The Catholic Adults of Brooklyn (CAB) held their 30th annual dinner dance on Saturday, Feb. 23, marking three decades of friendship for some members of group.
The organization was founded 30 years ago by current club President Michael Somma, Jr. as a way for community singles to meet new people and form friendships. Somma, Jr. reached out to people all through the Brooklyn Catholic Diocese and ultimately formed a group that held their first dinner dance in 1989.
“It’s so nice to know that people that met at our first dances have gone on to marry and have children,” Somma told this paper. “And it just keeps growing stronger every year. My fondest memory of being in this club is meeting my wife here 25 years ago.”
At the same time Somma, Jr. was holding his first dance at St. Bernard in Mill Basin, the club’s Co-President Mary Ann De Luca had started holding her own dances at Our Lady of Grace in Gravesend, while Joann Sechiano was doing the same thing at St. Thomas Aquinas in Flatlands.
“Some marriages don’t last 30 years,” De Luca said. “The group started as a singles club – three singles clubs in fact. Joanne and I had our own singles clubs with meetings every Tuesday night at our churches, and our own activities.”
After meeting Somma, Jr., who held his meetings on Friday nights at St. Bernard, the three groups decided to merge and bring their members together for one joint monthly meeting on Sundays at 6:30 p.m. The newly formed group was called the Catholic Young Adults Community (CYAC).
They held dances and arranged trips with the original age group focusing on young adults in their 20s and 30s. “Over the years we have increased the age limit because we got older,” De Luca explained. “We then changed our name again to Catholic Adults of Brooklyn (CAB). Members met and married over the years and we did not want to leave them out.”
And it isn’t just Catholic singles that find their happily ever after at CAB. Reed Perlowitz was a young Jewish man who had heard about the group from friends in 2008. He ultimately became CAB’s first Jewish member after meeting a nice young Catholic girl named Sue.
“I came to Catholic singles night 11 years ago and met a nice Jewish man,” Sue Perlowitz told this paper. “We eventually got married and have two beautiful children, Michael and Faith. We just love being part of this group.”
The members of CAB enjoy annual retreats, picnics and camping, quarterly dances, overnight and day trips, along with weekly volley ball and a bowling league. They also give back by collecting funds for St. Jude every year and canned foods to feed the homeless.
Over 100 guests attended the dinner dance that included music courtesy of DJ Victor Spadaro of Victory Entertainment, who’s been hosting their events for over 20 years. The blessing was delivered by Father Dominick Cutrone, pastor emeritus of Our Lady of Grace.
CAB’s milestone dance was held at the El Caribe Catering Hall at 5495 Strickland Ave.
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