Local

Alexandria man named Knight of the Year

Mike Flach | Catholic Herald

The Fourth Degree honor guard presents the colors during the awards breakfast program April 30.

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Virginia State Deputy Stephen Raschke (left) presents a $5,500 check to Frank Stevens representing Special Olympics of Virginia.

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Rosemary Paulson (left) of Church of the Nativity in Burke accepts the Young Woman of the Year Award from State Deputy Stephen Raschke as her parents, Blake and Amor Paulson, and pastor, Fr. Robert Cilinski, look on.

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Brian Vincent Seinmetz (second from left) is joined by his family as he accepts the Young Man of the Year Award from State Deputy Stephen Raschke.

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Carol Connors (second from left) of Fredericksburg was named Lady of the Year by the Ladies of Virginia.

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Nathan E. Murray, a parishioner of St. Louis Church in
Alexandria and a member of Fitzgerald Council No. 459 in
Alexandria, was named Knight of the Year at the Virginia
State Convention of the Knights of Columbus.

Rosemary Paulson of Church of the Nativity in Burke received
the Young Woman of the Year Award. She was nominated by Fr.
Vincent S. Sikora Council No. 7992. The winner of the Young
Man of the Year Award was Brian Vincent Seimtetz, who was
nominated by Chesapeake Council No. 8240.

Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde, Virginia state chaplain,
was the celebrant and homilist of the closing Mass April 30.
(See page 9 for the text of Bishop Loverde’s homily.) Father
John C. Cregan, associate state chaplain, delivered the
opening prayer at the awards breakfast Saturday morning.

The Knights presented Bishop Loverde with a plaque thanking
him for his many years of service as state chaplain, as well
as a $15,000 check to support vocations in the diocese. He
also accepted a $15,000 check for vocations on behalf of
Richmond Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo.

The annual convention was held last weekend at the Hyatt
Regency Dulles Hotel in Herndon.

The new state deputy is Michael J. Gasper of Richmond. He
succeeds outgoing State Deputy Stephen P. Raschke of
Gloucester, a retired Command Sergeant Major in the U.S.
Army.

Gasper has lived in Richmond since 2003. He worked for 40
years in the field of transportation logistics in New York
and Houston before moving to Virginia.

Other state officers elected at the convention are: State
Secretary Stephen J. Kehoe of Fairfax; State Treasurer Roy F.
Blakeburn of Virginia Beach; State Advocate Edward R. Polich
of Glen Allen; and State Warden Robert Szerszynski of
Montclair. Officers of the Virginia State Council of the
Knights of Columbus serve one-year terms.

Murray has been a Knight for 31 years, serving as Grand
Knight, Deputy Grand Knight, Advocate, Trustee and Faithful
Navigator. During a recent renovation of his church, he
arranged to have the marble being removed from the walls
donated to another church, and also used pieces to make
memorial plaques for the bishop, pastor and parishioners.

Murray developed an area of the church grounds with a statue
of Mary, as well as walkways, a prayer bench and lighting. He
was instrumental in raising the $50,000 needed to make the
idea a reality. At Thanksgiving and Christmas, Murray
delivered food to needy families and purchased toys at his
own expense for their children. His Grand Knight described
him as “the spark plug that makes our council work.”

The Youth Activity of the Year Award was presented to
Fredericksburg Council No. 4034.The council implemented the
order’s annual Coats for Kids campaign with a twist: It
raised money by holding fundraising dinners at local
restaurants, which donated a percentage of each dinner
purchased. The Coats for Kids program teams with local
parishes and Catholic schools to deliver winter coats to kids
who most need them. Many have never owned a new coat.

At the awards breakfast Saturday morning, Raschke presented a
$5,500 check to Frank Stevens, representing Special Olympics
of Virginia.

In brief remarks, Stevens urged the Knights to use their
influence to encourage youths in their parishes to
participate in Special Olympic events across the state. He
recognized that in recent years people with mental and
physical disabilities have “come out of the shadows and into
the light of families and communities.”

This changed mindset “acknowledges that we are part of your
community,” he said. “Special Olympic athletes long for your
attention and friendship.”

Raschke said that one way Virginia Knights will raise funds
for Special Olympics during the coming year is through the
“Polar Plunge,” a statewide event held each February.

The Family of the Year Award went to Jerry and Esperanza
Foronda of San Lorenzo Council No. 12378 in Virginia Beach.

Other program award winners included:

Church Activity of the Year Award – Kempsville Council No.
10515 in Virginia Beach;

Community Activity of the Year Award – Edward Douglass White
Council No. 2473 in Arlington;

Council Activity of the Year Award – Joseph P. Solari Council
No. 11172 in Glen Allen;

Family Activity of the Year Award – Fr. Edwin F. Kelley
Council No. 5750 in Woodbridge;

Youth Activity of the Year Award – Fredericksburg Council No.
4034 in Fredericksburg;

Culture of Life Activity of the Year Award – Mother Teresa of
Calcutta Council No. 12117 in Virginia Beach.

The Knights of Columbus was founded in 1882 in New Haven,
Conn.,and now has nearly 2 million members worldwide. The
Virginia state council was chartered in 1901.

Find out more

More detailed information about the Virginia Knights of
Columbus awards is available by sending an email to
[email protected], or by calling state communications
director Patrick Korten at 703/450-4266.

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