Challenge from the Chair
By Mark J. Wolff, KM
Jan 18, 2006
View all articles by Mark J. Wolff, KM
It is with a deep sense of humility and sincere gratitude that I compose this column for the inaugural issue of The Malta Messenger. Alice M. Carney, DM had always taken the responsibility for our quarterly newsletter and she performed the task, as always, with her usual graceful efficiency. Her leaving us here on earth for Heavenly rewards with Our Lord and Savior remind us of how hard she worked and how much she accomplished without a whisper. In this issue Thomas F. Carney, Jr., KMOb writes a touching salute to his mother, A Dame For All Seasons.
Our 7th Annual Gala will be held this year at the Surf Club on March 11th 2006. This year’s Gala will celebrate and honor the life, works and legacy of The Mother of Malta in Florida, Alice M. Carney, DM. The Board of Directors of the Order of Malta South Florida, and in particular Loraine Kayal and Frank and Dottie Crippen, has been working closely with the Carney family to insure The 7th Annual Gala will be an evening that every knight and dame should attend and will never forget; a fine tribute to A Dame For All Seasons!
Since I had the pleasure of being with so many of our members at The Crippen’s in North Carolina for our Annual Summer Retreat, I do not have to describe the growth and increasing success of this spiritual and social event. I thank Frank and Dottie for their hospitality and financial generosity in hosting this spiritually invigorating event each summer in an idyllic mountain setting. Special thanks are also due to Rev. Dr. Dave G. Caron, OP, our Deputy Chaplin, who always develops the spiritual dimension and thereby our depth of faith.
The Annual Christmas Mass at the home of Jim and Grace Colross in Coral Gables had just the right touch for the Holy Season. Many gifts were collected for Saint Ann’s Mission and, as always, Grace and Jim were the perfect hosts. I have asked that they open their home again next year as their Christmas Mass has become a great tradition for The Order of Malta in South Florida. I would like to thank Jim and Grace for their graciousness and largesse.
In November in New York, The Order of Malta South Florida had nine new members invested. In the next issue of The Malta Messenger we will feature a short story on each of our new knights and dames, with pictures so you will recognize them at our upcoming 7th Annual Gala in March. Next November, 2006 I would like to reinstate the Florida Dinner that was historically organized by Allie Carney. I have asked Board member and Treasurer, Hershel F. Smith, Jr., to coordinate this event. With Hershel and Cynthia’s fine epicurean taste, I feel confident that this will be an event to remember!
In the last several years, under the leadership of Frank Crippen as our Area Chair & President of The Order of Malta South Florida, Inc., we have raised and contributed in excess of 1 million dollars to projects in Florida. These projects include, but are not limited to: Saint Ann’s Mission; The Marian Center; New Hope Charities; Nazareth Homes; BirthLine; Beyond Abortion: Healing and Understanding; Safe Haven for the Newborns; Women’s Circle; Camillus House; Providence Place; and Genesis House, among others. Perhaps of equal or greater importance, Knights and Dames of Malta have contributed untold hours of service to the sick, poor, economically, mentally and physically challenged, as well as to teenage mothers and newborns.
We must continue this good work even as dollars from the American Association have and will continue to diminish. Our work at, for example, Saint Ann’s Mission is in dire need of an infusion of both financial and human capital in order to further assist and rebuild. We are attempting to reopen the medical clinic at the Mission, obtain a new van for transporting patients to and from the medical clinic, and establish a legal clinic to assist undocumented workers. Please read the The Malta Messenger article, Our Mission at St. Ann’s: Serving the Least, the Lost and the Last.
The new incarnation of our Area newsletter entitled The Malta Messenger is my way of paying a personal tribute to Allie Carney, who for so many years worked virtually alone to produce the newsletter. Allie, who I know is listening, let me thank you for your incredible work on behalf of the Order. After just one edition and much more help than you ever had, I truly appreciate this one aspect of your many contributions to the Order.
I would also like to express my heartfelt gratitude to H.L. Alberola “Bert” for his dedication and hard work in accepting my challenge to and taking the lead on the development and completion of this project. The inauguration of The Malta Messenger is coupled with the launching of a website by the South Florida Area. We are the first Area in the American Association to establish its presence on the Worldwide Web. The Area Website will publish The Malta Messenger on-line, along with other information on the Order of Malta regionally, nationally and internationally with great links and contacts around the Americas. Special thanks to Philippa Leslie of the Grand Magistry and to John Bycraft and Jack Shine, from the American Association Board of Councillors, for their prompt and critically important assistance in providing guidance and graphics in connection with the development for our Area’s new Website.
The Malta Messenger welcomes your comments and article submissions. Please visit the Readers’ Forum.
Both The Messenger and our new Website are fully funded by private sponsors. Let me extend to all of our Charter Sponsors my sincere appreciation and gratitude, this publication would not be possible without their support. If you want to be a sponsor or know of a business that would be interested in becoming a sponsor, please give me a call, drop me a line, or send me an e-mail.
Finally, on the occasion of the 7th Annual Order of Malta South Florida Gala, the Board of Directors has voted to bestow The Honorable Jeb Bush, Governor of the State of Florida with its Ethic of Life Award for Outstanding Service towards the defense of life and human dignity of the unborn. Congratulations Governor!
Professor Mark J. Wolff, KM is Area Chair & President, The Order of Malta South Florida, Inc., and serves as Editor-In-Chief and Publisher of The Malta Messenger©.
By Mark J. Wolff, KM
Jan 18, 2006
View all articles by Mark J. Wolff, KM
It is with a deep sense of humility and sincere gratitude that I compose this column for the inaugural issue of The Malta Messenger. Alice M. Carney, DM had always taken the responsibility for our quarterly newsletter and she performed the task, as always, with her usual graceful efficiency. Her leaving us here on earth for Heavenly rewards with Our Lord and Savior remind us of how hard she worked and how much she accomplished without a whisper. In this issue Thomas F. Carney, Jr., KMOb writes a touching salute to his mother, A Dame For All Seasons.
Our 7th Annual Gala will be held this year at the Surf Club on March 11th 2006. This year’s Gala will celebrate and honor the life, works and legacy of The Mother of Malta in Florida, Alice M. Carney, DM. The Board of Directors of the Order of Malta South Florida, and in particular Loraine Kayal and Frank and Dottie Crippen, has been working closely with the Carney family to insure The 7th Annual Gala will be an evening that every knight and dame should attend and will never forget; a fine tribute to A Dame For All Seasons!
Since I had the pleasure of being with so many of our members at The Crippen’s in North Carolina for our Annual Summer Retreat, I do not have to describe the growth and increasing success of this spiritual and social event. I thank Frank and Dottie for their hospitality and financial generosity in hosting this spiritually invigorating event each summer in an idyllic mountain setting. Special thanks are also due to Rev. Dr. Dave G. Caron, OP, our Deputy Chaplin, who always develops the spiritual dimension and thereby our depth of faith.
The Annual Christmas Mass at the home of Jim and Grace Colross in Coral Gables had just the right touch for the Holy Season. Many gifts were collected for Saint Ann’s Mission and, as always, Grace and Jim were the perfect hosts. I have asked that they open their home again next year as their Christmas Mass has become a great tradition for The Order of Malta in South Florida. I would like to thank Jim and Grace for their graciousness and largesse.
In November in New York, The Order of Malta South Florida had nine new members invested. In the next issue of The Malta Messenger we will feature a short story on each of our new knights and dames, with pictures so you will recognize them at our upcoming 7th Annual Gala in March. Next November, 2006 I would like to reinstate the Florida Dinner that was historically organized by Allie Carney. I have asked Board member and Treasurer, Hershel F. Smith, Jr., to coordinate this event. With Hershel and Cynthia’s fine epicurean taste, I feel confident that this will be an event to remember!
In the last several years, under the leadership of Frank Crippen as our Area Chair & President of The Order of Malta South Florida, Inc., we have raised and contributed in excess of 1 million dollars to projects in Florida. These projects include, but are not limited to: Saint Ann’s Mission; The Marian Center; New Hope Charities; Nazareth Homes; BirthLine; Beyond Abortion: Healing and Understanding; Safe Haven for the Newborns; Women’s Circle; Camillus House; Providence Place; and Genesis House, among others. Perhaps of equal or greater importance, Knights and Dames of Malta have contributed untold hours of service to the sick, poor, economically, mentally and physically challenged, as well as to teenage mothers and newborns.
We must continue this good work even as dollars from the American Association have and will continue to diminish. Our work at, for example, Saint Ann’s Mission is in dire need of an infusion of both financial and human capital in order to further assist and rebuild. We are attempting to reopen the medical clinic at the Mission, obtain a new van for transporting patients to and from the medical clinic, and establish a legal clinic to assist undocumented workers. Please read the The Malta Messenger article, Our Mission at St. Ann’s: Serving the Least, the Lost and the Last.
The new incarnation of our Area newsletter entitled The Malta Messenger is my way of paying a personal tribute to Allie Carney, who for so many years worked virtually alone to produce the newsletter. Allie, who I know is listening, let me thank you for your incredible work on behalf of the Order. After just one edition and much more help than you ever had, I truly appreciate this one aspect of your many contributions to the Order.
I would also like to express my heartfelt gratitude to H.L. Alberola “Bert” for his dedication and hard work in accepting my challenge to and taking the lead on the development and completion of this project. The inauguration of The Malta Messenger is coupled with the launching of a website by the South Florida Area. We are the first Area in the American Association to establish its presence on the Worldwide Web. The Area Website will publish The Malta Messenger on-line, along with other information on the Order of Malta regionally, nationally and internationally with great links and contacts around the Americas. Special thanks to Philippa Leslie of the Grand Magistry and to John Bycraft and Jack Shine, from the American Association Board of Councillors, for their prompt and critically important assistance in providing guidance and graphics in connection with the development for our Area’s new Website.
The Malta Messenger welcomes your comments and article submissions. Please visit the Readers’ Forum.
Both The Messenger and our new Website are fully funded by private sponsors. Let me extend to all of our Charter Sponsors my sincere appreciation and gratitude, this publication would not be possible without their support. If you want to be a sponsor or know of a business that would be interested in becoming a sponsor, please give me a call, drop me a line, or send me an e-mail.
Finally, on the occasion of the 7th Annual Order of Malta South Florida Gala, the Board of Directors has voted to bestow The Honorable Jeb Bush, Governor of the State of Florida with its Ethic of Life Award for Outstanding Service towards the defense of life and human dignity of the unborn. Congratulations Governor!
Professor Mark J. Wolff, KM is Area Chair & President, The Order of Malta South Florida, Inc., and serves as Editor-In-Chief and Publisher of The Malta Messenger©.
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