It was a great night at the May 5 gala. As board President Roger Bahnik explained more then 25 percent of the funds for the Boys & Girls Club of Oyster Bay-East Norwich, is raised through this annual event. The club has 1038 members this year. The summer program enrollment is already at 275, both higher and sooner than last year. Úquot;Applications are pouring in every single day,Úquot; she said.

During the live auction, the announcer said, Úquot;While many of you may not be able to bid thousands of dollars on items, you can give $100 for the summer camp scholarships.Úquot; People responded and filled out forms at their tables.

The gala event was heavily supported financially by local residents. The cocktail party was sponsored by The Charles B. Wang Foundation, Inc. and Computer Associates International, Inc.; the dinner was sponsored by Marge and Fritz Coudert and The Frederic R. Coudert Foundation; the calendar printing was sponsored by the Bahnik family; the dance floor by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Dolan ; the air conditioning, which made for a comfortable party environment, was sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. James Scoroposki. Last year there was an annoucement that men could take off their jackets; husbands were hiding out in the air conditioned sections of the building!

The auction items were truly choice. Rita Quinlan was one of the committee members greeting guests arriving at the door of the Bahnik Center. As Ralph Fumante and his wife Kristy entered, she came over to thank him for the wonderful tour her son and friends had taken behind the scenes of shooting Behind the NFL. They got signed T-shirts, lunch and more take home items and had a memorable time.

The tour was an auction item on the club's golf outing and appeared on the auction program again as: Úquot;Four behind the scene passes to HBO's Inside the NFL with lunch,Úquot; offered by Kristy and Ralph Fumante of Oyster Bay Cove.

Bidding was brisk and the item was won by Gerry Kelly of Bayville for $2,900. His wife Sherry Kelly hugged him on his winning the bid. She had a double reason, she, as well as Kristy Fumante were gala committee members. It was another win-win situation.

Mr. Kelly had reason to celebrate too. His book Honor for Sale has been optioned and is on its way to becoming a movie. Úquot;We worked hard getting it out. We were on radio and CNN and had book signings.Úquot; He said. The option was taken by Kinowelt and the producer of The Hunt for Red October. They are picking the director now and in the fall will start attaching actors to the script, he said.

The story is about the stealing of the French Connection narcotic haul from the New York City Police Department said the retired NYC detective. Úquot;We're optimistic,Úquot; said Mr. Kelly.

Another great auction story was the winning of a custom-built Úquot;Canine CastleÚquot; offered by F.C. Freyvogel & Co.; Oyster Bay Roofing; Viking Iron Works and Teddy Schiwon. The item was won by Ray Knight owner of KII Designs and Knight & Co., (the latter specializes in English antiques). Who better to own a $3,100 brick dog house with cooper roof and a mahogany floor than the decorating couple Diane and Ray Knight.

Úquot;A lot more teens are coming down to the center,Úquot; said Roger Bahnik as he welcomed guests. To prove that, he gave the attendance numbers for some of the teen events: the Holiday dance, 165; the St. Patrick's Day Dance, 172; the Hip Hop Dance 108.

Lori Bahnik completed the pitch for teens when she introduced Matt Doyle, an Oyster Bay High School student who told about the Showcase of Bands, a favorite teen event. Mr. Doyle said Úquot;Teens are united by their music.Úquot; He said each generation has its own music, and this group of teens also shares the music written by local youth. Úquot;It makes people feel good to perform at the Bahnik Center.

Úquot;I am grateful to the Boys & Girls Club for giving me the chance to express myself with my music,Úquot; said Mr. Doyle.

The Battle of the Bands set the standard for the dance sponsorships as over $3,800.

Another sponsorship was available for the annual Easter Egg Hunt. Mr. Bahnik said there were 500 children at their Easter Egg Hunt. Úquot;They ran out of eggs! Some grown-up kids were eating eggs, also,'' he quipped.

Úquot;Oyster Bay is a small community and we don't have a tremendous base of support so it is important that we have you here helping fund the work.Úquot;

Lori Bahnik, fund-raising chair, also thanked the community who came to share the event.

She said last year's calendar won a Silver Award for marketing and communications from the National Boys & Girls Club of America. They competed with 2,800 clubs nationwide for the distinction.

Last year's calendar grossed $100,000 and this year's calendar Úquot;because of our wonderful sponsors and supporters grossed $162,000.Úquot;

Sue Mee Winkel, the Youth of the Year, spoke with emotion on what the club has meant to her. She thanked her parents saying, Úquot;You took a chance with an unknown child. Without you I would be lost.Úquot;

Her motto is the motto of the club itself, Úquot;Help children become the best people they can be.Úquot; She plans to help children in her life.

Ms. Winkel was presented with a medallion by Lori Bahnik, in recognition of her being elected Youth of the Year. Sue Mee has already been interviewed for the national title of Youth of the Year.

Sabina Moravcik a seventh grader at Oyster Bay High School overcame stage fright to give a resounding rendition of I Will Love Again. She was afraid the audience wouldn't clap, but they did before she ended, as they joined in a chorus.

Ms. Bahnik showed her compassion for children, poise with the public and warmth as she guided Sabina to the stage saying, Úquot;She is a little nervous but promised me she wants to do this.Úquot;

With that performance lighting up the audience, the auction began on a high note with fresh flowers monthly for a year by English Country Flowers, donated by Judy and Victor Ort and won by Mr. and Mrs. William Quinn.

A hot air balloon ride for two in Westchester County was offered by Linda Conarelli and Otto Lugo of RE/MAX: it went to Mr and Mrs. Giambrone.

As a result of the auction Rita Chang Quinlan will prepare a Chinese Úquot;HotpotÚquot; dinner for eight at the home of the winner: Jack Bernstein and friends. Carol and Larry Schmidlapp will host a sunset cocktail cruise for Mr. and Mrs. Nazarewicz aboard their Gatsby built in 1930.

The last auction item of the night was a theater packages: two nights stay at The Pierre, NYC with two tickets to Contact, and dinner for two at Cafe Pierre and Bruno's sponsored by the board of trustees, Diane and Bernie Yatauro and Donna and Vincent Tona. The theater package was won by Mr. and Mrs. Fumante!

On May 23, the nominating committee will announce David McLaughlin for the position of board president of the Boys & Girls Club. Roger Bahnik is stepping down because of all his involvement with other boards. He was the co-chair of the Bully Gala for the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary held at the Nassau Country Club on April 28.

Úquot;There were about 300 people there. It was hopping but it didn't feel crowded,Úquot; said Mr. Bahnik. Úquot;We couldn't have fit 10 more people in.Úquot; The night honored NYS Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Bernadette Castro and Friends of the Bay President Jack Williams. Lori Bahnik is working as fund-raising chair for the Long Island Heritage Trail Commission after being appointed by Commissioner Castro recently.

The TRS Bully! gala event will be highlighted in the May 16 issue of Boulevard which will appear in this publication.