ANNUAL AWARDS FOR YOUTH ACTIVITIES
MAINE STATE CONVENTION
ROCKPORT, MAINE APRIL 18-20, 2008

Knights of Columbus councils conduct activities throughout the year in five program areas. church, community, council, family life and youth. Within each of the five program areas, one project is chosen for the "Supreme Award." Additionally, four projects are chosen as "Outstanding Activities" in each category. Two of these awards go to larger ("A") councils and two go to smaller ("B") councils. Here are the 2008 winners in the category of Youth Activities. Presenting the awards were Youth Activities Director Norman Gray and State Deputy Robert King.

SUPREME AWARD
COUNCIL # 1753 - FORT FAIRFIELD
-MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION-

A little boy from Fort Fairfield had made a wish to the Make A Wish Foundation. He wanted to have a play set for himself, his twin brother and his sister to play on. The Knights of Columbus and other service organizations were determined to make it happen. The Make A Wish Foundation's office staff made sure Noah's wish could be accomplished. A site visit was completed to make sure the right unit was ordered. The play set was ordered and the office made sure all necessary paperwork was completed. The set would be shipped to the Fort Fairfield utilities garage where it would be assembled. The Frontier Fish and Game Club and the Knights of Columbus volunteers would help to assemble the unit on Saturday, June 30th. It took all day to assemble the unit! Saturday, July 7th, the play set was assembled at Noah's house. The ground was smoothed out, landscaping fabric was tacked down and pea stone was placed on top of the fabric and landscaping ties were secured in place and then the site was ready for the play set. The play set was secured in place and a small picnic table and Sponge Bob chairs were added to finish the project. There is nothing like making a wish come true for a child facing a life-threatening medical condition. When a child is granted their heartfelt wish, it allows him/her to experience hope, strength and joy.

Upon the completion of the new Farwell School building in Lewiston and at the conclusion of the lease with the city, Holy Family Parish was faced with an empty building and what to do with this three story structure. It was determined that it would be better put to use to house the upcoming changes concerning the re-clustering process for the five parishes in Lewiston. With that said, the faith formation program for approximately 100 kids would be the first to occupy the eight classrooms on the upper level of this building. Now chairs, desks and furniture were needed to accommodate the children attending the weekly faith formation classes. Pulling the resources from three different parishes concerning the aforementioned needs was a monumental task to say the least. Holy Family was to provide chairs, Holy Cross tables for teachers, and the desks for the children would come from Sacred Heart in Auburn. Now, with the logistics having been determined as to where this equipment was coming from and where it would end up, the need to transport said paraphernalia became very apparent and time was a factor since the school building did not become available to us until the end of August, due to the city being apathetic in their move. Hence, Fr. Greenleaf, the appointed administrator, challenged Holy Family Council # 10019 with accomplishing this task by the end of September 30, 2007. Our council welcomed the undertaking and assembled volunteers and pickup trucks and proceeded to coordinate the move. Fifteen brothers labored five hours per day along with five pickup trucks for a two week period to make this happen and as of September 22, 2007, we are proud to say that said task was accomplished. However, the equipment which was in storage needed to be dusted off before being transported and the hours accumulated for the entire process totaled 750 hours along with some $160 worth of gas, consumed during this phase, not to mention that we needed to climb two flights to make this happen by the retirees which were all in their 60s, not to mention a few being in their 70s. Incidentally, the brother knights absorbed the cost of the fuel consumed during this entire move. Sherry, the faith formation coordinator thanked us for a job well done and commented that in the ensuing eight days remaining, her teachers would have ample time to move their material and dress up their classrooms with posters and with religious images before the kids started to attend classes for the year.

OUTSTANDING ACTIVITY, "A" DIVISION
COUNCIL # 8742 - AUBURN
-WASHINGTON D.C. RIGHT TO LIFE TRIP-

(This was written by a youth attendee!) I am sure some of you reading or listening to this are thinking to yourselves, "How am I going to pay my next bills," or "What am I going to do about my problems at the workplace," etc. These are the hardest problems we are facing now, whereas children in the womb are facing the hardest problem in their lives, and thinking, "Will my Mommy keep me?" The March for Life has put an incredible new passion in me to preserve and to protect the God-given right to live that He has given to all of us, but that some have taken away. The trip to D.C. was long and there were about 70 of us from this area on the two buses. One bus was for teens and one was for families. I was on the teen bus. The first thing I noticed on the bus was the people around me. They had such a passion for protecting life and such a deep spiritual conviction. I know that from them I gained so much and I learned a great deal more about my religion and what it truly means to be a Catholic. We slept in St. Philip's Parish in Maryland which is funny because my family and I go to St. Philip's Church in Auburn. When I went to the Masses before the march, I was overcome by a strong sense of fellowship that was all around. During the actual march, I expected to see a great number of angry pro-choice advocates screaming at me, but 99% of the people I saw on the streets supported us and cheered us on. To see the large number of people from all parts of the United States as well as from other countries, I couldn't help but feel moved by the experience. When I walked away from the march, I felt a strong sense of accomplishment and I know I will be there next year. Say "hi" to me if you see me there.

OUTSTANDING ACTIVITY, "B" DIVISION
FR. GEORGE E. DANDANEAU COUNCIL # 5756 - BUCKSPORT
-THEO'S WORK-

On September 15, 2007, Council #5756 sponsored its second annual benefit fish fry for Theo's Work. This non-profit organization was founded by Maine's own Fr. Marc Boisvert, who cares for the unwanted, neglected and abandoned children in Haiti. One out of every six children never sees their fifth birthday. Haiti is the third poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. These kids are certainly some of the neediest in the world today. Many knights, wives and close friends were involved with this "feel good" event. Everyone seemed to have an inner glow knowing that they were making a difference for some of God's children. We raised $736.26 for Fr. Marc's "kids." After receiving this check, we were sent a "Thank you" card for our generosity. Not only is this turning into an annual event; we have made Theo's Work our international charity.

OUTSTANDING ACTIVITY, "B" DIVISION
COUNCIL # 3172 - DOVER-FOXCROFT
-CROSSING OVER CEREMONY-

Knights of Columbus Council #3172 was called upon to provide grilling and food preparation for the youth group and their families for the ministry's annual "Crossing Over Ceremony". This ceremony was started several years ago by one of our council's brother knights. It honors youth and their families "crossing over" from the middle school youth program into the high school ministry called the "God Squad". The ceremony consists of a time of prayer reflections, farewell and acceptance by the members of the youth ministry. There is another affirmation by the youth crossing over to be willing to learn and grow in their Catholic faith, but mostly to be willing to serve the parish by giving of their time and talent. This is an event the Knights look forward to each year. It is well received by the adult advisors, the youth ministry and their families.