The Official Publication of the New Jersey District

Cirkling “ I PLEDGE TO UPHOLD THE OBJECTS OF CIRCLE K INTERNATION-

AL,TO FOSTER COMPASSION AND GOODWILL TOWARD OTHERS

THROUGH SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP, TO DEVELOP MY ABILITIES

AND THE ABILITIES OF ALL PEOPLE,AND TO DEDICATE MYSELF TO

THE REALIZATION OF MANKIND’S POTENTIAL! “

The 50th Annual New Jersey Circle K District Convention:

A Golden Celebration

Volume 50 Issue 1 May 2014

DCON Recap 1

Back In The Day 2

Meet Your New District Board 3-7

Governor’s Page 8

DLSSP 9-10

From the Editor’s Desk 11

Mark Your Calendars 12

Club Officer Spotlight 13-14

Zone Advisor Spotlight 15

Contacts 16

What better way to wrap up the Circle K year than to celebrate it with friends and colleagues at the 50th Annual New Jersey Circle K District Con-vention! This event featured the distribution of awards to club officers and members as well as the caucusing and election of those running for District Positions. I must admit what a surreal experience it was caucusing via Google Hangout. I spent my afternoons in the rainy city of Seattle, Washington pre-paring for the elections process and my evenings gracing the “big screen” with the guidance and tremendous patience of former Garden LTG, Annabelle Fallarme. On behalf of the New Jersey Circle K District Board, I would like to thank the Circle K Clubs who joined us in this Golden Celebration and brought in the 2013-2014 Circle K year in a truly celebratory fashion!

Former District Gover-nor Shivam Patel and Former Garden LTG Annabelle Fallarme

Party in the Back

Business in

the Front

Introduction When new students come into the wonderful organization

of Circle K, they are greeted with some of the most

influential, dedicated, and determined administrators,

advisors, and Kiwanis members. They offer the ability to

give these students perspective, examples, and guidance as

they grow and develop this organization further along the

path towards the future, with a keen appreciation for the

past. It is in this spirit that Joey and I bring to you the dual

feature Business in the Front, Party in the Back!

Business in the Front: Who is Joey G? Joey has been involved with the K Family for over a

decade, holding various positions from Club President, to

District Laws & Regulations Chair, and onward. Now, he

serves as a Kiwanis Club President, a Kiwanis LTG elect, a

Circle K Zone Advisor, Brookdale Club Advisor, and

more!

Next Circkling In the coming offerings, these sections will feature

varying objects, from other advisor interviews, to fun

stories of yesteryear, and more. This is our small way

of giving back, of being involved, and being fun!

You can be involved, too! Your lovely District Editor,

Rachael Stieg, is always looking for articles, and you

can be a part of the awesomeness that is this

newsletter! Just contact Rachael for more info. Want

us to interview you or your advisor for this section?

Let us know, and we will reach out to them!

Party in the Back: Who is Brian P? Brian has been involved with the K Family for a

decade, serving various roles as Joey G’s unofficial

club sergeant in arms, Club Vice President, and has

been a Club Advisor for Stockton for what will be six

years and counting this May. Similar to Joey, his door

is always open, and if you ever need to chat, feel free

to reach out!

By: Brian Pluchino and Joseph Giordano (Joey G)

Meet Your New Board!

Dawn Kreder

District Governor

Year : Junior

Major: Sociology

Fun Fact: Whenever I’m

home I love to play the flute,

piccolo, and bass guitar.

Rena Patel

District Secretary

Year: Senior

Major: Biology &

Psychology

Fun Fact: I like

working with chil-

dren.

Max Hirsch

District Treasurer

Year: Super Senior

Major: Computer

Sciece Information

Systems

Fun Fact: I owned a

chicken once.

Rachael Stieg

District Editor

Year: Junior

Major: Biology/ Pre-Med

Fun Fact: I love pitbulls.

Molly Olcese

Garden Lt. Gov-

ernor

Year: Junior

Major: English/

Elementary Edu-

cation

Fun Fact: Max

Hirsch is my

best friend.

Roxy Gonzalez

Seabreeze Lt. Governor

Year: Junior

Major: Communications &

Media Studies

Fun Fact: I play the flute.

Meet Your New Board Cont.

McKenzie Lillia

Service Chair

Year: Senior

Major: Biology/ Pre-

Physical Therapy

Fun Fact: My niece is

the cutest and I don’t

let anyone forget it!

Rocky Trifari

K-Family Chair

Year: Sophomore

Major: Marketing &

Psychology

Fun Fact: I know some

Chinese (and ate at 14

all-you-can-eat buffets

in a row once)!

Kathleen Lok

LR&A Chair

Year: Senior

Major: Accounting

Fun Fact: I love cats!

Meet Your New Board Cont.

Melinda Graff

Con-Con Chair

Year: 1st year grad stu-

dent

Major: Masters in Busi-

ness Administration

Fun Fact: Breakfast is

my favorite meal of the

day.

Chris Heil

RR& R Chair

Year: Junior

Major: Criminal

Justice

Fun Fact: I play

guitar and

sing...pretty

well.

Breona Lembeck

Fundraising Chair

Year: Senior

Major: Sociology, Law & Jus-

tice

Fun Fact: I love helping the

elderly.

Meet Your New Board Cont.

Parth Patel (Not pictured)

Eliminate SLP

Chair

Year: Sophomore

Major: Genetics

Fun Fact: I enjoy

long walks on the

beach!

Kerrin McLaughlin

Technology Chair

Year: Junior

Major: Interactive

Multimedia

Fun Fact: I can lick

my elbow.

Shivam Patel

OTIC Chair

Year: Junior

Major: Information Technolo-

gy

Fun Fact: I’ve been a member

of the K-Family for 6+ years!

Meet Your New Board Cont.

The Governor’s Page!

Greetings, New Jersey District!

In what seemed like a blink of the eye, the spring semester is nearing its end and now summer is almost upon us. Just because classes are over, however, doesn’t mean that we still can’t hang out with our New Jer-sey Circle K Members! The summer months provide us with a number of service opportunities all through-out the state, or even the country! I know that I will be attending CKIx this summer in Nashville, Tennessee. During this six day “Xperience” (get it?), Circle K Members from all around the world will be coming to-gether to volunteer at numerous sites throughout the city of Nashville, and all the while taking in the dis-tinct culture that Nashville has to offer.

There are plenty of service opportunities within state lines as well! I know that I will be working with my local Key Club by participating in a walk to help with Kidney & Urology research, as well as helping run a carnival for children from the Toms River Children’s Specialized Hospital. I encourage all of you to take a look around your environment and look for the numerous service opportunities that are there for you.

Maybe if you are an education major, find a way to help tutor kids in the summer. Or, if you have a “green thumb,” see if there are any community gardens or parks you can help bring new life to. Whatever it is you are passionate about, look to use that passion to help change the world, one act of kindness at a time.

I look forward to serving alongside many of you this summer, and I wish you the best of luck with all of your final exams and assignments. Relax, stay cool, and take a moment to enjoy yourselves!

DLSSP at Stockton College!

Last weekend Stockton Circle K was able to host the New Jersey Circle K’s District Large Scale Service Project. This project was one of the activities includ-ed in our weekend long Service-A-Thon. This event included scheduled service projects from Friday at 3:00 PM until Sunday at 5:00 PM. Altogether, we had 35 attendees and did 241 service hours, 111 alone from Stockton!

On Friday, students had the opportunity to choose between three of Stock-ton’s weekly service projects. One option was to go to Atlantic City Rescue Mis-sion and help serve food to those in need. Another option was to go to the Salva-tion Army in Atlantic City and assist with their after school program. Because the students don’t have homework on Fridays, we were able to perform fun sci-ence projects with them. We combined water and cornstarch to make oobleck, tried mixing oil and water to make a lava lamp, and poured vinegar into baking soda to create a mini volcanic eruption! If students did not want to leave Stock-ton’s campus, or could not join us for the entire time, they were able to partici-pate in on-campus service. This included making spring door decorations for el-ders living in a local assisted living community. Students from Rowan Universi-ty, Monmouth University, and Stockton College participated in these activities.

On Saturday, at DLSSP, students from all around the state joined us to help out our local Salvation Army in Atlantic City. In attendance at the Salvation Ar-my were students from Rutgers University, The College of New Jersey, Rowan University, Rider University, and, Stockton College. Some students from Brookdale Community College also attended later in the day and were able to participate in some On-Campus Service. The Salvation Army needed us to help them paint some rooms and doors around their building. Students worked to-gether to make this building look more welcoming for the children and families that benefit from its services. This project held a special place in my heart be-cause I, along with a few other students, visit the Atlantic City Salvation Army weekly to help the children at the after school program with their homework. They are always grateful for the help that they receive. It is great to see that we could all help make this a better place for the children. To relax afterwards, a large group of the students who attended DLSSP played a friendly game of Fami-ly Feud. (Next Page)

DLSSP at Stockton College Cont.

On Sunday, students gathered on Stockton’s campus to do some more on-

campus service. Students from Rowan and Stockton continued to make the door

hangers from Friday. We also cut out coupons for military families and make col-

oring books for the children who attend the Salvation Army after school program.

Soon we will bring the coloring books to Salvation Army and the door hangers to

the assisted living community. The children and residents will be very excited to

receive them. Thank you to everyone who attended our weekend event!

By: Olivia Pereira

Circle K members take a break from painting at the Salvation Army in Atlantic City (Left)

From the Editor’s Desk

Hello New Jersey District ! I hope everyone has been studying hard for their finals and looking forward to summer break as much as I am! I can’t believe our first month of the 2014-2015 service year has already flown by. I look forward to working with the rest of the District Board and seeing all that is in store for us. Take the time to relax this summer. Grab some lemonade, hit the beach, and spend some time with friends. But please don’t forget your K-Family! Take the time away from papers, exams and tedious assignments to reach out in your community. Get in-volved with a local Kiwanis. Help your elderly neighbors with some yard work, or volunteer at a local hospital. And be sure to check out all of the ex-citing events we have coming up. I am so proud of our district and all that we do. Keep up the great work!

Rachael

Mark Your Calendars!

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 Football to 4 5

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30

May 2014

Details & Other Fun Dates!

Football to Eliminate– All proceeds for this event will be donated to Elimi-

nate! This will take place at Brookdale on the school soccer fields. Games

will begin at 11 A.M, and tickets are $12! Come out & enjoy some flag foot-

ball!

TCNJ Six Flags Social– Get ready for some roller coaster rides and a good

time with Circle K friends! Date TBD.

K-Family Picnic– Your summer would not be complete without this FANTAS-

TIC event. Come out for some great food, great company, and awesome

memories! Date TBD.

LSSP-ICON– 6/17-6/22 Circle K’s annual International Convention in Nash-

ville, TN! Contact Shivam Patel with questions or visit http://circlek.org/

Leadership/Conventions/InternationalConvention/Nashville2014.aspx

Club Officer Spotlight: Our New Editors!

Nisha Ratanpara:

Rutgers University “My name is Nisha Ratanpara and I am the

new editor of Rutgers Circle K. I am a

sophomore and I am studying Computer

Science. I have been a part of the K-

Family for 5 years and I am super excited

to get even more involved with Circle K. I

love volunteering and taking pictures and

I'm totally pumped to make the club news-

letter for Rutgers! “

Ania Kwiatek: Brookdale Community

College

Sarah Diefenbach:

Rider University

Brittany Whisler:

Rowan University

Jamaica Jasper:

Drew University

Mary-Kate Fitzpatrick:

Stockton College Caroline Kneating: Monmouth University

“My name is Caroline Keating, and the

2014-2015 school year will be my

third year in Circle K. I am very excit-

ed to take on the role of Editor and

to learn even more about this amazing

club. I am looking forward to fun vol-

unteering events and making friend-

ships that will last a lifetime. “ Meg Beane-Fox

TCNJ

"Being a member of CKI means a

great deal to me because I get an

opportunity to utilize my talents to

help improve the surrounding

world. Circle K gives you the oppor-

tunity to have met some amazing

people and have a powerful impact

on the workings of society. I can

not wait to continue this tradition

during my tenure as editor this

service year!"

Club Officer Spotlight: Our New Editors Cont.

Jessica Bock & Shel-

by Wilson:

Farleigh Dickin-

son University

Lauren Chukrallah: St. Peter’s University

Zone Advisor Spotlight : Garden Division

Hi, my name is Kim Seifring and I am the new Garden Division Zone Advisor for New Jer-sey CKI. I reside with my family in Williamstown, New Jersey and am kept very busy in the Buena Regional School District where I am the Supervisor of Special Education and Child Study Team Services. In addition to working for Buena I adjunct classes at Stockton Col-lege and I work for various school districts on a per case basis. My educational career af-forded me a variety of opportunities including getting my Bachelor’s degree at Trenton State College (TSC), my Masters at Rowan University and I obtained my doctoral degree at Wilmington University. On a personal front I love to scrapbook, read and cook! My K Family experience began at TSC where I joined Circle K during my freshman year. During my tenure in Circle K I served on both the club and district levels with a vari-ety of positions including: club scrapbook chair, club secretary, district MD & E chair and district convention chair. During my first teaching job I continued to foster the importance of serving others by having a Builder’s Club established at Hainesport Elementary School. Just recently I was able to rejoin the K Family and I am currently a member of the Pitman-Glassboro Kiwanis Club. In the Pitman-Glassboro Kiwanis club I am service chair and always on the “look-out” for opportunities for our member to serve their community and I can now proudly add CKI Zone Advisor to my K Family experience. During my time in the K-Family I was afforded numerous opportunities for service, leader-ship and friendship. My experiences in the K Family enhanced my life and fostered a varie-ty of skills that I was able to apply to other life situations. I look forward to working with Circle K’ers to ensure that they have the same positive experience afforded to myself while serving our community and those in need.

Contact the District Board!

Kreder.cki@gmail.com

732-597-1570

Dawn Kreder

District Governor

Mhirsch.cki@gmail.com

609-781-2657

Max Hirsch

District Treasurer

Renapatel.cki@gmail.com

732-439-0832

Rena Patel

District Secretary

Rstieg.cki@gmail.com

609-634-4609

Rachael Stieg

District Editor