MANRESA REVUE DECEMBER 2015 Volume 105 Issue 12

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1 MANRESA REVUE DECEMBER 2015 Volume 105 Issue 12 COUNCIL OFFICERS District Deputy: Chip Mclean Chaplain: Rev. Pancrose Kalist Grand Knight: James Gonzalez Deputy Grand Knight: Eddie Thatcher Chancellor: James DeFrancesco Warden: Robert Dugan Recording Secretary: Angelo Fusaro Treasurer: Chris Marzullo Right to Life Chairman: John Donovan Guard: Greg Baxter Guard: Ray Wasson Guard: James Campbell Guard: John Zingales Financial Secretary: Robert Moumblow Trustee: James Neese, PGK Trustee: Frank Alessio, PGK Trustee: Robert Bauer, PGK Lecturer: Johnny Czirr Advocate: Daniel Ajello Youth Director: Mike McHugh, PGK C&B Chairman: Donald Thatcher Membership Director: Robert Bauer, PGK Retention Director: Peter J. Sacco Scholarship Chairman: Anthony Buzanca Scouting Director: Bill Muller Admissions Chairman: Frank Alessio, PGK Catholic Activities: Nicholas Macula Council Activities: Alphonse Berardis, PGK Collation Director: William Gialella Community Activities: Timothy Marshall Public Relations: Timothy Marshall Editor: Mark Curi Field Agent: John A. Carone, F.I.C.F CONTACT US Manresa Council James Gonzalez Grand Knight (917) Robert Bauer, Membership Director (917) Mark Curi, Manresa Revue Editor (718) Manresa Council 2147 Website Manresa Council 2147 on Facebook K of C Supreme NY State Council Staten Island Chapter FROM THE GRAND KNIGHT S DESK Brother Knights and Sister Columbiettes, The Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are busy times for most of us, and Manresa Council is no exception. Our members stepped up in in numerous ways and here are the highlights. Manresa hosted a successful blood drive where we collected over 53 pints of lifesaving blood to help the NY/Brooklyn Blood Center, thanks to PGK Jim Neese and his team. We hosted another successful ND Gamewatch to benefit St. Peter/St. Paul Elementary School this is an event run by PGK Mike McHugh and supported by the Council and the Columbian Club. We held our Annual Memorial Mass and had a nice turnout of Knights and Columbiettes to remember those members, who are no longer with us, special thanks to Tim Marshall and Fr. Pancrose for making this Mass a meaningful remembrance. The weekend before Thanksgiving found us at Shop Rite and Stop and Shop for our Food Drive. We had enough members at both stores throughout the day. We collected well over 150 cases of food for SMM s James Regan Food Pantry. This drive helps fill a need for those folks less fortunate. The turnout was great; the response from the shoppers was heartwarming. Thanks go out to Ed Thatcher, Jim Neese, James DeFrancesco and countless others for the tremendous success of this drive. November was truly a month where we all came out and did good deeds for our community. December started off with Manresa doing more of the same. As I write this our Council raised approximately $7, for Special Olympics via the Polar Plunge. Brother Bill Muller started this on his own a few years ago. Recently we had 23 Knights and Columbiettes take part, they had a lot of fun, and were treated to balmy temps in the 50 s. We came in 3 rd overall in fundraising, but in my opinion we were number 1 in heart. We will be sponsoring a Keep Christ in Christmas poster contest coordinated by PGK Bob Bauer in our local elementary schools. We donated 24 new winter coats to the NDB Civic Association to help our neighbors who are still out of the neighborhood from Superstorm Sandy. December 12 th will be our Council Christmas Party to benefit Toys for Tots, hosted by PGK Jim Neese. December 13 th we will again have our Kids Christmas Party which is free to all members and their families this is sponsored by our Columbian Club and coordinated by Mike Manning. New Year s Eve we will host a party with catered food, DJ entertainment, favors and open bar for 5 hours!!! All this for just $75.00 pp see attached flyer. So we definitely have a busy holiday season. As busy as we all are, we manage to find some time to donate and give back to our community. This is one thing I love about our Council; we always find a way to help, no matter what, where or when. On behalf of myself, my wife Cathy and our family, I want to wish all of you a Blessed Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year. During the hectic weeks ahead, try to find some time to reflect on what Christmas means to you and yours. I leave you with this from Isaiah 9:6, For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Merry Christmas, Jim Gonzalez GK

2 LIFE INSURANCE AS A GIFT? The initial reaction for many people when you mention life insurance as a gift is a quick step back and a questioning stare. How morbid, they think. While it may seem that way when you first mention it, life insurance is really a thoughtful gift that can be a financial life preserver in tough times. The problem with life insurance is the general perception. Many think of death instead of the great benefits it provides, and the security that it offers even while you re alive.. Life insurance should be thought of as a precautionary protective measure for a family unit. The purchase of this product can mean saving your home, sending your children to college, and preserving your spouse s quality of life in the event of your death. One of the times you may want to purchase life insurance for someone is when a family has a new baby. It s a great, low-cost way to set money aside for the future (i.e. college tuition, housing, business startup, etc.). Of greater importance, it ensures these children will have insurance as adults, in case an illness later in life makes him or her uninsurable. Newlyweds are also ideal recipients for life insurance. As they join their lives and financial responsibilities, young couples need to make sure that their early investments are fully protected. If something were to happen to one of them, the other may be faced with serious financial hardship. A life insurance policy is an ideal way to ensure their future and protect their assets. As nontraditional as it may be, life insurance is a wise and caring gift to purchase for many people. John A. Carone, FICF (718) john.carone@kofc.org UPCOMING CALENDAR OF EVENTS Wednesday, December 9th Columbiettes Meeting, 8pm Thursday, December 10th Council Meeting, 8:15pm Saturday, December 12th Council Christmas Party, 8pm Sunday, December 13th Council Children s Christmas Party, 1pm Thursday, December 17th Board of Directors Meeting, 8pm Monday, December 21st Chapter Meeting, Staten Island Council Thursday, December 24th Christmas Eve, No Council Meeting Friday, December 25th Merry Christmas Thursday, December 31st Council New Year s Eve Party Friday, January 1st Happy New Year Wednesday, January 13th Columbiettes Meeting, 8pm Thursday, January 14th Council Meeting, 8:15pm Saturday, January 16th Pro Life Prayer Service, St. Peter s Cemetery Sunday, January 17th Right to Life Mass, St. Patrick s Cathedral Saturday, January 30th Council Free Throw Challenge, St. Charles Gym

3 DEPUTY GRAND KNIGHT UPDATE: THANKSGIVING FOOD DRIVE I need to take a moment to thank everyone who was involved in this year s Thanksgiving Food Drive. It was a huge success and it s only because of all of the volunteer man hours put in by all of you that it was. A quick breakdown: We collected 140 cases of food. Estimated total weight 4,700 lbs. bringing our total collection amount for the 8 food drives held by Manresa Council to a nearly 47,000 lbs. of food. We filled St. Margaret s Food Pantry to near capacity. We sent 15 cases of food over to the Y.M.C.A. Men s Shelter over in Newark (run by our own Danny Staehs.) and 5 cases were given to the New Jersey food bank through my company. We were loaned $1000 worth of gift cards for both Stop and Shop and Shoprite from Queen of Peace and through donations we were able to purchase all of those cards. They were then taken back into the stores and food was purchased with them. Through that effort alone Queen of Peace raised an additional $ I have to admit that I did encounter a problem during this this season s event. At times we had too many people offering their assistance or volunteering to stay a lot longer than they had originally anticipated. This is the kind of problem I ll take any day of the week. I think it s about time that we start considering adding an additional store to the mix, we ll keep you posted. Each and every one of you has helped make someone s life a little bit happier during this Holiday season and for that all of us on the Food Drive Committee would like to say thanks and would also like to wish you all a safe and happy Christmas season. Eddie Thatcher DGK IN OUR PRAYERS Please keep the following members and friends in your prayers: Anne Pizzuto, Brother John Tiplady, Lucille Bauer, Brother Jim McCue, Christine Viso, Brother Bill Smith, Brother Jack Driscoll, Dolores Sclafani, Brother Tim Marshall, and Richard Grogan Saturday, January 30th St. Charles Gym from 11:00am 1:00pm Both Volunteers and Participants needed! All children ages 9-14 are eligible to participate Volunteers to arrive no later than 10:15am to sign kids up Contact Geoff Thatcher for further details RESOLUTION Be it resolved that Manresa Council will donate up to $600 to charities selected by the age group winners in the Council s upcoming Keep Christ in Christmas Poster Contest. This cost will be offset by the profits from sales of the Keep Christ in Christmas car magnets and signs. Submitted this 12 th day of November 2015 By Robert Bauer, PGK To be voted on at our monthly Council Meeting on December 10, 2015

4 COLUMBIETTES PRESIDENT S MESSAGE Dear Sister Columbiettes, November was a busy month for Manresa Columbiettes! One of our biggest accomplishments was welcoming 8 new members -- Lisa Callahan, Clare Kamertz, Lynn Kamertz, Laura Lamont, Lillian Strumolo, Brigid Welborn, Erin Welborn & Kristen Welborn! Ladies, welcome to the Manresa family, we are all happy you have decided to join us and we look forward to working with you! Congratulations to Annette Fusaro who was elected as our new Financial Secretary at our last meeting. Thank you for your dedication Annette, and welcome to our board of officers. We all look forward to working with you! We had a very successful Swap Bingo Night -- we packed the room and everyone had a great time! I look forward to having another great night like that, so we'll look for another themed bingo to plan for the next time. Thank you to all of the Columbiettes who participated in the Thanksgiving Food Drive for St. Margaret Mary's food pantry! This drive was a great success -- I am confident that we helped make Thanksgiving a bit better and happier for a few families! Thank you to Ed Thatcher and his team for organizing the event and gathering the troops!!! Congratulations to all of the POLAR PLUNGE participants!!! A great group of Manresa Knights and for the first time, Columbiettes, braved the December temperatures and went into the water at South Beach to raise money for Special Olympics! Team Manresa ranked the 3rd highest in donations raised this year! Way to go everyone! Saturday, December 12 will be our Manresa Christmas Party. Please join us for a fun night of Christmas cheer before the responsibilities of shopping and preparations get too hectic! Full hot buffet, open bar, DJ all for $35 per person plus a Toys For Tots donation. Additional details can be found in this month's REVUE. Sunday, December 13 is the Manresa Kids Christmas Party -- food, games, stories and SANTA! Free to all Manresa kids & their families! Please bring a wrapped gift labeled with the name of each child you bring for Santa to distribute! DUES ARE DUE! Please watch for your dues notice which you receive via US Postal mail. It will include a return envelope for you to mail your payment to Financial Secretary, Annette Fusaro. Dues is due by our January meeting, so please feel free to mail it to Annette or bring it to our January meeting. Thank you in advance for your cooperation! On behalf of my husband Jim and our family, I wish each of you a very blessed and Merry Christmas and a Happy & Healthy New Year! During all of the hustle and bustle, remember the reason for the season -- the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Cathy Gonzalez cathygonz9565@aol.com Happy Birthday John Cassidy John Costello Thomas Thatcher Michael Bruno Joseph Lemole John Hojnacki Jose Irizarry James Hanley Salvatore Messina Robert Aimetti Sean Williams Leonard Caravella Louis Van Thanh Patrick Graham Anthony Buzzanca Michael Kullman Henry Chalmers James Cunningham William Horohoe William Gialella James Hughes Kevin Hanley George Perera James Neese John Anderson Damian Dunkel Robert Harris Richard Hatton Ronald Calvosa Leon Marashaj James Ledger Steve Dorsey Fr. Ronald Perez

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