazaar in September.

IRISH HISTORIAN:

No report.

CATHOLIC ACTION:

St Pio updates – Rosary society is currently meeting. If anyone is interested, contact Jamie.

MISSIONS AND CHARITIES:

Sue has submitted the application for Sr. Florence for the St. Brigid Humanitarian Award. All her work with Angels and Overalls exemplifies all the characteristics and requirements for this. We have been notified that this application has been sent to National Level !

Donation Request

Diane Byrnes requested that we sponsor Echoes of Erin again. This would come out of our Operations Fund. We are going to sponsor a month – Regina is going to get in touch with Diane.

Donations Made:

$250 to for the Public School System to be given to Megan Wonderly for leggings, sweatpants, underwear etc. for students who have accidents and need a change of clothes. Mary Ellen Made a motion and Kara 2nd ** Remember you can bring items to the meetings as well or send personal donations to Kara
$100 to the B&G Club Purse Base – Returned= Sr. Sue her $30 membership fee – She should be carried as she is Clergy.

Events

April	May	June
4/19 from 11-2 B&C Club purse bash – See attached. $50	☘️5/27 -Irish Heritage Night for Pittsburgh Pirates – Sign ups to follow. Start @ $36 @ 300 level. Shovlin Dance Academy will be dancing.	6/6 – St. Kieran’s all class Reunion
	Many Juniors are members.
	5/31 Cash Bash – Doors open at 1:30 starts @ 2:00 $25
	Memorial Day Parade

Good & Welfare of the Order:

Dues ($30) are being accepted for the 2026 year. You can pay in person at the monthly
meeting to Nan Pischke or mail in your check to Nan Pischke at 1822 Jancey Street,
Pittsburgh, PA 15206. You can also send Pay Pal to Kara but please remember to note that it
is for annual membership dues.

Closing Prayers:

NEXT MEMBERSHIP MEETING will be May 8, 2026 @ 7:00 pm. (This will be our last meeting
before the break)

Upcoming events:

May Bar Bingo will be held on Friday, May 8, 2026

May Trivia Night will be held on Saturday, May 16, 2026

LAOH Sunday Funday Cash Bash will be held on Sunday, May 31, 2026. Only 250 tickets will be sold ($25 each).

St. Kieran Reunion will be held on Saturday, June 6, 2026. A joint event between the A.O.H. & the VFW, starting at 3 PM.

June Bar Bingo will be held on Friday, June 12, 2026

June Trivia Night will be held on Saturday, June 20, 2026

61^st Annual Irish Open Golf Tournament will be held on Saturday, June 27 at 8:00 AM at Saxon Golf Course (839 Ekastown Road, Sarver, PA 16055). Cost of event will be announced as we get closer to the event date, but as always, it will include drinks & food at the course, and dinner back at the club afterwards.

July Bar Bingo will be held on Friday, July 10, 2026

July Trivia Night will be held on Saturday, July 18, 2026

August Bar Bingo will be held on Friday, August 14, 2026

August Trivia Night will be held on Saturday, August 22, 2026

Cookout at the Club on Saturday, September 5 – A.O.H. Division 23’s member’s appreciation cookout. The event will “kickoff” at Noon. Food will be served beginning around 4-5 PM.

September Bar Bingo will be held on Friday, September 11, 2026

September Trivia Night will be held on Saturday, September 19, 2026

October Bar Bingo will be held on Friday, October 9, 2026

October Trivia Night will be held on Saturday, October 17, 2026

November Bar Bingo will be held on Friday, November 13, 2026

Annual Turkey Shoot will be held on Friday, November 20 at 7 PM. You don’t need to be an expert marksman to win, and you’re virtually guaranteed to have fun if you attend, so really, you can’t lose! Come kickoff the Holiday Season with us, at what is one of our most popular annual events.

“Thanksgiving Eve” celebration will, oddly enough, take place the day before Thanksgiving, on Wednesday, November 25 at 7 PM. Thanksgiving chefs and non-chefs alike are welcome to get together at the A.O.H. before celebrating Thanksgiving.

November Trivia Night will be held on Saturday, November 28, 2026

Kid’s Christmas Party will be held on Saturday, December 5 at Noon.

December Bar Bingo will be held on Friday, December 11, 2026

December will not have a Trivia Night

Annual Christmas Sing Along featuring Tim & John will be held on Saturday, December 19 at 7 PM.

Irish New Year will be held on Tuesday, December 31. 2027 arrives in Ireland 5 hours earlier than it does in Pittsburgh. We will be opening early to celebrate the Irish New Year.

LAOH Division 23 ~ 25th Anniversary Celebration