The Spanish American Club, Inc.

Spanish American Club end-of-year party was great to the end

By Herman Santa

On Saturday, Dec. 28, more than 150 elegantly attired men and women attended the “End of the Year Dinner Dance Gala” of the Spanish American Club, Inc. at The Sons of Italy in Port St. Lucie.  Ron Bryson and Al Feliciano were at the registration table checking the members and their guests, giving them their table numbers and handing out door prizes tickets. Nancy Rozon and Gus Meza sold the drawing tickets (50/50). The members and their guests started with a cocktail then the master of ceremonies and president of the club, Carlos Bonet, welcomed everyone to the party and gave an update of the status of the club. He also had all the birthday members of the month of December stand near the bar so that the D.J. can play a “Happy Birthday” song for them.

Among the birthday members that were present were Gustavo Santa, Wanda Oquendo, Ursula Carcel, Fred Neyndorff, Virginia Feliciano, Nilda Betancourt, Mary Figliola, Carlos Lopez, Gloria Ramirez, Kathy Rivera, Jimmy Rivera, Ana Rodriguez, Kino Velez, Zipy Cartagena and Cathy Murphy.  Followed the birthday celebration the members and their guests enjoyed a delicious buffet catered by Mandi’s Café and Catering. The meal consisted of salad, bread, chicken, beef burgundy, green beans, rice pilaf, dessert and coffee. After the dinner, everyone enjoyed our D.J. José Ramírez who did a fantastic job entertaining us with his repertoire of songs from back in our day, line dancing and modern salsa music until late in the evening.

During a break the board held the drawings for the door prizes and the 50/50. The 50/50 split winners were Ana Rodriguez and Daisy Aleman. Door prize winners were Dan Carroll, Ruben Aleman, Fred Neydorff, Liz Bonet and Bill Vignier. The food was good, the music was great and the board did a good job organizing the event. To all the members and guests who made donations for the door prizes, we appreciate your generosity. Thank you.

The club was founded the same year that the Hispanics were celebrating 500 years of Spanish heritage on the new continent. The group started with nine families from six different countries such as Cuba, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Perú, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. With the influx of Hispanics in the early 1990s, local Hispanics believed that a social organization was need to unite them. Today, there are over 100 active members. They meet once a month to dine, dance and socialize and meet new members.

The General Assembly to select a new board for the fiscal year 2014 has already been scheduled for Jan. 18 at the Disabled American Veterans Club in Port St. Lucie. Anyone interested in becoming a member of the club, please contact the president of the club, Carlos Bonet, at spanishkroke@aol.com.

Photo # 1 Birthdays: Gustavo Santa, Wanda Oquendo, Ursula Carcel, Fred Neyndorff, Virginia Feliciano, Nilda Betancourt, Mary Figliola, Carlos Lopez, Gloria Ramirez, Kathy Rivera, Jimmy Rivera, Ana Rodriguez and Kino Velez.

Photo # 2 Some members and their guests celebrating the “End of the Year Party”.

Photo # 3 Door Prizes: Dan Carroll, Ruben Aleman, Fred Neyndorff, Liz Bonet and Bill Vignier.