Julius Caesar's immortal dictum, "Veni, vedi, vici," would be a fitting motto for some local Latin students.
With their canned-goods collection drive this holiday season, the Exeter Township Senior High School Latin Club came, saw and conquered, dwarfing all previous counts.
"We started the drive after the Thanksgiving Holiday with the hopes of beating last year's impressive total of 4,500 cans of food," said Michael J. Kitsock, advisor for the club.
"The number kept growing and growing until we smashed our previous record with a grand total of 14,483 individual items," Kitsock said. The club is also led by Exeter senior Christopher Birch.
Kitsock, known to his students as "Magister" (Latin for teacher), has spearheaded the club's holiday canned-goods collection for 16 years. It benefits the Greater Reading Food Bank through the Berks County chapter of the Salvation Army.
Last week numerous volunteers swarmed to room N114, or "pick-up central," with donations collected throughout the pledge period that ended Dec. 21.
Kitsock said his club members received an enormous amount of help and cooperation from the student body, teachers, supportive staff members and the Exeter Township School District's administration.
He especially wanted to recognize the efforts of fellow colleague Terry A. Lorah, who secured the use of the Exeter Band Truck to repeatedly transport the donated cargo to the food bank.
Kitsock also applauded the publicity that district Vice Principal Marc P. Bellettierre repeatedly gave to the drive.
"This was an awesome effort by everyone," Bellettierre bellowed during dismissal announcements last Wednesday.
"You all can be very proud of your efforts. It's awesome. Your generosity and kindness will help a lot of people in need this holiday season."
Bellettiere praised Adrianne Cusmowski's group, who collected 2,500 cans and set the single homeroom record.
A lifelong native of Schuylkill County, Kitsock said the inspiration for the food drive comes from his experiences as a boy growing up in the dying coal regions.
"There was a lot of poverty and suffering as the mines were closing, with an unemployment rate of more than 40 percent," he said.
Kitsock, the Latin Club and the administration also wanted to acknowledge the cooperation of many parents and family members of the participating students.