North Carolina State Council

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1 C North Carolina State Council Tar Heel Knight U F July 2009 Volume 33 - No. 1 A Message from the State Deputy P I want to thank all of my Brother Knights for allowing me to serve as your State Deputy. Under my watch I will need everyone s help to keep the North Carolina jurisdiction on top. Our Past State Deputy, John Gouldie, along with your help and support, had an outstanding year. We as a State Council must improve our numbers every year. Yes, this means I will need every Brother in every Council, all DDs and staff to be on the same page and work as one united Family to reach our hefty goals. I recently had the privilege of going to New Haven, Connecticut, our home office and being instructed on how to be a good State Deputy. I had the privilege of meeting most of the home office staff and the incoming new State Deputies. I spent five days in and out of workshops covering every aspect of what a State Council is expected to achieve. Our Supreme Knight, Carl Anderson, addressed all of the new incoming State Deputies and expressed a desire to improve on all of the programs and memberships of the past year. The theme for is THE YEAR OF THE VOLUNTER. This comes as no surprise to anyone that has been reading the Columbian magazine for the past six months. Our Supreme Knight has stated that we as Knights must volunteer to help out our Brother Knights who have been laid off or have fallen on bad times. We must also remember our Church members and the community at large. This does not mean that we help them with only money but we may help them in repairing their house, mowing their lawns, taking them shopping, and just spending some time with them. My theme is LIVE, LAUGH, AND LOVE. Your Church, your Family, yourself and the Knights of Columbus. By keeping everything simple in volunteering and making sure that the three Ls are always in play. We will have a very, very successful year. Our State Chaplain is Msgr. Richard Bellow from St. Mark s Church in Huntersville, NC. Msgr. Bellow s theme for the next year is JESUS CHRIST IS THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY AND FOREVER. This follows right in line with the theme of our Supreme Knight and my theme for this year. Remember we can do nothing without praying and taking care of our religious needs. I look forward to meeting all of the DD s, Staff, Grand Knights and guests at our Organizational Meeting in Charlotte on July 24 th 26th at the Executive Park, Marriott Hotel, Exit 5, off of Interstate #77. Friday night will be the training session for District Deputies and staff. The training sessions will start at 7 P.M. and will end at about 9:30 P.M. Please everybody be there and be on time. This is the start of our year and we must put 100% effort into making our plans that will make our goals easier to obtain. Our Saturday meeting for everyone starts at 8 A.M. and will end with our banquet that evening. Vivat Jesus, Dave Jones, NC State Deputy 1

2 For the record: Brothers, David R. Jones, State Deputy 4838 Butterwick Ln. Charlotte NC, We have all had a loss, Retired Army Command Sgt. Maj. Jan P. Malkiewicz, Past Grand Knight of Council 9847 in Fayetteville and Former State Knight of the Year died on June 24. My last duty as your State Deputy was to represent the State at his wake and funeral. Please keep his family, especially Dianna in your prayers. Thanks for the two years. I look forward to the continued success of North Carolina under the guidance of our new State Deputy. Please continue to keep in your prayers our forces through out the world protecting our freedom, especially those whose role has just changed in Iraq. Vivat Jesus, John Gouldie, Immediate Past State Deputy HOW DID WE DO? We did good! Unofficial results: As a state, we recruited 993 men into the order (by percentage #7 in the US, #12 world wide) Districts: We had 2 make ALL STAR Each of their councils made STAR status. Councils: We had 13 councils make Double STAR (11% of our active councils) We had 42 councils make at least STAR (35% of our active councils) We had 60 councils make membership goal (50% of the active councils) We had 47 councils make insurance goal (39% of the active councils) John Gouldie, IPSD Supreme will have the final tally at the Supreme Convention in August But to me you are ALL WINNERS! Brothers, YOU have made North Carolina Proud! 2

3 Billy Scott Thank you all for being here. I know many of you have never met my brother Billy but are here out of your friendship with my parents or with my family. We are glad you are here. A very warm welcome to Billy s other family-the staff at O Berry Center who we will never be able to repay for their continual love and support. Billy was born in My parents would eventually discover that Billy was severely mentally handicapped. Billy never spoke with purpose, showed outward signs of affection to those who loved him and often struggled with his own bizarre behaviors. One could hear all this and think how bleak his life was. Let me tell you that in many ways Billy had a lucky, purpose filled life. First and foremost, Billy never knew right from wrong and so enters heaven without having ever sinned against God. How blessed! He was born to 2 strong, faith filled parents who loved him with heart and soul-no matter how difficult or unlovable he could seem. They stood by him for 48 years fighting for his rights and always making sure that his life was as good as possible. How fortunate! In his life, he was surrounded by people who loved him unconditionally, and in his death he was embraced by friends and family who had such deep affection for him. How lucky! At a young age, my parent made the unthinkably difficult decision that Billy would need more care than they could humanly give. God blessed them and Billy with O Berry Center. O Berry Center is a state center for mentally handicapped children and adults in Goldsboro. Billy spent 40 years at O Berry where he found a loving home where he belonged. O Berry not only nurtured, taught and loved Billy in his life, but was extraordinary in their response to Billy s illness and death. Billy went to the hospital in early February, escorted by one of the O Berry staff members. Through out the long weeks in ICU, the O Berry staff called often and even made the long trip from Goldsboro to Greenville on their days off to check on their boy, Billy. When, Billy was released back to O Berry several weeks later, he was welcomed home with smiles of joy and bouquets of balloons. The staff who loved him was thrilled to have him back and we all hope that he was on the road to recovery. Unfortunately, his return at O Berry only lasted a few days. Billy once again, with staff in tow, was sent to the hospital, this time at Wayne Memorial. He would stay there for 30 days. In all that time, Billy was never, never, without an O Berry staff person in his room. They were with him 24 hours every day. Staff worked extra hours, changed their schedules and showed up after work and on lunch hours to spend time with Billy. During this time, Billy was usually unresponsive, but that did not matter. The staff, who clearly loved him, just wanted to be with him and support him in his difficult time. They were of enormous comfort to my parents and to me and we can never express in words our utmost respect, admiration and appreciation for them. Yes, saints walk amongst us and, in my opinion, they are working at unit 7-6 at O Berry Center. We were lucky that we were all able to spend these last couple of months with Billy. Up until Billy s illness, he would never have allowed his hand to be held. He didn t like to be touched, so signs of affection were not allowed. Over these many weeks, I guess that he felt so bad that we were allowed to hold his hand and on occasion, he even reached for our hand. A simple gesture that would mean so much. Billy led a very routine and simple life. He enjoyed going for a ride in the car. He loved being outside in the fresh air. He loved to eat, a bond we all share in this family! He loved a good ripe banana and an ice cold coke-a treat my mother would bring with her on every visit. He loved his job of riding in the golf cart and delivering balloons to those having a birthday or to his sick brothers and sisters of O Berry. Billy s life was uncomplicated but it did have an influence on those around him and he leaves this earth having left his footprint. Because of Billy, my parents became fierce advocates for children with developmental disabilities. They have continued this fight for 48 years and are still actively involved with the Fragile X Foundation, The Autism Society and of course, my father s pride and joy, Operation Lamb, the Knights of Columbus tootsie roll fundraiser that he started. Billy was the inspiration! Because of Billy, I always knew that I wanted to work in the field of mental retardation, and went on to study Special Education and become a teacher. Billy influenced all of our lives. So, you see Billy s life had great purpose. He taught us to love unconditionally and each day he gave us the opportunity to love. He taught us to treasure all of God s children, no matter the differences. He taught us that life should be simple. So today, in honor of Billy, enjoy the simple things. Go have an ice cold coke, go for a purposeless ride in the car and hold hands with someone you love. These are the things that make life good. This is the Eulogy given by Susan Daly for her brother Billy Scott (Bill Scott's son) at his funeral. 3

4 K of C STATE BOCCE TOURNAMENT REGISTRATION COUNCIL NUMBER- COUNCIL NAME COUNCIL LOCATION TEAM NAME COST: $ 15 PER MEMBER / $60 PER TEAM ALL FEES ARE PAYABLE IN ADVANCE BY AUGUST 15th AND NON REFUNDABLE Mail Tournament Fees To: PGK Robert H Smith, 7550 Rondex Lane, Lewisville, NC

5 A new fraternal year is upon us. Congratulations to all of our newly elected Grand Knights, as well as all the other dedicated brother Knights who will serve in either an elected and appointed leadership position in the coming year. I m sure you have a list of goals and objectives that you intend to accomplish during the coming year. You have my assurance that I m eager to help. One of these goals is surely the attainment of the Star Council award - the most prestigious award the Order offers at the council level. I m certainly committed to helping on the insurance side, but I ll be glad to help on the membership side as well. If you know an eligible Catholic man who might be interested in joining the Order (and who among us doesn t), he s probably just waiting to be asked. I can help you, either by approaching him myself, or by coaching you transferring sales skills that you can use to recruit him and other prospects. As always, I m at your service. Let s get an early start on attaining those goals and objectives that are so critical to the growth of any council. DAVID M. WELLMON AGENCY General Agent David M. Wellmon, FICF Office Manager - Janice Wellmon 20 Waverly Court, Asheville, N.C Office: (828) Fax: (828) Cell (828) dwellmon@bellsouth.net or david.wellmon@kofc.org 5

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7 North Carolina Columbian Squires Convention 2009 Columbian Squires from around North Carolina met in Charlotte on June 5th and 6th for their annual convention. The Squires had a lot to celebrate this year including the induction of two new Circles and twenty six new members. Squires also rendered over two thousand hours of community service this year, and held a total of sixty four events. Approximately eight Squires became Knights this year from our state. The Convention opened with a pizza and movie party on Friday night at St. Luke s Catholic Church. Squires had planned to hold a swim party, but were forced indoors by the rain. The group held a short meeting, and enjoyed plenty of food and fellowship. The following morning, Squires met at St. Matthew s Catholic Church and began with the investiture of North Carolina s newest Circle, the St. Thomas Aquinas Circle. Nine new members were invested into the Circle. The investiture was very meaningful for the new members thanks to the leadership of Councilor Bob White (DD) from Fayetteville. Following the investiture, the official Convention meeting began with the traditional greetings, prayer, and credentials. The attending State KofC officers then addressed the group. Squires and Knights appreciated the attendance of State Deputy elect David Jones, State Secretary elect Greg Kent, and State Treasurer elect Jack Murray. Following the reports from the state officers, Squires heard greetings from various dignitaries including Supreme Knight Carl Anderson; Supreme Chaplain William Lori; the Most Reverend Wilton Gregory, Archbishop of Atlanta; the Most Reverend Peter Jugis, Bishop of Charlotte; the Most Reverend Michael Burbidge, Bishop of Raleigh; and the Most Reverend William Curlin, Bishop Emeritus of Charlotte. After other convention business was conducted, elections for new state officers were held. The names of the new officers will be published in the next edition of the Tar Heel Knight. The year end awards ceremony was held after a catered lunch. The ceremony began with an address from Supreme Representative John Harrison. Over thirty awards were given out to honor Squires, Councilors, and Circles. Benjamin Wright was honored as the State Squire of the year, and Paul Overbee was honored as the State Councilor of the year. The Sons of Mother Seaton Circle 4426 of Fayetteville was the only Circle to receive the North Carolina Distinguished Circle award. This award is similar to the Star Council award. The Mother Theresa Circle 4457 in Charlotte received the North Carolina State Officer s Choice Circle Award for Father Patrick Tool celebrated Mass for the Squires before everyone departed for a Charlotte Knights baseball game. Squires enjoyed a dinner buffet, the baseball game, and a fireworks display. Past State Squires Chairman Chris Headley received nothing but positive feedback about the convention. Everyone enjoyed attending the baseball game as a close to the convention. It is already planned that the Convention will be held in Charlotte again next year. Fraternally, Chris Hoke, NC State Chief Squire 7

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9 Room At The Inn Opening the Next Front Brother Knights, as many of you are aware the North Carolina State Council voted to support the Room at the Inn capital campaign at a level of $100 per Knight paid over 5 years. At about a nickel a day that doesn t sound like much but with over 14,000 knights in North Carolina that equates to over 1.4 million dollars in pledges. That nickel per day pledge will enable Room At The Inn to break ground on a new facility on the campus of Belmont Abbey College that will support college-aged women who find themselves facing the abortion decision. That nickel per day pledge will also win for the Knights of Columbus the naming rights to the facility, giving a very public face to our support for life! Briefly, Room At The Inn is an incredible ministry with a dedicated staff that embraces a woman facing the difficult choices surrounding an unplanned pregnancy. They provide the mother with housing, professional counseling, life skills training, and material goods assistance; making an unparalleled commitment to the mother for up to 2 years at which time she will be able to confidently provide for herself and her child. Over the last 14 years, Room At The Inn has served over 3000 women and children, helping to save many innocent little lives and now they want to take the next step in expanding both their capacity and their scope by expanding to the college campus but they must have our help to do so. While the State Council has committed the North Carolina Knights to this effort, the financial pledge must come directly from each Council or from individual member Knights. To date we are please to report that the State Council along with Council 6451 in Hickory have achieved the 100% pledge level! Now we must rally the other 121 councils in the state to do so!!! There are two ways to make this goal a reality. First, a pledge can be made at the council level on behalf of the membership. Again, a 100% pledge is $20 per year per Knight for 5 years. If you have 50 knights, your council pledge would be $1000 per year for 5 years. Your council Grand Knight can call or write to Room At The Inn with the pledge. The other way to fulfill this pledge is to rally your members to individually reach out to Room At The Inn via their website at and make a pledge online. By referring to your council number in the notes, your council will get credit toward the goal of 100%. If you would like to hear from a Room At The Inn representative at your council business meeting or you have other questions, please contact your fellow knights Tom McGahey (tommcgahey@bellsouth.net) or Tom Mathis (tmathis3@carolina.rr.com). Brother Knights, abortion is a war this country is losing. A war that has dire consequences for our nation and 4000 innocent children each day! We are asking you to make your pledge now in support of this noble cause with a sense of urgency and conviction worthy of a Knight of Columbus. Vivat Jesus! 9

10 From the State Warden Greetings to all from Fayetteville! I hope that this edition of the THK finds each of you well. I write to you this month with a heavy heart. We just today participated in the Funeral Mass for PGK Jan Malkiewicz from my home council. For those of you who don t know Jan, he was a Past State Knight of the Year and extremely active in our council. His leadership and mentorship will greatly be missed. I ask each of you to keep Jan and his wife Dianna, as well as their two daughters, Lisa and Betty in your prayers. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for allowing me to serve you as your state family director for the past two years. It has been quite the experience. There have been many great family programs that have been conducted and I have come to know many of you personally. I appreciate all of the hard work that you do for the order, but more importantly for what you do for your families, your councils and the Church. I look forward to serving you as you State Warden and hope that together we can make the Knights of Columbus in North Carolina a fulfilling experience for everyone. It is my privilege to announce that three families have been selected as Supreme Families of the Month for the month of May. Congratulations to the families of John and Barbara Purcell of Elizabeth City, Council 7457, James and Elizabeth Smith of Charlotte, Council 10852, and Michael and Edna Stewart of Camp Lejeune, Council Finally, I would like to wish good luck to Tony Capolla who has been chosen as your new Family Life Director for the state. Please give to him all of the support and enthusiasm that I have enjoyed over the past two years. Peace of Christ to All! Colin Jorsch NC State Warden Fmr. NC State Family Director Tar Heel Knight Editor Greg Ciesielski with PGK Jan Malkiewicz at the 2007 State Convention. Brother Jan is shown receiving the 1st place award for the Council Newsletter Contest. We have lost a good friend and super Knight of the Order. Rest In Peace Jan. 10

11 RAMBLINGS FROM JACK: Worthy Brothers All, Welcome my brothers! Welcome to another exciting year in the life of the Knights of Columbus in North Carolina! Why do you say exciting? Because of the accomplishments of last year and what we can do to top it. There was an increase in Star Councils and will probably be a few more after the tabulations are done. There will most probably be 2 All Star District Deputies in the State, quite an accomplishment. The quality of the programs this past year speaks for itself with the number of awards presented at the State Convention. Can we top those yes we can and we continue to do so every year! As General Program Director this past year you made me very proud of the programs submitted and to have the opportunity to read them. Yes, I read them all and was amazed at the numbers of our Brothers participating in the various events. Please continue to pursue the goals of your Council Officers for this coming year and support their efforts. They know that they are not alone and they cannot pursue their goals without your support. Please support your new General Program Director Mike Durbin as well as the other State Officers as you each pursue your Council goals. We are here to assist you and are just a telephone call or e- mail away. Know that are prayers are with you for a successful year. I ask you to support the State Officers as we assume our new positions and new and increased duties. We are all volunteers just like you and all of us are still a part of the working force. We wish Brother Colin Jorsch the best as he joins the State Council. He has already been to one of our weekend planning meetings to get the feel for our brainstorming as we prepare for the Organizational Meeting. Best wishes to IPSD Bob Grabasky, no longer IPSD, and wish him the best and our support as the District Master. For the new IPSD, John Gouldie, a chance to sit at the dais and observe. Yeah right! Thank you John for your leadership the past 2 years and we look forward to your continued guidance. Our new State Deputy Dave Jones has set goals for us all and we will strive to meet those goals. Together we can continue to insure that the Knights of Columbus in North Carolina continues to enjoy its reputation across the Order. Lets all get behind our new State Deputy as we wish him success in the coming year! Vivat Jesus! Jack Murray, NC State Treasurer 11

12 District Master s Report Worthy Sir Knights and Brothers All, As we begin our new Fraternal year, I extend my grateful thank you to all of the retiring and continuing Assembly Officers for both their support and leadership during your tenure. To the new Sir Knights that are taking over positions of responsibility in their Assemblies, I wish you much success. The leadership in the Fourth Degree has been outstanding and I know it will continue. You have all made my position as Master both easy and enjoyable. Speaking of enjoyable, on Saturday, June 27, we held an Exemplification in Wilmington at St. Mark s parish and added 85 new Sir Knights to our ranks. It would not have been possible without the tremendous leadership of Sir Knight Denis Carter and the members of both the Monsignor Christopher Dennen Assembly 2017 and the Father James E. Waters Council of Wilmington. I can t say enough about the support and hard work the members put in to ensure that the exemplification went exceedingly well. Thank you ALL for your hard work. The next Exemplification in North Carolina will be held on October 24, 2009, at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Durham. I would ask you all to begin recruiting now to ensure another great turnout and many more Sir Knights added to our ranks. Father Robert Lawson would be so proud to see so many Knights joining the Fourth Degree. There is some sadness to report. Last week we lost a Sir Knight, who in my opinion, exemplified all of the qualities of a Sir Knight. SK Jan Malkiewicz of the Cardinal Gibbons Assembly 783 in Fayetteville was called home to his just reward. He will be sorely missed by anyone that ever met this truly great Sir Knight. I also have to report that SK Joe Dick, FDM, PSD and SK Luther Stultz, FDM, PSD are both in the hospital. Luther is in Chapel Hill and Joe is in the VA hospital in Durham. Please keep them and their families in your prayers. I would also like to report that the North Carolina District has a new Warden, SK Thomas Beckett. Thomas has agreed to take the position vacated by SK Colin Jorsch. As many of your know, Colin is now the State Council Warden, and asked to be relieved of his duties in the Fourth Degree District. I thank both Sir Knights for their service to the District Master. I will miss Colin, but I understand the duties he is about to undertake and wish him nothing but success. I am also very pleased to have Thomas join our team since I have worked with him for a number of years. Finally, thank you to our newest Past State Deputy, John Gouldie, for the support and leadership during these past two years. It has been a fun time. To our new State Deputy, David Jones, and his fine team of officers, I extend my wish for success during your tenure and look forward to working with you. Also, please remember, any time you attend a state meeting, BRING YOUR REGALIA! We will always provide an Honor Guard for the Mass that is celebrated at these meetings. Enjoy your summer, and have safe vacations. HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! God Bless you all, SK Robert J. Bob Grabasky, District Master 12

13 District 29 sponsored an Appreciation Dinner for Knights and wives on June 24, 2009 and the event was hosted by Father William O'Byrne Council 3574 in Jacksonville, NC. In attendance were State Deputy John Gouldie, DD Ludwig Hartung; District 2, DD Eugene O'Dea; District 29, Field Agent Marty Yakimovich and Field Agent John La Pointe. Knights Wives and Family Members of Swansboro, Camp Lejeune, New River and Jacksonville Councils, along with Father Logan and Father John Monahan attended. Photos and article by Lew McCloud Fr. Logan Fr. John Monaghan 13

14 THK Editor Greg Ciesielski 333 Miller Blvd Havelock, NC c Address Label Box 14