COME VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT: www.gakofc.org The Christopher Columbus Navigator OFFICERS 2013-2014: State Deputy Sanford Hillsman 229-395-0457 state.deputy@att.net State Chaplain Father John Matejek 770-428-7139 frjohn@stcatherinercc.org Association State Chaplain Fr Ray Levreault 229-349-0467 rlevro@hotmail.com State Secretary Mark McMullen 770-739-8637 mark.mcmullen@ansira.com State Treasurer Mark Corrigan 912-547-3800 mcorrgan@entresolutions.com State Advocate Mark Hofmann 770-504-0557 markkofc@yahoo.com State Warden James Clifford 404-210*5277 state.warden@gakofc.org Immediate PSD Rick Sisko 770-992-3476 kersisko@bellsouth.net Executive Secretary Ron Rigby 770-922-7510 ronrigby@comcast.net District Master Tom Frizzi 770-978-1278 tom.frizzi@geac.com Volume 14 Issue 2 Editor - Jim Gust - 770-649-0745 - cssgust@att.net Georgia State Council Knights of Columbus Newsletter 2nd Quarter, 2014-2015 From The State Deputy.. By Sanford Hillsman - State Deputy The 2014/2015 Fraternal Year is starting and we are off to a very good start. I want to thank all Councils for their hard work, and I cannot thank you enough for the total support you have given me and State Council Office. This coming year will be greater than last because we must leave all our jobs better than we found them and with your support success is there for the taking. The 132nd Supreme Convention was held in Orlando this month and the Georgia State Council was well represented. Several members from the Archdiocese and the Diocese of Savannah attended the Convention and we were all seated as a delegation during the Supreme States Dinner. Georgia was honored, thanks to all of you, to receive The Supreme Knights Circle of Honor Award. Georgia also attained 19 Star Council Awards, 3 Double Star Awards and 3 Triple Star Awards. These are outstanding accomplishments by the Councils and their District Deputies! We are in the business of doing the will of God in every way possible to support those who are in need; we are mandated to provide service to all following the footsteps of Fr. McGivney who had a vision - and that vision has grown to more than 1.8 Million Catholic Men. What an outstanding achievement that began with only eleven men at St. Mary s Church in New Haven. We will continue the dream following the path that has been laid out for us. DIRECTORS 2013-2014: Gene Brannon - Program 770-562-8278 gmbrannon@yahoo.com James Clifford - Membership 770-898-9404 membership.dir@gakofc.org Jerry Mock - New Council Development 770-834-4541 jmock@charter.net Ed O Connor - Church 678-488-6890 eoconnor1@numail.org Angelo Sampona - Family 770-476-9236 kasdf@aol.com Stan Rapciewicz - Community 770-830-9179 srapp1@att.net Brad Burnett - Council 678-234-9755 bcbat1@bellsouth.net Christopher Werner - Youth 770-262-1107 chris@lucmedia.com Pro-Life - TBD WE ARE BUT A PENCIL IN GOD S HAND Our Vision The Knights of Columbus will be the premier Catholic lay organization in Georgia. Our Mission We are the strong right arm of the Church, developing and implementing programs to serve the needs of our Church, families, youth, communities, and councils, embracing the Culture of Life.
From The State Chaplain... By Father John Matejek - State Chaplain Building the Domestic Church At the recent Supreme Convention Supreme Knight Carl Anderson outlined a new program to assist our families to become what they are called to be the domestic church: the family fully alive. Through this program, families can more fully realize their mission to be a truly domestic church by daily prayer, catechesis and scripture reading, as well as volunteer and charitable projects they can do as a family unit. Third Degree... By John Jedlicka - State Ceremonials Director Recently, Pope Francis reminded all of us that Christian families are the domestic church where Jesus grows in the love of the married couple, in the lives of their children. Therefore when the Christian family strives to become what it is, a living icon in our world of God s communion, the family then stands at the heart of the Church s mission of evangelization. When the family responds in this manner to the design of the Creator, the family then truly becomes the domestic church. In founding the Knights of Columbus, the Venerable Michael McGivney sought to respond in both a spiritual and temporal way to the family unit of his time. By advancing this new program, the Order continues to advance the vision and mission of Fr. McGivney. This initiative can help all families, whatever their difficulties, to deepen their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. In this way the Knights of Columbus as an order will undertake a yearlong preparation for the 8 th World Meeting of Families to be held in Philadelphia from September 22-27, 2015. The schedule for the Third Degree ceremonials in this jurisdiction is set but, as always, is subject to change. We are, after all, an organization of individuals and sometimes even the best-planned schedules need adjustment. Below is the schedule as it exists. For the most up-to-day information on a Third Degree ceremonial please visit the state web site and look under events. Kevin York, our dedicated webmaster, posts changes as soon as he gets them. Meanwhile, each District Deputy received a package from me describing his duties as well as the host council s responsibilities. Moreover, the Conferring Officer assigned to a particular ceremonial is in contact with the host District Deputy at least one prior to the exemplification of the degree. If your Council is hosting a Third Degree ceremonial it is necessary to contact your DD and coordinate the handling of the event. By that, I mean properly preparing the Chamber, having the correct equipment available and making sure all is in place by the date of the exemplification. We have had several Third Degree exemplifications so far this Fraternal Year and each has proceeded smoothly. The goal of the State Officers is to increase the number of Knights who partake in the Third Degree above and beyond our very successful previous Fraternal Year. With your help and recruiting efforts, we all are assured of this. Page 2 The Christopher Columbus Navigator
District 5 Councils Host TWO Seminarian Dinners! Bishop Hartmayer Special Guest Speaker at Both Events! One Council and one Assembly in District 5 in SW Georgia held two highly successful Seminarian-support dinners in July. On July 11, Bishop Gross Assembly 176, assisted by Council 1019 and the Ladies Auxiliary, hosted their annual dinner. With more than 200 people in attendance, the evening featured entertainment, a delicious buffet dinner, multiple gifts awarded through ticket drawings, and a 40 big screen TV giveaway. Fifteen clergy and nine seminarians from the diocese were also in attendance, and after being introduced by Vocations Director, Fr. Pablo Migone, the seminarians were asked to share a little about themselves. The evening was capped off with an inspiring talk by their special guest, Savannah Bishop Gregory J. Hartmayer. Bishop Hartmayer discussed the hitchhikers in life and in the church those folks who are nominal members but do not support or contribute their time, talent, or treasure to furthering Christ s Church on Earth. Thanks to the support from parishioners of four area parishes, the Assembly was able to contribute $500 to each of the 14 Diocesan seminarians and one young lady who is entering religious life for a total of $7,500 donated! On July 25, Msgr. Daniel J. Bourke Council 3607 in Albany hosted their 16 th Annual Seminarian Dinner. They were again blessed with Bishop Hartmayer in attendance as their special guest, and his talk on hitchhikers was again a hit. More than 275 people attended, including eleven priests and seven seminarians, including Knights and their wives from Americus and Columbus. Attendees enjoyed dinner with their choice of chicken cordon bleu or pork loin, and then the program of the evening with musical entertainment by The Shamrocks introduction of the seminarians, and the address by Bishop Hartmayer. The Ladies Auxiliary of Council 3607 prepared bountiful gift baskets that were raffled off, raising more than $1000 in the process! Thanks to the enthusiastic support of St. Teresa s parishioners, more than $7000 will be donated this fall to all of the seminarians of the Diocese of Savannah. The two dinners in District 5 have resulted in a total contribution of $14,500.00 for our young men and woman entering religious life! Bishop Hartmayer pauses for a special photo; State Deputy Sanford Hillsman in background. (Photo-left) Vocations Director Pablo Migone and Seminarians Peter Lanshima (L) and Theodore Agba were introduced during Seminarians. (Photo-right) As a surprise during the Albany dinner, a check in the amount of $5,938.00 was presented to Graceway Recovery Residence for Women in Albany, GA. Graceway was one of three statewide recipients of the State Charity Raffle proceeds. Pictured above (L to R) are Council 3607 PGK and the evening s Master of Ceremonies David Palardy, Graceway Executive Director Liz Dixon, State Deputy Sanford Hillsman, Program Director (and Founder) Debbie Mazur, and Counselor Shannon Burke. Volume 14 Issue 2 Page 3
Page 4 The Christopher Columbus Navigator
Camp Inspire News By Mike Fortunato - Special Olympics Coordinator I personally want to thank all the Knights who participated n this year s Camp Inspire, it was truly a memorable week. The following is part of an email sent by David Crawford, SOGA Sports Manager: Wow! What a truly incredible Camp Inspire 2014! We could not have provided such an incredible Camp if it were not for the Knights of Columbus financial support and volunteer support this year! I want to thank you for helping us provide this incredible opportunity to the athletes of Special Olympics Georgia! The athletes participated in zip-lining, rock-wall climbing, fishing, boating, fellowship and other sporting events. On October 11, 2014 for the first time, the Georgia State Council of the Knights of Columbus will sponsor the Olympic Town venue of the SOGA Fall Games. The Games will be held in Gainesville. I will disseminate more information to the District Deputies as I receive it. We are going to need 60 volunteers to assist. The Olympic Town is a venue where athletes and their family come to enjoy themselves in between their events. Please come and have a heartfelt day. Historical Landmark Created On site of Former Catholic Chapel By Richard Hayden - DD #5 In 1941, the Fort Benning Catholic Chapel was built on Main Post at Fort Benning, GA. This wooden structure was home to St. Maurice Parish, and served the needs of Catholic soldiers and their families at Fort Benning for 61 years. In January 2002, a fire (probably caused by faulty electrical wiring) destroyed the chapel. Due to military regulations, any new chapel that might be built was required to be non-denominational, and thus, the Catholic chapel could not actually be replaced. Fast-forward to 2013. High school sophomore Kevin Yanoschik is the son of retired Lt. Col. (and PGK of Bishop Gross Council 1019 in Columbus) Thomas and Javana Yanoschik, who had been married in the original chapel and had Kevin baptized there. They had planned on attending this chapel, filled with family memories, in their retirement years. Kevin, active in the Boy Scouts, and seeking an idea for his Eagle project, realized that creating a lasting memorial on the former site of the chapel would be a perfect tribute to the former chapel. He researched the chapel history, and applied for and received permission from Fort Benning for the project. In his quest to raise at least $2500 for the granite markers and supplies, he visited various community groups and pitched his idea. Total donations reached more than $2,600, including donations from the Ladies Auxiliary of Council 1019 (the single largest contributor), the councils at Fort Benning, Columbus and Americus, and from the local community. The extra donations were in turn donated back to the Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort Benning, which is the home to wounded soldiers who are transitioning out of the Army. The chapel site was dedicated on June 8, and that afternoon, Kevin was inducted as an Eagle Scout at a formal Eagle Scout Court of Honor. In his remarks following induction, he noted that the realization of a lasting landmark to the former chapel had been a community effort. It is also noted that Kevin received great support from Command Sergeant Major Pamela Wilson, the US Army Installation Command Chaplain Assistant Sergeant Major. She granted Kevin permission to quote directly from an article (without the normal attribution) she had written about the history of the Chaplain Corps and Chaplain Assistants for one of the memorial placards. Getting Started on the Annual Youth Essay and Poster Contests! By Richard Hayden State Essay & Poster Contest Chairman NOW is the time for the Youth Directors of each Council to begin preparations for these annual contests. Remember a basic requirement for Star Council includes conducting four programs in the Youth category (unless ordering 8+ cases of Coats for Kids). Setting up these three contests will satisfy three of the four required Youth programs! All materials can be ordered from Supreme at any time, but ordering them ALL now takes care of it for the year. The first contest is the Catholic Citizenship Essay Contest, and schools should be contacted in August and September regarding this. Students write essays during September and October, and local councils judge them in October and November. I have distributed Yellow Folders to each District Deputy and they contain all of the pertinent information for these three contests as well as complete timetables. I requested each District Deputy to make a copy for each of his councils so, if you don t have yours yet, harass your District Deputy! He ll be glad to get you the information. Thanks, and good luck perhaps one of our students will win at Supreme this year! Ontolaryngology? By Dr. James Spoden, MD - Health Services Director Dr. Joseph Lazzarini, has asked that I assume his mantle as a contributor to this publication. Dr. Lazzarini has been a friend, colleague and a Brother Knight for the past several years. I am pleased and honored to be offered this forum. I will attempt to provide useful information in a palatable form. By way of background, I am a Georgia licensed physician (MD) with forty years of experience. My specialty is Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose and Throat). Most of my career has been in private practice. However, I did hold two clinical appointments as a fulltime faculty member for six of those years, in separate locations at American University Medical Schools. I am semi-retired. The first topic that I will address is prostate cancer. My purpose in this discussion is to attempt to give somewhat of an overview of pros- (See Ontolaryngology Continued on page 8)
District Happenings - Didjano That... DISTRICT 4 (DD Julian Pauwels)... That Council 15716 did a Church Presentation of the Pledge of Allegiance during the Church service for Flag Day and the 60th anniversary of adding the words Under God to the pledge. (See picture at left), AND that Council 4913 held their Annual Seminarian Dinner and raised about $7500, AND District 4 and Council 4913 hosted the Transfer of the Silver Rose from GA to FL. 20 SK s from 3 districts 3,4 and 5 volunteered to participate in the HG lead by SK Kevin Berkel. They had in excess of 110 participants in the reception afterwards. The event was coordinated by DD 4 Julian Pauwels, AND Council 7366 also held a Prayer Service in Thomasville, St Augustine Church. DISTRICT 6 (DD Mike Palka)... That on Tuesday, July 2, Bill Myles and other members of the Knights of Columbus Danny McMichael Council 12984 presented a donation to Cheryl Kish, director of the Butts County Pregnancy Resource Center (PRC) of Jackson. The Knights were able to donate more than $2,000 to the PRC as a result of funds received from the Georgia State, Knights of Columbus Charity fund. Throughout their 131-year history, the Knights of Columbus have always practiced charity as their first principle. The local council is no different, contributing to numerous community charities. The money donated to the Butts County PRC will assist in its work helping those in Jackson, and the surrounding area, to make healthy life choices related to pregnancy and parenting. The Butts County PRC is a Christ-focused center providing pregnancy testing, options counseling, parenting classes, adoption planning and earn-while-youlearn classes.... That Jim Clifford (photo on right) recently received a token of appreciation for giving the Keynote speech to the 68th reunion of the 12th Armored Division. Twenty-nine veterans of WWII and approximately 100 family members attended. The talk was called, "...a good day's work." That is the title of a 2010 article he wrote about the division which was published in the Army Historical Foundation's journal On Point. The 12th was one of 16 armored divisions in the U. S. Army in WWII. DISTRICT 15 (DD Mark Tahsler)... That District 15 would like to welcome the newest council in GA, St. John Paul II Council 15996 in Acworth. A picture of the charter members taken at right is taken of their 1st meeting. DISTRICT 11 (DD Bob DuPree)... That Victor Ojeda (shown on the right with a Red Cross nurse), a member of the Saint Andrew Catholic Church in Roswell, Ga. And DGK of Council 10632 recently helped to conduct a very successful American Red Cross Blood Drive. With only two month planning time prior to this event, the slate of officers for their new fraternal year and this being their first attempt at helping the Red Cross and their appeal, it was at best skeptical that they could have had a good turnout. However with God as their guide they went forth and conquered the hearts and mind of many parishioners who really went out of their way to make this a successful event. The American Red Cross informed them that with this little time to prepare, 65 Donors was a great achievement and that they look forward to returning to their parish, which provided them a perfect environment to work and one of their best experiences. For your information, each blood donation can save up to three lives. Their council is committed to charge forward for the sake of Charity, Unity, Fraternity and Patriotism for all The Knight of Columbus and all Catholics around the world. DISTRICT 24 (DD Tim McCarthy)... That the Fort Gordon Catholic Women of the Chapel (CWOC) presented the Director of Cath(See Didjano Continued on page 7) Page 6 The Christopher Columbus Navigator
olic Social Services of Augusta, Sister Janet Roddy a $1,417 check. The outgoing President Mrs. Andrea Perez and Vice President Mrs. Barbra Larson along with Knights of Columbus District Deputy Tim McCarthy presented the check (Photo). Sister Janet will deliver the check to the Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Angels Convent - Retirement House/Infirmary, 253 Knickerbocker Road, Tenafly, NJ 07670 to assist them in operating their home for retired Franciscan Sisters (Photo 2). This is an international community, founded in 1873 by Elizabeth Haves (Mother Mary Ignatius of Jesus) Born on the Island of Guernsey, Channel Islands, she was an Anglican convert to Catholicism. Elizabeth began their first mission in Belle Prairie, Minnesota, USA. Pictured L-R CWOC VP Barbra Larson, Sister Janet Roddy, Pres. Andrea Perez and District Deputy Tim McCarthy. ( Photo by George). The Image is of pictures from their Retirement House. Sister Mary Victor 109 years old at the time, has since passed away.... That on August 26th, Saint Michael The Archangel Council 14773 donated 2525 pounds of food to Sister Janet Roddy's Catholic Social Services Food Pantry. This was organized by PGK and Sir Knight Al Larson (pictured L-R) assisted by Sir Knights James Rolle who's truck and trailer were used, James' helper B.J McCord and DD 24,PGK & FN 174 Tim McCarthy. GK Bill Priddy also contributed several hours painting the new Golden Harvest Food Warehouse this week. DISTRICT 19 (DD Michael Vanairsdale) Council 8972 - Tyrone, made a contribution to the Joseph Sams School in Fayetteville, GA in the amount of $510. Shown in the picture are: Richard Olly Larson, Community Outreach Director, Council 8972, St. Matthew Parish, Tyrone, GA and Amy Murray, Executive director, Joseph Sams School. DISTRICT 3 (DD Brian Sartain)... That Council 11058, St Mary's knows how to employ Silent Recruiting? When councils are asked how they recruit new candidates for The Knights, answers are, displays in the narthex, information tables, booths at festivals etc., which are all good avenues. In addition to these standard methods of recruitment, Council 11058, St Mary's, uses another tactic; silent recruiting. Like many councils, St. Mary's has designed polo shirts displaying the Knights of Columbus crest, council name and number, and member s first name. They are colored yellow. The Assembly, Ave Maria Assembly 3391, did the same with the Fourth Degree crest in maroon. During Mass on the Kings Bay Submarine Base, Knights are encouraged to wear one of those jerseys. Father Ray Leonard likes the obvious presence of Knights in the service. They take active parts in the celebration as ushers, EMHCs, and greeters. It is a strong endorsement of the Knights when all EMHC are standing behind the priest on the altar bearing K of C emblems. This is fulfilling St. Francis s prayer of preach constantly and when necessary, speak. Many new sailors on the base have commented about the strong presence of Knights at Mass. Council 11058 was a triple star council in 2013-2014. AND that During the summer, brothers from St Mary's Council 11058 and Ave Maria Assembly 3391 renovated several rooms in the social hall of one of our local parishes to convert them into offices. This project entailed completely gutting a restroom and converting it into a storage closet, relocating the food pantry and shelves to a larger area, replacing and patching sheetrock in areas in three rooms, adding shelves in a closet, rewiring, and adding, electrical outlets and running internet/phone cables throughout the new office area and Religious Education building, painting, installing wall mounted TV s, and moving the office furniture from the old offices to the new ones. All of this was done with no cost to the parish for labor, and for many of the materials. Knights spent a combined total of approximately 300 hours completing this project, saving the parish over $20,000 in labor costs. DISTRICT 14 (DD Wayne Blair)... That St. Helena Council 13376 in Clayton donated $500 to Rabun County Schools in order to cover the debt of students on the free lunch program at the primary school. According to GK Terry Adams, students in the program must re-enroll every year and cannot receive free lunches until all of the paperwork is cleared, leaving charge balances on accounts for the first week of school. Once one of our members brought it to the council s attention, they were able to make up that outstanding amount - to at least cover the free lunch kids at the primary school. Volume 14 Issue 2 Page 7
The Knights of Columbus Georgia State Council c/o Holy Family Church 3401 Lower Roswell Rd Marietta, GA 30068 Return Service Requested Georgia State Council Knights of Columbus Newsletter 2nd Quarter, 2014-2015 ( Ontolaryngology Continued from page 5) tate cancer. This is a topic which men of an age, to be in the Knights of Columbus, should develop some familiarity. Prostate cancer affects about one in six men. Although, prostate cancer is treatable ( and even curable); prostate cancer (like any form of cancer) can be fatal. The presentation of those with prostate cancer is generally insidious. This is to say, that many with prostate cancer are altogether unaware of their diagnosis, until the disease is advanced, i.e., too late. So, please bear with me, as I relate my story. Two years ago, my erstwhile normal PSA blood assay, increased into the abnormal range. PSA stands for Prostate Specific Antigen. Although, there were no palpable masses (lumps) in my prostate gland on rectal exam, per my urologist; I was advised to undergo an ultrasound directed biopsy. Eventually, probable prostate cancer was diagnosed, confirmed by tissue exam by a Pathologist. After a good deal of soul-searching, review of pertinent information and second opinions; I chose to undergo a radical prostatectomy (removal of my prostate gland). So far, subsequently, I appear to be disease free. I continue to pray that my cancer will remain in remission. With this backdrop, in subsequent issues, I will attempt to give further insights into this exceedingly common malignancy, which we as adult men, are substantially predisposed. The Silver Rose... On July 20, 2014, District 4 and Council 4913, Valdosta GA, was honored to organize the official transfer of the Silver Rose from Georgia to Florida, on its continuous way to Monterrey Mexico; expected to arrive by December 12, 2014. The District Deputy of District 4, Julian Pauwels, was the event chairman, assisted by GK Tony LaMarca of Council 4913. The GA State Deputy Sanford Hillsman, accompanied by his wife Nancy, GK John Carbonell, the GA Silver Rose Chairman. The Florida Silver Rose Chairman Lawrence Kocen with wife Nancy and Thomas Guggisberg, FL DD 7, also with wife Nancy were present for the transfer which was during the noon Mass at St John s the Evangelist in Valdosta GA. The family Gonzalez carried the Icon of the Lady of Guadalupe. Fr Paul Ladda was the main celebrant assisted by Fr Brian LaBurt who delivered a beautiful homily explaining the deep relationship of the Silver Rose and the Culture of Life. Fr Brian provided the final blessing of the Silver Rose. SK Kevin Berkel, Color corps Commander directed 20 SK s from several districts and multiple councils into providing an impressive Honor Guard for this celebration. The event was finalized with a light lunch and refreshments coordinated by the Ladies Auxiliary of Council 4913 under the directions of Rita Henkels, President. About 110 participants joined in the luncheon. Volume 14 Issue 2 Page 8