Submitted by Saint Martin’s University
The Saint Martin’s University Circle K International chapter has been presented with a Compassionate Community Recognition Award by the City of Lacey. The chapter also came home from its regional convention in Yakima with numerous club and individual honors.
“The students of Saint Martin’s Circle K have contributed significantly to our community by providing volunteer service and conducting fundraising for charitable causes,” Lacey Mayor Andy Ryder said of the group’s Compassionate Community award presented at the city council meeting on Thursday, March 16, 2017. “They have not just felt empathy for others, they have stepped up and taken concrete actions to help people and improve our community. That is the definition of compassion, and the City of Lacey is proud to recognize their efforts.”
Two awards are presented each quarter as part of the city’s Compassionate Lacey Campaign, which seeks to connect citizens of all ages together in encouraging, celebrating and creating an environment of compassion in the city.
Mary Coppin, Community Liaison for the City of Lacey, says the University’s Circle K chapter was recognized for its body of work. The group has volunteered its labor and time on clean-ups at Lake Lois, Pacific Beach, Seaside beach and on area highways and been active on the Stream Team planting project at Woodland Creek Community Park; CPR training; Homann Park’s rebuild; Habitat for Humanity Builds; two local fundraising runs; and several charity fund drives and food drives. Members also have built an ongoing relationship with residents at Roo Lan Health Care Center in Lacey, and each year do Christmas and Valentine’s activities with residents.
The Saint Martin’s chapter also walked away with a bounty of individual and chapter honors from Circle K’s District Convention in February in Yakima. Its district awards include:
- Walter Zeller Fellowship – Emy Suazo. The award recognizes her outstanding record of humanitarian service on the Eliminate Project, a Kiwanis initiative to prevent and eliminate maternal/neonatal tetanus; work with UNICEF; and in an orphanage in Honduras.
- District Scholarship – Kaylin Fosnacht
- Outstanding President – Kenna Fosnacht
- Outstanding Member – Kaylin Fosnacht
- Outstanding Editor/Bulletin – Kaylin Fosnacht
- Outstanding K Family Relations
- Outstanding T-Shirt
- Outstanding Scrapbook
- Club growth (51.6 percent)
- Outstanding Faculty Advisor – Toni Christy
- Seniors honored at the convention were Alyssa Slate, chapter secretary; Emy Suazo, lieutenant general of Rain-Cap region; and Kenna Fosnacht, chapter president.
Circle K International is a collegiate service organization associated with Kiwanis International, the well-known service group. Saint Martin’s Circle K chapter has about two dozen members. They are part of the organization’s 12,000-strong membership on 500 campuses worldwide, says Toni Christy, the Saint Martin’s group’s advisor and past president of North Thurston Kiwanis.
