Knights of Columbus Newsletter for the Father Howard J. Lesch Council 7667 August 6, 2013 Grand Knight: Tom Elsesser elsesser@cox.net Deputy Grand Knight: Moe Powers, PGK moepow@aol.com Chancellor: Karl Eschmann phanfix@cox.net Financial Secretary: Ken Laird Ken@valp.net Treasurer: Mike Flinn maflinn@gmail.com Field Agent: Tim Pugh timothy.pugh@kofc.org Recorder: Kevin Mahoney Klmahoney26@yahoo.com Advocate: Ellis Boudreaux, PGK ellisboudr@aol.com Warden: Steve Zajac sjzajac@embarqmail.com Inside Guard: Steve Sharpe smasharpe@gmail.com Outside Guard: Gary Hetzel garyhetzel@eglin.af.mil 1st Year Trustee: Ken Elliott, PGK kenoh58@aol.com 2nd Year Trustee: John Foley, PGK aufsu1@gmail.com 3rd Year Trustee: George Lambert, PGK niklam1@cox.net Chaplain: Fr. Toledo Lecturer: Deacon Lou Marini cnlmarini@cox.net GENERAL NOTES: Please send announcements, upcoming events, pictures of KoC activities, and other pertinent info to Kevin Mahoney at klmahoney26@yahoo.com. To improve the accuracy of meeting minutes and newsletters, please provide meeting reports to the Recorder in writing before, during, or after the general meeting. General Business Meeting held at 7:00 PM every 1st Tuesday of each month in the HNJ parish hall. Social Meetings/dinners generally occur the 3rd Tuesday approximately every other month in the HNJ parish hall. Officers Meetings are held at 7:00 pm the last Tuesday of each month in the HNJ parish hall. Newsletter and calendar inputs can be given to Kevin Mahoney (klmahoney26@yahoo.com) Upcoming Dates: Access KC calendar by clicking on the following link: http://parishcalendar.com:8080/80/21973
Council 7667 General Membership Meeting Minutes August 6, 2013 The Meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by Grand Knight (GK) Ken Elliott. Roll call was taken. Minutes were approved as written. Report of Admissions: (PGK Moe Powers) We had one gentleman that wanted to transfer to our council. A motion was made and passed approving Brother Gerald Batton as the newest member of our Council. Grand Knight s Report: (GK Tom Elsesser) Our Audit is due by 15 Aug. The Executive Council will meet immediately following this general membership meeting to complete the audit. It looks like we will have at least one Eagle Scout project to sponsor as a Council. We have heard from a Boy Scout interested. He has been speaking with Brother Ellis about working in the rosary path area and the welcoming in area, as well as at the confluence of the rosary beads. He has not yet presented anything to us or the Parish, but in anticipation of that we already have in our budget plan up to $500 for this. We have agreed to host our state officers visit here at our parish facilities. This is scheduled for 6 p.m. on the 18 th of August. The worthy District Deputy will provide more details Following each Mass on the 17 th and 18 th of August, our Parish is hosting a having a Faith in Action expo. This is a Ministries Fair being held to give parishioners an opportunity to learn more about each of the ministries available here at HNoJ, with hopes of gaining new member/support. We will have a table representing the Knights, identifying our selves, letting people know who we are and what we do. We will be looking for at the least two volunteer Knights to spend about 45 minutes to 1 hour after a given Mass. We will be amongst the other ministries to answer any questions interested Parishioners may have Kitchen renovation update from Brother Steve Zajac: All electricity is hooked up; all appliances are installed and work fine; the back splash (tile) is finished and looking nice; the only thing left to do is some trim work. We budgeted $5K. Recycling the old stove brought in $73.20, there was also a $25 donation. A total of $5,100 was spent. Brother Steve Sharp (and family) was presented a congratulatory letter and plaque from Supreme Knight Karl Anderson, for being selected June Family of the Month for Council 7667 (See photo at end of news letter) Chaplain s Report: No Report Treasurer s Report : (Mike Flinn) Total in bank account: $16,259.77 o Life - makes up $435 o Scholarships - makes up $2,283.86 o Vocations - $1,340
Financial Secretary s Report: (Ken Laird) 2013 Training CDs are available for all officers. We have a total of 141 paid members, 45 not paid 10 of which we have no address for. Dues letters to be sent out. Anyone who has not paid, please contact me 2014 member cards will be mailed to those in good standing and have not received them. Trustee s Report: (PGK John Foley) No report other than just preparing for annual audit Chancellor s report: (Karl Eschmann) Brother Karl, who was closely connected with Col. Bud Day and family for many years, was asked to speak a little about him his funeral services. Brother Karl shared the following: Col Bud Day died at 12:22 last Saturday, July 27 th. Not just our area, but our country lost a true Patriot and Hero. Most of you know what Bud Day did 5 ½ years as a POW, his torture, and Medal of Honor winner. He was the only American in Vietnam ever to escape from a camp and work his way from North Vietnam to South Vietnam before he was recaptured. Col Day was also responsible for fighting in the courts for Tri-Care for Life. He was a very devout, religious, Lutheran faith member, and very close family man. He had a lot of humility he may have been a Medal of Honor winner and stood, for most of us, 10 feet tall, but he was really a simple guy who just wanted to live his life. Some of you know, I wrote a book called Linebacker I actually met Col Day when I signed a copy of the book for and gave it to him. He stayed up all night to read it, because he was interested in knowing how the American military ever get the will to go in and do what we did in Linebacker I and Linebacker II and bomb the North Vietnamese until they cried Uncle. Ever since then Bud would call me to every event that was going on, and we would have dinner and breakfast. They picked my wife Charlotte to be the Family Advocacy/Family Planner for the funeral...the interface, working with SWAT teams, the Police, the Convention Center, the City Government, all the people along the procession route on 98, Senators, Congressmen, Council people, Mayors, funeral home, all the Air Force Protocol, and she had to tie all this together. His church was too small, so the Emerald Coast Convention center was used, for the first time to hold a funeral service for someone the place was packed. It rained all through the service, but as soon as it was time to move his body, with the flag, to the hearse the rain stopped. They closed Hwy-98 and the 425 car funeral precession proceeded to Barrancas National cemetery. The precession took 1 hour and 45 minutes. From the main gate at NAS Pensacola to the cemetery, we had over 800 personnel in uniform, Air Force and Marines. They had been lined up standing there they were wet and they held their salutes for the entire 400+ car procession. The rain stopped as soon as they got there. They took the Col out and did the ceremony. There was a request for a fly-by with F-4 drones from Tyndall AFB. Initially they were supposed to fly over the convention center but the rain was too bad at Tyndall. The sun came out right at the end, as TAPS was being played, and the allowed the F-4s to come in do their Missing Man formation. It was as if God was on our side as the entire ceremony went off just perfect.
Vocations Report: Brother Karl has 15 Cross of Jesus vocation pins left. The cost is $4 each Report on Service Program Committees Membership Director: (PGK Moe Powers) o Several of the program directors are out of town. Program Director: (DGK Ellis Boudreaux) o No report (out of town) Church Director: (PGK Ellis Boudreaux) o No report (out of town) Community Director: (PGK Ellis Boudreaux) o No report (out of town) Council Director: (Pat Ritchie) o No report Family Director: (Karl Eschmann) o July Family of the Month: Ken and Donna Elliott o July Knight of the month: Ken Elliott Pro-Life Director: (Chuck Frey) o We are asking Parishioners to join us in prayer for the unborn at the Pensacola Abortion clinic, on Thursday Aug 15 th. We will leave HNoJ at 7:30 a.m. and return in the early afternoon will start back to Niceville around 2 p.m. Transportation cost is $15 per person. You can sign up after Mass or in the office any day during the week. We have an air-conditioned bus, and as of right now, we are 7 people short to cover the transportation and insurance cost. Bring lawn chair, lunch and water. Youth Director: (Ed Coleman) o No report Round Table Chairman: (Chris Harvey) (Currently TDY) o From Brother Charles George: During the Executive Council meeting there was a discussion about the council offering up a monetary donation to Lt Kenneth Malley, for his faithful services this past summer at St. Michael s Parish, Eglin AFB. He is currently attending the Visentin Catholic Seminary in Pennsylvania.
o On the 22 nd of September, St. Michael s will be holding a Fall Harvest Parish Picnic at Unity Park. The event will take place immediately following the 11 a.m. Mass, which will be held outdoors at the park. The picnic is being sponsored by the Roundtable and the Knights are responsible for the setup, cooking and grilling, cleanup etc. All Council members are encouraged to come out and help support this event. There will be a table set up so we can hopefully recruit some new members. Recruiting: (PGK George Lambert) No Report Bingo: (PGK John Foley) (out of town) From Brother George Lambert: A number of people, who have joined the Council, at one time or another, have said you would help out with bingo. We desperately need people we need callers, floor workers, and someone to cook on the grill once and a while. We do need help and if you say you are going to be there, we have two teams, Team 1 and Team 4. Teams 2 and 3 are from Christ Our Redeemer. WE DO NEED YOUR HELP! Get in touch with Brother John Foley or myself, and I will point you in the right direction. This is an important part of what we do to fund all the activities we do Unfinished Business: Kitchen update - See GK s report Audit See GK s Report We received the maximum $500 reimbursement from Supreme for the Food for Families program. As discussed during our last general membership meeting, the funds have been donated to St. Vincent DePaul s effort here at HNoJ, in honor of Steve Sharpe Brother Mark Williams has graciously agreed to manage the KoC s site within the HNoJ website. He will be updating the calendar, and if you have teams for pasta dinner, bingo things of that nature you want listed, or if anyone has any information they would like posted, get it to him email address here. New Business: A motion was put before the Council to transfer $250 from Reserve Fund to provide tuition assistance for Kenneth Malley because of the work he performed at St. Michael s Catholic community on Eglin AFB. This will be going to the Visentin Catholic Seminary in Pennsylvania, where he is studying for the Priesthood for the military, for the Archdioceses for the Military services. The Motion was carried unanimously for $250 for Kenneth Malley Report of the Fourth Degree: Brother Moe was unable to attend the Installation ceremony. He expressed his sincere appreciation to Worthy DD Joe Purka for standing in for him, as well as others who were unable to attend Next Fourth Degree meeting will be held on the 4 th Thursday in August, instead of the normal 3 rd Thursday. This change is due to the 3 rd Thursday being a Holy Day of Obligation.
Field Agents Report: (Tim Pugh) Tip of the Month: If you have a Universal Life policy, review your policy! Brother Tim read an article that was in Forbes.com. The headline reads Retirement Disaster Looms for Universal Life Policy Holders. KoC sells Whole Life Insurance policies which are based on set premiums, set guaranteed interest rates. So there is a set/guaranteed aspect to it. With Universal Life policies, which were popular back in the 80 s and 90 s, when the stock market was, cruising. With this type of policy, if the interest rates are good, your policy is going to be fine. These premiums that they set, the cash values that they projected were based on the stock growing at about 8, 10, 12, 16 percent a year or the interest rates staying high. Well that s not what happened, so at that time universal life policies were about 80 percent of all life insurance sold in America in any given year. As the last decade has shown us, interest rates and the stock market are not guaranteed. The result is that a lot of these policies are on a death spiral. So, my Insurance Tip of the Month, as I offer my Brother Knights anyway, is to do an insurance review with you. I you have a Universal Life Insurance product, give me a call and I would be happy to sit with you, do a review with you, and look at your options. We have a checklist that has steps we take to contact the insurance company to find out exactly how that policy is projected to perform. They usually don t want to talk about it those policies use to be about 80 percent of the market they are now 20 percent and sinking fast, because everyone understands now the rates are not guaranteed. This has become kind of a hot topic, as I have dealt with about six Brother Knights in the last two or three weeks who have come to realize this is what they are dealing with. The shameless Plug of the Month for the KoC insurance is that we actually sell a Universal policy, not much we don t push it and we only sell it in under very limited circumstances, with a very clear understanding of how it should be utilized. Brother Tim also handed our Rosary cards as Fr. Sebastian spoke about the meaning and significance of the Rosary. Contact me if you re interested in setting up an annuity with the Knights of Columbus. Tim Pugh (850) 678-0962 timothy.pugh@kofc.org
District Deputy Report: (DD Joe Purka) Worthy District Deputy started off by presenting the Council with a Keep Christ in Christmas Plaque (photo at end of newsletter) 1) State Goals for This Fraternal Year: a. One new member per council per month b. One First Degree per District per month 2) District Organizational Meeting Saturday, Aug 31: a. 10 a.m. to noon at Council #4444 b. District 3, 4 and 5 joint session, light lunch to follow c. All Grand Knights, DGKs, Membership and Retention chairs and Financial Secretaries are expected to attend d. All other officers and members are welcome to attend 3) State Officers Visit Sunday, Aug. 18 th 6 p.m. a. Location, at Holy Name Council #7667 b. All Knights and their families are invited to attend 4) Retention, Not Suspension! a. Each council must establish a retention committee b. Men do not join the Knights to attend meetings, but rather to participate in charitable, church and youth activities c. Reach out to those who are in arrears 5) Degree Schedule: a. First Degree: GKs need to schedule First Degrees b. Second Degree: i. Sunday, Oct. 20 th in Crestview, 2 p.m. show, 2:30 p.m. Dregree ii. Saturday, Nov. 9 th in Council #4444 Fort Walton Beach, time TBD 6) Youth Program Supplies: Prayer Requests: a. District Soccer Challenge is October 19 th, at 10 a.m. @ St. Mary s b. Regional Soccer will be the same date, at 1 p.m. @ St. Mary s Deacon Lou Marini Doug Powell Tom Frettes Jim Cox Rick Ikena Z Zermeno
Good of the Order (Deacon Lou Marini) In Deacon Lou s absence, Fr. Sebastian Naslund shared the following words: Fr. Seth recited a rendition of Paul Revere s Midnight Ride (in summary): Last month I spoke on the Charge of the Light Brigade as an allegorical model of the Council and the Assembly, working together in implementing the four models of each step; UNITY, CHARITY, FRATERNITY and PATRIOTISM. Today I am emphasizing Paul Revere in an allegorical way as a model of a Knight. Each member of the Council, each member of the assembly is significant. We have a noble task; we are not here for mediocrity. We are here to serve Almighty God; we are Knights of the Lord. Christopher Columbus was Knighted by the King of Spain, and only a Knight can Knight another. Unlike the other organizations that have come into existence since the Middle Ages, who have many steps, we have a noble position of being Knights. What is a Knight? He is a Warrior, and most men here have been in the military. A warrior defends his country, his family, his home, the principles and values that make men and women noble and worthwhile. He is not to pillage and kill for the sake of that. He is there to do what s noble and honorable. This model of Paul Revere is challenged with a task. He gives his all to that task and the obstacles; the darkness of the night that he must ride through. Every Knight in this organization is called to a deeper commitment to the Lord. We are not just service oriented, we are community supported, we are supporting the Church. A Knight has a noble purpose, we are serving the Lord our God, and if we are moved by that, we can see the energy that s shown in this allegorical poem because it s what written by Longfellow in 1863 at precisely the time when it seemed like the cause of the south would win, and the northern part of the nation, which was for abolition, was discouraged and disheartened andhad been soundly beaten many times by the Confederate forces not to judge on that issue, but as a modelof what we face in our own lives. The darkness Brothers is the struggle we must each face as Knights to affirm the light to bring light into the world. What is a Knight? A Knight is a Warrior who is committed to his sovereign for the good of all, to uphold an order, a standard, he has cause, and he has a mission. Think of the mission of this man and its significance. This was written to stir the people who were discouraged and disheartened. Think of the mission you have as a Knight. Meeting Closure GK to closed with a prayer and the meeting was adjourned at 8:10 p.m. Next general membership meeting is 3 September at 7 p.m. After-meeting Social Attendees remained for a social at the end of the meeting. GK Elliott provided the snacks and beverages.
Family of the Month July 2013 Kenneth and Donna Elliott Brother Ken has been fulfilling the duties as the Grand Knight for Council 7667 this past year. During his past year of service as GK, he energized the Council members, and was responsible in integrating a number of military knight members from the local Air Force Base parish to join our Council. The large influx of these personnel plus new recruits resulted in our Council being selected as a Star Council in the state. One of our families was also selected as the State Family of the Year out of many state candidates competing. He actively participates in numerous Council activities, including Bingo support, the Sunland Christmas events, youth outreach programs such as the KoC sponsored Spelling Bee, annual celebrations including the Parish International Food Festival, and can usually be seen in the background of many Council functions doing behind the scenes clean-up duties. He is also a reliable permanent cook supporting Bingo Team 4 on Friday nights. He and the other members of the four Bingo teams have been instrumental in the success of the activity in producing over 70% of the income used in charitable, community, and council support. He volunteers every year to support the Spelling Bee Contest for the annual Council Spelling Bee competition. This is an annual project involving the 5th to 10th graders in all the Niceville-Valparaiso schools and a Destin Middle-school. There are typically over 30+ students participating in these contests. Brother Ken served as a judge or scorekeeper along with the other 12 knights who volunteered to support the event from both the HNJ and COR Knight Councils, making this a real significant community event. The winners in each of the three grade categories (5/6, 7/8, and 9/10 grade breakouts) won savings bond certificates and plaques. Brother Ken and Donna were both actively involved with helping with the annual Sunland Christmas Party. Ken assists in the efforts of the HNJ and COR Councils in completing a Christmas Party for handicapped members of the State managed Sunland facility for the handicapped located in Marianna, Florida, and a Gift exchange in the HNJ Parish Hall. Our Council has sponsored these events annually for the past 30 years. Ken and Donna also support the periodic Rummage Sales which provides for additional funding to sustain the Father Butler Family Life Center activities. Donna is the Plant Lady, responsible for the preparation and sale of all of the donated plants and flowers. Ken enjoys the camaraderie, fellowship, community outreach, and challenges associated with actively supporting our Council. Donna is a Religious Education Instructor for Parish Children in elementary school ages. Donna is a mainstay volunteer for short-notice set-ups and clean-ups at Council functions, where her quick smile and community spirit motivates others to pitch in. When not tied up while providing volunteer services in our community and parish, Ken and Donna spend time visiting their children. They are always involved in the sponsorship and mentoring of their two grandchildren, who live in the local area. They weekly take them to Mass services and have them involved in the Parish Children s Choir and Adult Choir. The youngest is an Alter server and Usher. They also are involved with the children s school activities such as The Advanced Junior Leadership activities and various youth conferences. They are both members of the Genealogy Society of Okaloosa County. Donna is the President and Ken is the Vice President. Ken is an active member of The Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association, The Sons of Confederate Veteran s Society, Special Operations Association, and the Purple Heart Association. Brother Ken and Donna demonstrate, through hard work, their Christian values and the KOC principles of Charity, Unity, Fraternity and Patriotism. Ken Elliott was also Knight of the Month July 2013
GK Tom Elsesser presenting Brother Steve Sharpe with a congratulatory letter and plaque received from Supreme Knight Karl Anderson. Steve and his wife Mary Ann (not pictured) were selected as the June Family of the Month for Council 7667 Worthy District Deputy presenting GK Tom Elssesser with a Keep Christ in Christmas Plaque, received from the State Convention. The award is for a successful Christmas card drive led by Brother Ellis Boudreaux and with great support from Brother Chris Harvey, who contributed significantly by selling Christmas cards to Parishioners at St. Michael s Parish, on Eglin AFB.