Men of Benet is a rapidly developing club founded at the close of the 2013-2014 school year by Tim Jacklich and Nick Benak, both from the Benet class of 2016, and moderator Mr. Kevin Veselik. Benet’s campus ministry had set out to create a male counterpart to the Marians organization of Benet women, with MOB being the end result. This men’s group is a forum for male students of Benet to support each other in dealing with the stresses and challenges that face them during their time at a Benedictine preparatory student.

​Men of Benet has three pillars: Faith, Service, and Fraternity. The club strives to develop faith traditions, dedication to others, and the recognition of the true nature of masculinity amongst its members. MOB’s official mission statement is “to promote brotherhood, solidarity in the Catholic faith, and a service orientation in the male students of Benet Academy.” Men of Benet works at fulfilling their mission nearly every Thursday morning from 7:10 to 7:40 a.m. in J306 (Mr. Kazlauskas’s classroom), where all new male members are welcome with zero prerequisites or club entrance fees. A topic of discussion is prepared for every meeting that allows club members to take a step back and keep their lives in check. Some of MOB’s recent meeting topics include “How we live a balanced life” and “What it means to us to be a Catholic student.” Club members leave meetings with an altered mindset on particular everyday issues that allows them to live their life more fully. The MOB also invites faculty periodically to be guest speakers and explain to club members their life experience in developing their faith and their family. Past guest speakers include Mr. Kevin Clemens, Dean Joe Cabay, Mr. Mike Bremner, and then Dean Marty Wiora.
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However, Men of Benet does other things besides discussion. On November 22, 2016, Men of Benet sponsored a Slop Day by collecting non-perishable food for a local food drive. This second annual drive, called “Thanks-Give-It,” reminded Benet students that we should bring thanks to others during the Thanksgiving season. The drive collected 2,702 items of food with much help from Serving and Loving Together (SALT) in organizing the food into categories and boxing them. MOB also set up a paper tree, dubbed the “Thankfulness Tree”, outside the cafeteria. Marker were placed so that students could write on the tree what they were thankful for. By the end of the week the tree was completely filled with names of people, teachers, and other pieces of meaning that brings the school together. During this year’s Christmas Drive, Men of Benet sold shirts for the children. Tens of shirts were sold for the cause. Men of Benet intends to increase their number of service projects to make a real difference in the world.
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The current Co-Leaders of Men of Benet are Brice Dirl (Junior), Colin Haley (Sophomore), and Matteo Caulfield (Sophomore). Under their leadership, regular attendance of MOB meetings has quadrupled. Co-Leader Colin Haley was asked what direction MOB plans on taking as a club. He responded: “Men of Benet has made a lot of progress since the start of the school year. With more members we can get more done and have more meaningful discussions during meetings. But I think the other co-leaders will agree with me when I say we want to bring more service to the Academy and continue to increase membership, especially amongst freshmen because they are the future of the school.”
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Club members are very satisfied with the feeling of community that MOB represents. Noah Maguigad, sophomore, said “The MOB is a great community of great fellowship where we explore our lives and dig deeper into our faith.” Ian Smith, sophomore, said “Men of Benet isn’t just a club. It’s a lifestyle.” Men of Benet will continue to be an inspiration for young men to live life the way God intends.