KCOJ is 5-0 in Dodgeball tournament!

The Kiwanis Club of Jackson was perfect in Dodgeball Friday night. No blemish on our record, we were 5-0. That is 5 defeats and no wins. As I pointed out, our team has a lot of potential. No skills, but lots of potential.
It was a fun night with more than 100 participants including 3 Kiwanis teams (ours, Daybreak and the new Young Professionals club), three teams from Jackson Liberty High School Key Club and a team from the Biotech High School Key Club. And Doug from Memorial was there, too.
While we didn't win we sure did have a fun time losing, and it actually was part of our strategy. You see, early elimination meant early time to go off and celebrate.
From a personal experience I have to admit, not playing dodgeball in 40 years is an eye opener. If this were big league baseball the scouting report would have been something like: no stick, no glove. At one point I went chasing after a ball and couldn't stop, well - you'd be hard pressed to call it running. I was like a freight train, baby, and by the time I stopped I was just about in Monmouth County. But that wasn't the worst of it. A couple of games later, on the other court I went chasing after a ball and my shorts fell down. Now I thought I could have gotten away with it but my "friends" from Daybreak said they caught the whole thing on video.
People had different ways to prepare for the games. Melissa mentioned yoga. I saw Lo stretching on the sidelines. My? I was popping high strength Advil all day at work. Too bad they didn't help.

Thanks to my team mates who showed up: captains Lois & Melissa, sluggers Michael, Donna and Floyd. And thanks to our cheering squad Fran & Mary Jo.
I posted about 60 photos from the night onto my Flickr account. Here is the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22036136@N07/sets/72157615918906171/ Just click on the slideshow icon on the top right, sit back and enjoy the show.

Alex Murdocca honored as "Girl Scout of the Year"

Our very own Alex Murdocca was recognized as the Freemason's "Girl Scout of the Year." Congratulations Alex! She was one of the co-founders of the Liberty Key Club.

The following story appeared on APP.com:

The Freemason's Grand Lodge of New Jersey has named Alexandra Murdocca its Girl Scout of the Year. The Jackson resident was chosen for this statewide honor because she lives the Girl Scout mission daily as a girl with courage, confidence and character.

“Alexandra is an outstanding choice because she is always looking to help others through Girl Scouts and her other extracurricular activities,” said Berenbroick. “She clearly is a role model for all youth, especially younger girls.”

Murdocca recently put the leadership skills she learned during her 13 years as a Girl Scout into practice through the implementation and completion of her Gold Award project “Supporting Our Veterans.” She collected sleeping bags and clothing for homeless veterans; created a You Tube video about the needs of veterans, and worked with younger Girl Scout troops to make approximately 1,000 thank you cards which she then distributed to local veterans.

“Through your dedication to the Girl Scouts, you were able to go ‘above and beyond' and bring some relief to homeless vets who often go unnoticed,” wrote Michael Kafton, Jackson Township Council president in a commendation letter. “Congratulations for your accomplishments and all the good that you have brought to these very needy people.”

“Alexandra looked in her community and her heart to see what action was needed,” added Jenny Cody, senior director of program. “She saw the veterans suffering and she took action to help them in every way she could and raised awareness of their plight.”

Because of her life-long dedication to Girl Scouts, Murdocca was chosen to serve as a girl representative to the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore's board of directors, which represents the 16,000 girl members of the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore.

“I always ask the girl representatives to take part in various aspects of board meetings with little notice,” said JoAnn McCann, president of the Board of Directors. “Alexandra is confident and steps right up to the task; she has an understanding of the democratic process in Girl Scouts and has been an outstanding representative of the council.”

Murdocca says confidence and independence are the two most importing things she's discovered as a Girl Scout. With those skills, she has learned to be herself and has the courage to stand up for what she believes in. She believes these skills prepared her well for college.

Murdocca began classes at Ocean County College in January after graduating a semester early from Jackson Liberty High School. She plans to major in political science and attend law school.

During high school, she was a charter Key Club member and served as the group's president, organizing fundraisers that benefiting organizations such as Children's Specialized Hospital and the Red Cloud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. She also served her classmates as freshman class president and organized school fundraisers and helped organize a group to create a mural.

Kiwanis Night with the BlueClaws, annual tradition

Barney has reserved Friday July 17 as our Kiwanis Night at the BlueClaws. Tickets will be available to the clubs at $6 each. This is a great way to join a fun evening with Kiwanians from all over the district. It is also a great way to help others. For instance, the Jackson club purchases a bunch of tickets and gives them to the Challenger League to distribute to their athletes and parents. Other clubs have sold the tickets and applied the money they raise to scholarships.
We will have more information in the next week or two, but I wanted to give you a head's up to let you know what's going on.

United Way Basket Drive

I finally heard from United Way about their annual Spring Basket Drive.
We requested 20 children and I have the list below in a spreadsheet. It is first come, first served so tell me your first, second and third preferences and I’ll let you know right away if that child is available.
The goal of the drive is to provide baskets, filled with goodies and personal items, to children who would not otherwise receive a basket due to the family’s financial status.
The baskets must be delivered to the United Way drop off location at the Dover Mall (Rt. 37 & 166) Friday, April 3 between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. We will try to collect our club’s baskets and I and maybe another one or two can probably drop them off at the mall.
You can provide either a traditional or customized basket.
Suggested basket items include (but are not limited to):
• bath supplies and toiletries
• candy
• coloring books or reading books
• crayons
• hair accessories
• pencils
• small toys, stuffed animals and puzzles
• socks

Gender Age Donor

girl 1
girl 3 Dan Black
girl 4 Laura Johnson
girl 4 Carol Hordichuk
girl 4 Paul Tarantino
girl 5 Donna Corman
girl 5 Donna Corman
girl 5 Paul Tarantino
girl 5 Fran Polito
girl 6 Melissa Santoro
girl 6 Melissa Santoro
girl 6 Floyd/Carmela
girl 8 Larry Meegan
girl 9
girl 10
girl 11
girl 12 Fran Polito
boy 1 Larry Meegan
boy 7 Lois Kapp
boy 8 Lois Kapp

KCOJ hosts "Puma's Kitchen" for education aid to Africa

The Kiwanis Club of Jackson and Hope Presbyterian Church will host “Puma’s Kitchen” and serve a meal of unique Congo foods 4 p.m. Saturday May 23 to benefit educational efforts in Africa.

The meal will be served at the church, 617 Hope Chapel Road in Lakewood, at 5:30 p.m. Prior to serving the meal Mbyu “Puma” Wa Mbuyu, founder of the Able and Willing International Educational Foundation, will discuss the preparation of food used in the meal. He and volunteers will prepare a selection of dishes at the church.

The dinner will be followed by a discussion of educational initiatives in Africa.
Mbuyu “Puma” Wa Mbuyu is a master electrician in Washington, D.C. Every year since 1995 Puma has organized the AWIEF projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the summer while pursuing his job in the United States during the rest of the year.
The fourfold mission of AWIEF is:
• Build schools in areas where access to basic education is limited
• Establish income-generating projects that teach students life skills and allow the schools to be self-supporting
• Foster regenerative natural resource activities within the communities where the schools are located
• Educate the US public about other countries and culture and raise awareness of the interdependent nature of the world
The suggested donation for the event is $35. Tickets are available from Al Manus (732) 267-7266 or Fran Polito (732) 904-8341.

Able & Willing is a non-profit, IRS 501(c)(3), non-denominational, all volunteer run organization with headquarters in Frederick, Maryland. More information about the group is available from their Web site www.ableandwilling.org .

Another great KCOJ wine tasting

The Kiwanis Club of Jackson will host another great wine tasting Thursday April 9 beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the View Restaurant, located at Eagle Ridge Country Club in Lakewood.
The cost is $50 per person and features over 90 different wines to taste. There will be carving and pasta stations along with fruit, cheese and bread.
We will also host a silent auction.
Tickets can be purchased at Plaza Wines & Liquors at the Jackson Plaza on County Line Road or from any member of the club. Call (732) 367-1199 for more information.
Proceeds from the event will support our high school scholarships and the purchase of special chairs for Kimball Medical Center, Lakewood.

Top Cop dinner dance

We had a great time last night (March 20)at Eagle Ridge for our annual Police Officer of the Year Dinner Dance. Thanks to Donna, Mike, Lois, Fran & Diane for all their hard work to make it a great success.
We honored Officers Derek Gorski, Dominic Manion, Joseph Oleksy and Detective Scott Conover. They received letters from Governor Corzine and proclamations from the Joint Legislature of New Jersey, The Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders, and the Jackson Township Committee. They also received plaques from our club and their names will be engraved on the board we have hanging at the police station.
Fran did a great job with Chris Parisi as emcee. The ad journal turned out pretty well. And Daybreak's Jeri had us laughing.
Floyd and Donna received the Dave Stacy award for their superlative efforts to continue making our club great. They both deserved it.
Thanks all for making it a great night.
Photos from the night can be seen on my Flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22036136@N07/sets/72157615737366938/ I suggest you hit the "slideshow" icon in the uppr right hand side, sit back and watch the photos.

Get on the bus!

Hey all, we are getting ready to beat Daybreak's butt at dodgeball Friday night, 6 p.m. March 27 at one of the Brick high schools. (I don't remember which one. I'll find out and put it in as a comment to this posting.)

We'd like everybody out there, even if you can't play - you can cheer!

Contact team captains Lois Kapp & Melissa Santoro.

Challenger League Basketball game

The Jackson Challenger League held their last game of the season last night, playing against the Jackson Liberty HS basketball team. There had to be close to 300 people there including a contingent from our club. Dan, Donna, Lois and her son Stevan & mom Mrs. Kapp,and me. And there were a lot of Kiwanis shirts out on the floor.

We were thanked for donating the shirts and supporting the league, but it's the people who day in and day out are there working with the group that really deserve the thanks of the whole community. Jim & Lori Smith, especially.

Thanks to the Jackson Lions basketball team and their coaches who were so gracious with their time and positive role models for the Challenger players.

I also want to thank the young folks who were out there helping, espceially Denis Galvin's daughter. Be proud of her Denis.

I took some photos. The lighting wasn't that good so some of the ones that look like good action photos were really due to a slower shutter speed than I'd have liked. The photos are one my Flickr account and can be accessed at When you get to the page you'll see an icon for "slideshow." Why not hit that and sit back?

One more note: Challenger Softball starts in about 3 weeks.

KCOJ at Circle K District Convention

There are a couple of club news worthy item to report from the Circle K district convention.

Two of the most surprised people attending the convention were Mary Jo & Floyd. Both were presented with Carthage-Pullman Society Awards, the highest award one can receive in Circle K. In honor of Carthage College, the campus where Circle K began, and the Pullman, Washington, Kiwanis club, which helped build the concept of a campus service club, the Circle K International Board of Trustees created the Carthage-Pullman Society. Both May Jo & Floyd devoted many years to Circle K. (And that Carmila sure can keep a secret. She's known about Floyd's award for a year now.)

Ted, who served as Circle K Administrator, was presented with an honorary membership into Circle K.

We had an Interclub at the convention: Carol & Ted, Mary Jo, Floyd & Carmila, and me. BTW, That will be my last Circle K district convention as an advisor. I have been an advisor to the organization for 9 years but have to fade into the sunset because of too many commitments lately.

And NJ Circle K has a new governor, Karen Ann Conway from Brookdale (soon to attend Kean University.)

And the winner is...Midwinter report

Hey all,

KCOJ is a superlative club! At yesterday's Midwinter conference club president Stan & secretary Lois are now Distinguished Club President and Distinguished Club Secretary Stan & Lois! Way to go you two! Thank you so much for all your hard work making us look good.

We also were a blue medal winner, having the largest net gain of members (4) in the division.

We had 10 members attend yesterday: Fran (our next distinguished club president!), Mrs. Johnson, Mary Jo, Donna, Michael, Ted, Stan, Floyd, Carmella, and me. We had more than 240 Kiwanians attend, nearly 10% of the district. (Our club had about 1/3rd of its members attend. Way to go!)

KI president-elect Paul Palazzolo was great.

Floyd ran the sound for the conference. I took a few photos and shot some video, too. I am hoping that I can use the video and post that onto You Tube for all to see.