St. Kieran KofC KNIGHTLETTER
Council # 13983 2nd QUARTER MAY, 2015
From The Grand Knight
Dear Brothers, Officers, Families, Parishioners, and all others who find their way to this article:
The first quarter of 2015 has been an active one with numerous fund raising events that will enable us to support
many of those in need. Many thanks to those who put up with the cold weather for the MI Drive and spent time into the
early morning for the Texas Hold’em event. Our prayers continue to be with all of you and your families for continued
good health and especially for Ron Koscierzynski, Past Grand Knight, and his family at the passing of his wife Barb on
May 2nd .
JINGO is scheduled for May 29th, and there are still some tickets available and we are looking for your help in
selling the remaining tickets and assisting us at the party.
Vivat Jesus
Larry Hojna
Grand Knight
: UPCOMING EVENTS:
:: 05/12/15 Membership meeting at 07:00.
:: 05/22-24/15 State Convention Mackinac Island.
:: 05/29/15 JINGO fundraiser at Palazzo Grande Banquet Center.
:: 06/09/15 Membership meeting at 07:00.
:: NO JULY MEMBERSHIP MEETING.
:: NO AUGUST MEMBERSHIP MEETING.
:: 08/16/15 Wine tasting program to be held at St, Clemens of Romeo.
:: 09/08/15 Membership meeting at 07:00.
:: 09/19/15 Detroit Area Vocations League (DAVL) golf outing.
: BIRTHDAYS:
MAY:
JUNE:
JULY:
05 Fred Grzelak
03 Jim Dailey
09 Jerry Schroeder
05 Darrell Palowski
04 Mark Raye
15 Ray Modad
09 Ted Corriveau
07 Jim Carabelli
15 Tony Pellerito
12 Anthony Zeolla
12 Mark Kicinski
16 Fred DiCicco
14 Jon Corbin
13 Ron Hansinger
16 Joe Parrell
17 Enzo Paglia
17 Monsignor Johnson
16 Bob Marrocco
21 Todd Delmotte
19 Tom Cupisz
18 Ron Koscierzynski
21 Peter Randazzo
22 Antonino Rallo
29 Pat Ryan
23 Bernie Bedard
23 Roger Quitter
30 Ken Kwasnik
28 Steve Smolinski
26 Dave Krzeminski
29 Sam Altese
: ANNIVERSARIES:
MAY:
30 Pat & Jane Wosek
JUNE:
29 Roger & Pat Quitter
AUGUST:
02 Joe Lentine
03 Joe Toia
06 Bryan Beaubien
06 Randall Schroder
08 Richard Kucharski
09 John Trompeter
13 Don Watchovski
15 Joe Kapral
19 Paul Arment
22 Ray West
26 John Cimino
27 Mike Hessen
JULY:
14 Paul & Annette Arment
20 Jim & Brenda McNichol
27 Chuck & Gini Filar
AUGUST:
04 Don & Shannon Dziwanowski
08 Joe & Monica Karpral
29 John & Jeanette Bieda
: IF WE HAVE MISSED YOUR BIRTHDAY or ANNIVERSARY, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!
:
: AUSTIN ACADEMY ESSAY CONTEST;
NEWS RELEASE
April 1, 2015
Contact:
Janel M. Coppens
Principal
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
586.749.7900
jcoppens@austincatholicacademy.org
Ron Koscierzynski, Ed.D.
Council 13983
Gk13983@mikofc.org
Knights of Columbus Council 13983 Selects Essay Contest Winners
Austin Catholic Students Advance to State Level in Catholic Citizenship Essay Contest
MACOMB, MICH. – The judges from St. Kieran Knights of Columbus Council 13983 have completed
their judging and have announced the results for the 2015 Knights of Columbus Catholic Citizenship Essay
Contest. After the All-School Mass on Wednesday, Austin Catholic students were honored for their participation
and informed of their advancement to the state level by Council representatives including Grand Knight, Larry
Hojna and Representative Ron Koscierzynski, Ed.D. who worked with Austin administration and teachers to
sponsor the contest.
All Catholic students in grades 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 attending public, private or parochial schools were eligible to
participate. Each contestant wrote their essays on the theme of: “The Importance of Religious Freedom.” The
winners are:
9th Grade: 1st place – Alaina Sturza, 2nd place – Elaina Smyka, 3rd place – Adrian Avila
10th Grade: 1st place – Liza Lucaj, 2nd place – Jacob Ryan, 3rd place – Brendon Moroz
11th Grade: 1st place – Rebecca Milan, 2nd place – Matthew Sturza, 3rd place – Tiffany Lacap
“This is our second year working with the Council on this project and we are very proud of our students for their
effort and the final essays. We are proud of the relationship that has developed for us with Mr. Koscierzynski and
the St. Kieran’s Council,” said Mrs. Janel Coppens, Austin Principal.
The goal of the Knights of Columbus Essay Contest is to give students the opportunity to define the role of
religious freedom in our society, and to strengthen the bond between the Knights of Columbus and their local
schools. “Religious Freedom is something that has been sought by people for millennia. However, although it is
a precious thing, it is also a fragile thing, easily lost if not safeguarded. The students who participated in this
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essay contest truly captured the importance and meaning of religious freedom to both people as individuals and
as a society,” said Mr. Koscierzynski.
The St. Kieran’s representatives in addition to their presentation of participation awards and monetary awards to
the winners, spoke to the students, staff, and families present at Mass and joined the Austin community for an
extended lunch following the presentation. “As a community we strive to celebrate our successes with our
parents, staff, and community. We are honored to have this much support and enthusiasm for the talents of our
students and that they shared the afternoon with us. Ron and the council are welcome any time,” said Coppens.
Austin Catholic High School is a co-ed comprehensive college preparatory school serving young men and
women of all faiths in northern Macomb County. Opened in 2011, Austin aims to cultivate healthy and
resourceful students for college and beyond with a liberal arts program committed to the Augustinian values of
Truth, Unity, and Love. Austin offers full academic and extracurricular programming, with highly qualified
instructors and dedicated staff in a community environment. Austin Catholic: New Opportunities…Long
Standing Tradition.
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: MI TOOTSIE ROLL DRIVE;
:: The weekend of April 27 through 29th many members participated in the annual MI “Tootsie Roll” drive. Collection centers
were at KMART, BIG LOTS & VINCE & JOE’S where we received contributions totaling $4129.00, which we believe to be a record
year for this event! Thanks for these local businesses for allowing us to be present at their locations for this special fund raising event
that will benefit people in our community with special needs. Contributions were made to Shelby Special Olympics, Angels’ Place, St.
Francis on the Lake and Penrickton Center for the Blind. A special thanks to Chuck Filar and his “TOOTSIE VAN” for keeping a
supply of coffee, water and cookies coming regularly all weekend long. The COOOOLLLDDD weather did not stop the Council from
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dressing in mid-winter clothing and moving about briskly to keep warm. We look forward to 2016 and having more Brothers involved
in the event.
: ELECTIONS FOR 2015/2016 OFFICERS WILL BE HELD AT THE
:: Be sure to attend and voice your choice for the leadership for the coming year
MAY 12th MEETING:
:JINGO Dinner & Raffle;
:: Scheduled for Friday May 29, 2015 at Palazzo Grande Banquet Center.
:: Still a few tickets left at $150.00 / first person and $25.00 / guest.
:: 6:30 Cocktails, 7:30 Dinner and 8:30 Raffle starts.
See any of the Knights OR Ushers to inquire about tickets or call Ralph Engler
at 586-201-0220
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS:
:: On April 26th three applicants to our Council completed their 3rd Degree requirements! CONGRATULATIONS
and welcome to Bob Peleman, John Wahl and Paul Zarins. It is men like you that will continue to making Council #13982
grow and be able to support needy citizens in our community. Again Welcome & Congratulations on becoming
“KNIGHTS of COLUMBUS”.
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KNIGHT & FAMILY OF THE YEAR.
:: At our April Corporate Communion, presentations were made to Joe Vogel as Knight of the Year and
Chuck & Gini Filar as Family of the Year. Congratulations and thank you for your dedication and devotion to
representing the Knights of Columbus as good Christians in the work that you do.
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:A
good laugh for people in the over 70 group!!!
When I bought my Blackberry, I thought about the 30-year business I ran with 1800 employees, all without a cell phone that plays
music, takes videos, pictures and communicates with Facebook and Twitter. I signed up under duress for Twitter and Facebook, so my
seven kids, their spouses, my 13 grand kids and 2 great grand kids could communicate with me in the modern way. I figured I could
handle something as simple as Twitter with only 140 characters of space.
The kids bought me a GPS for my last birthday because they say I get lost every now and then going over to the grocery store or
library. I keep that in a box under my tool bench with the Blue tooth [it's red] phone I am supposed to use when I drive. I wore it once
and was standing in line at Barnes and Noble talking to my wife and everyone in the nearest 50 yards was glaring at me. I had to take
my hearing aid out to use it, and I got a little loud.
I mean the GPS looked pretty smart on my dash board, but the lady inside that gadget was the most annoying, rudest person I had run
into in a long time. Every 10 minutes, she would sarcastically say, "Re-calc-u-lating." You would think that she could be nicer. It was
like she could barely tolerate me. She would let go with a deep sigh and then tell me to make a U-turn at the next light. Then if I made a
right turn instead. Well, it was not a good relationship.
The world is just getting too complex for me. They even mess me up every time I go to the grocery store. You would think they could
settle on something themselves but this sudden "Paper or Plastic?" every time I check out just knocks me for a loop. I bought some of
those cloth reusable bags to avoid looking confused, but I never remember to take them with me.
We senior citizens don't need any more gadgets. The TV remote and the garage door remote are about all we can handle.
Ralph E. Engler
Knightletter Editor greenrpeng@att.net
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SUPPORT YOUR BROTHER KNIGHTS if and when YOU ARE IN NEED OF ANY OF THE SERVICES THEY PROVIDE
AS DISPLAYED ABOVE!!
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