S E P T E M B E R
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New York State Circle COLUMBIAN SQUIRES
In this issue:
You’re Invited… What?
State Circle Installation of Officers!
When?
Saturday October 8, 2011 1:00PM to 5:00PM
Where?
Church of the Resurrection 2331 Gerritsen Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11229
Why?
To support the State Circle and learn about our exciting plans for this Columbian Year!
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Letter from the State Chief Squire
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Letter from the State Father Prior
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Suffolk County Roundtable and Circle Events
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New York Squires at World Youth Day
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New on the State Circle Website
Please visit our website! www.NewYorkSquires.com
Upcoming Events and Important Dates: Officer Reports PAST DUE Please submit the Officers & Chairmen Form #468 to Supreme as soon as possible.
State Installation
Free Throw
October 8, 2011 Join us for the State Circle’s Installation of Officers in Brooklyn!
November 1, 2011 Order a Free Throw Competition Kit from Supreme – great way to help your sponsoring council!
NEW YORK STATE CIRCLE
SEPTEMBER 2011
Letter from the State Chief Squire
Patrick Klein
Worthy Squires, Counselors and Knights, I hope that this letter finds you, your family and your circle in good health. The beginning of a new school year is upon us! There is no better time to sponsor a membership drive. Last year, New York State finished in third place order-wide, for our division, in membership gain. With our combined efforts, I am certain that New York can be Number One this year. This past month I had the special privilege of attending a Squires Roundtable meeting sponsored by the Centereach Council for Suffolk County/Long Island Squires. It was a great success. As the State Chief Squire, I was humbled and honored to hear firsthand about the many works of service these Squires perform in veterans homes and for the needy. I encourage each circle to try some form of service, the rewards are so numerous! A great way to start this would be sponsoring a fundraiser for the State Council’s Hurricane Relief Effort. Each and every act of service by Squires that I hear about makes me proud to be the State Chief Squire. On Friday August 26th I had the honor of meeting with our new State Father Prior and State Deputy over some delicious Italian food. I am happy to say that the three of us will work together to bring about new spiritual activities for Squires. I will work in conjunction with the Father Prior to organize days of recollection, vocation activities, and Squire Mass. I look forward to seeing you all at the State Installation on October 8th! Esto Dignus
Patrick Klein
Join us on Facebook! www.facebook.com/NewYorkSquires Follow us on Twitter! @NYStateSquires 2
NEW YORK STATE CIRCLE
SEPTEMBER 2011
Letter from the State Father Prior
Fr. James C. Williams, S.M. Worthy Squires, Counselors and Knights, With great enthusiasm and joy, I am happy to share a few words with you as the school year begins and the 2011-2012 Colombian year begins to increase in momentum. Having met with our new State Chief Squire and some of his staff, I assure all that we are blessed with an enthusiastic leadership that will inspire all. On October 8, this new slate of officers will be formally installed. I hope that we all make every attempt to attend this event as an opportunity to experience the vitality and strength of the New York State Squires! Many of you were able to join His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain. On the streets and at various events, I had the pleasure to spend some time with Squires and Knights from around the globe, most especially at the Love and Life Center sponsored by the Knight of Columbus. Pope Benedict XVI said “...If you believe and are able to live out your faith and bear witness to it everyday, you will become a means of helping other young people like yourselves to find the meaning and joy of life, which is born of an encounter with Christ!� This is exactly what Squires has been seeking to do from the very beginning in 1922. Each one of us seeks to follow Christ and invite others by our witness to join us in following Christ. The Squires seeks to build up the Church by encouraging each young man to live a life of virtue. Our gathering on October 8 will be an opportunity to witness to each other of our common faith and values. May each of us be worthy of the trust given to us to inspire and welcome others. I look forward to meeting each of you and sharing this journey with you. Esto Dignus
Fr. James C. Williams, S.M.
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NEW YORK STATE CIRCLE
SEPTEMBER 2011
Suffolk County Roundtable On Thursday August 18th, the Centereach Circle hosted a Roundtable meeting for Squires in Suffolk County. Squires and Counselors from four circles attended – Bro. Peter Dawson Circle (East Northport), Knute Rockne Circle (Lindenhurst), St. Regis Circle (Ronkonkoma), and of course Centereach Squires. In addition, a large contingent of State Officers were in attendance, including State Chief Squire Patrick Klein, State Notary Squire William Liles, State Youth Director Michael Galgano, State Squires Chairman Thomas Gillin and Suffolk’s Auxiliary Chairman for Youth Thomas Romano. We were able to discuss a wide array of topics, from membership growth and retention to intra-circle communication and joint fundraising opportunities. State Officers spoke about upcoming statewide events, including the Bro. Barnabas Barnabas Mass and 2012 Convention.
Hurricane Relief Effort Worthy State Deputy Sal Restivo recently visited Schoharie and Middleburgh and saw firsthand the disastrous remains of Hurricane Irene, and he has called upon all members of the Order to assist in any way possible. We are asking all circles to greatly consider holding a fundraiser to help our brothers and their families. Checks should be made out to: NYS KofC Charities Inc. Disaster Relief. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact a State Squires Officer or Knights Officer. Thank you for your cooperation and financial support, and please keep our brothers and fellow New Yorkers in your prayers.
Letter to the Editor… We’re squires circle 1260 of Centereach. While we’re not helping out our community or participating in fundraisers, we’re busy looking out for the future of our circle. It’s important for our circle to always be looking for new recruits and to build a reputation, and as a new circle, sometimes that can be difficult. So, we’ve been busy planning to build a website for our circle. On our page, there will be updates on what our squires are doing, and ways for them to communicate through the website. It is going to be a fun and educational experience programming the website, and I look forward to when it’s completed. Viewers are going to be able to register for our circle online, and they will also have the ability to browse our most recent activities, such as helping out the Veterans at the Veteran’s Home and helping out at the local farm. Additionally, our circle’s squires will finally have a reference when they talk about their circle with friends. When the website is finished, we’re looking to put our link on the list of other circle’s websites on the New York State squires page. I encourage circles that don’t have a website yet to try it out. It can be a good tool for organizing a circle and encouraging growth. Moreover, if you are interested in learning how to program a website, this may be a good opportunity. We’re very excited to unveil the design later this month. 4
NEW YORK STATE CIRCLE
SEPTEMBER 2011
New York Squires Attend World Youth Day Just a few weeks ago, 1.5 million pilgrims - all young men and women from around the world - gathered in Madrid for World Youth Day 2011. These pilgrims spent six days attending Catechesis sessions, cultural programs, prayer services, Masses and Eucharistic Adoration. The festivities concluded with a large Mass where His Holiness Benedict XVI concelebrated with thousands of other priests and bishops.
changing experience for me. I had such a great time attending Mass and Catechesis each day with many different priests. I also enjoyed going to the Love and Life Center, where the Knights of Columbus hosted many events throughout the week.”
Many Squires from New York State circles attended World Youth Day, including Blessed William Chaminade Circle (Mineola), Immaculate Conception Circle (Astoria) and Kistner Circle (Ozone Park). All Squires in attendance enjoyed a great experience and deepened their faith immensely. Indeed, many pilgrims truly lived out the meaning of this year’s theme, “Firmes en la Fe” – firm in the faith.
Chief Squire Salvatore Isabella proudly waves the American Flag at World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid, Spain.
The Chief Squire of Blessed William Chaminade Circle, Joseph Johnson, commented, “Seeing people from all over the world gathered together for the same reason was a deeply moving and life-changing experience.” “After experiencing the faith of millions of my peers, my faith was greatly strengthened,” said Ryan Glass, also from Blessed William Chaminade Circle. “The experience of World Youth Day changed my overall outlook of the world. Seeing more than 1.5 million people in silent adoration of the Eucharist sparked a deeper understanding of God’s role in so many peoples’ lives from all around the world.”
Brian Dougherty, also from Chaminade High School, said, “The overnight vigil with Pope Benedict XVI was very inspiring. The fact that so many people withstood the rain, the wind and the lightning was an awesome testament to the power of faith and prayer for me.”
¡Firmes en la Fe!
The world now looks forward to World Youth Day 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – and we encourage all Squires to consider attending!
Representing Kistner Circle, Chief Squire Salvatore Isabella attended World Youth Day for the first time this year. He stated, “This was a life-
by State Marshal Squire Philip Tullo 5
NEW YORK STATE CIRCLE
SEPTEMBER 2011
New on the State Circle’s Website We’re happy to unveil a new feature on our website, a “Members” section. Members can customize profiles, interact with other members, post events and prayer requests and receive email updates from the State Circle. We invite all Squires, Counselors, Knights and guests to register an account! Also, be sure to utilize our online calendar - you can post your circle’s upcoming Investitures, Installations, fundraisers, prayer services and more!
Visit us online at: www.NewYorkSquires.com
New York State Squires Officers State Chief Squire Patrick Klein State Deputy Chief Squire John DiSanto State Notary Squire William Liles State Bursar Squire Alex Bedosky State Marshal Squire Philip Tullo State Sentry Squire Mario Giustizia
State Father Prior Rev. James Williams, S.M. Assoc. State Father Prior Rev. Dennis Nikolic State Brother Prior Peter Heiskell, S.M. State Youth Director Michael Galgano State Squires Chairman Thomas Gillin
SUBMIT YOUR STORY! Please let us know when your circle conducts a project so we can recognize your efforts in the State Circle Newsletter! Remember to tell us the “Who, What, When, Where, Why and How” of the event and include photos and contact info! Please send your stories and photos to michael_adam@verizon.net.