Knights of Columbus Newsletter for the Father Howard J. Lesch Council 7667 January 6, 2015 Grand Knight: Tom Elsesser elsesser@cox.net Recorder: Kevin Mahoney Klmahoney26@yahoo.com 1st Year Trustee: Ken Elliott, PGK kenoh58@aol.com Deputy Grand Knight: Steve Zajac sjzajac@embarqmail.com Advocate: Ellis Boudreaux, PGK ellisboudr@aol.com 2nd Year Trustee: John Foley, PGK aufsu1@gmail.com Chancellor: Karl Eschmann phanfix@cox.net Warden: Mark Williams mjwilli@gmail.com 3rd Year Trustee: Moe Powers, PGK moepow@aol.com Financial Secretary: Ken Laird Ken@valp.net Inside Guard: Mike Flinn maflinn@gmail.com Chaplain: Fr. Toledo Treasurer: Gary Hetzel garyhetzel@eglin.af.mil Outside Guard: Steve Sharpe smasharpe@gmail.com Lecturer: Deacon Lou Marini cnlmarini@cox.net Field Agent: Tim Pugh GENERAL NOTES: Please send announcements, upcoming events, pictures of KoC activities, and other pertinent info to Mark Williams at mjwilli@gmail.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) I Upcoming Dates: Access KoC calendar by clicking on the following link: http://parishcalendar.com:8080/80/21973
Council 7667 General Membership Meeting Minutes January 6, 2014 The Meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by Deputy Grand Knight Steve Zajac. Roll call was taken. Minutes from previous meeting were approved pending minor corrections. Report of Admissions: (DGK Steve Zajac) We welcomed our newest member, Matt French, who attended his First Degree Exemplification on December 18 th. Grand Knight s Report : (DGK Steve Zajac) Thanks to all the members who participated in the Christmas Parade with us. We had 20 Knights marching 10 from Council 7667 and 10 from Christ Our Redeemer. It was a fun time for all. Coats for Kids; the Council purchased two cases. Our Annual Tootsie Roll Drive is coming up. Once we lock in the dates with Wal-Mart and Publics, we will let everyone know. The wives appreciation dinner is currently scheduled for the third Tuesday in February, which is the 17 th. Mardi Gras is the theme. If interested in bringing your spouse, please let Steve Zajac know more details to follow. We received notice from Monica that our insurance has expired. Brother Ellis confirmed we are in fact paid up, and will take care of getting the certificate to Monica. Chap lain s Report: (Fr. Toledo) No report (Excuse absence) Treasurer s Report: (Gary Hetzel) As of 31 December the report is as follows: o Scholarship Fund $ 220.00 Vocations Fund $ 64.00 General Fund $ 22,130.59 Total $ 22,314.59 Financial Secretary s Report : (Ken Laird) Sunland Christmas party went very well. The cost to the council was less than $60 Florida State taxes have been filed. Trustee s Report: (PGK John Foley) No report (absent)
Chancellor s report: (Karl Eschmann) No report. Vocations Report: (Karl Eschmann) We will start looking at our candidates for Seminarians. One of them is the one we have been supporting for 3 years now. We will discuss this more at the next Executive Council meeting. Report on Service Program Committees Membership Director: (PGK Moe Powers) o As previously mentioned, Brother Matt French is our newest member. Church Director: (PGK Ellis Boudreaux) o We had a very successful Christmas card sale. We had a net profit of approximately $500, with the sales of $1,100 to $1,200. Thanks to all who helped out, especially Brother Tim Pugh, GK Tom Elsesser, Brother Franklin Bevel for manning tables at multiple Masses, and all those who sold card at St. Michael s Parish. Program Director: (DGK Steve Zajac) o Reports as follows: Community Director: (PGK Ellis Boudreaux) o Pasta dinner is this Saturday, with Moe Powers team (Team-2) scheduled. Council Director: (Pat Ritchie) o No report Family Director: (Karl Eschmann) o Family of the Month for December is Dave and Lisa Underwood o Knight of the Month for December is Father Sebastian Seb Naslund Pro-Life Director: (Chuck Frey) o No report Youth Director: (Ed Coleman) o No report
Round Table Chairman: o (From Lee Green) On Saturday, January 10 th Archbishop Timothy Broglio will be at the 5 p.m. Mass on Hurlburt Field, conferring Confirmation class for both military communities. He will also be the Celebrant for the 11 a.m. Sunday Mass. He has requested/invited the KoC Color Guard. Recruiting: (PGK George Lambert) o No report. Bingo: (PGK George Lambert) Bingo is doing fine, Brother John Foley has the new schedule and will be emailing it to all the teams. We still need team members on teams one and four, as we are always in need of people to work the floor. Unfinished Business: The Council Free-throw contest date will be changing; it is currently scheduled for 24 January. New dates to be determined. We will be hosting the District competition on February 28 th here at HNJ in the PLC. Volunteers will be needed e-mails to follow. Altar Server Appreciation function is still in the planning stages once we have more details, we will pass them on to everyone. Brother Tim Pugh recognized Brother Eric Frodesen for volunteering to take photos during the Sunland Christmas party. He did an absolutely outstanding job of capturing all the clients receiving their gifts from Santa Clause. He put it all together on short notice and did an amazing job. New Business: Deacon Gary has asked if the Knights would step up and provide the man power to renovate the parish hall to include re-painting, changing out the carpet, replacing drapes, making closet doors match, replacing current TVs with flat screen monitors, and just a good cleaning. The funding for this project will come from the Parish. The planned time frame would be around June. More details to be discussed during the next Executive Council meeting. Report of the Fourth Degree: (Franklin Bevel) (No report) Field Agents Report: (Tim Pugh) Shameless Plug of the Month o For the 14 th consecutive year, the KoC insurance has shown growth, which is a remarkable feat knowing some of the economics we have been going through, compared to some of
the other insurance companies in the industry. Insurance Tip of the Month o I have experienced in this past week another Brother Knight who passed away who was not insured. I have told stories about how fulfilling, gratifying, and wonderful it is when a member passes away and we are able to take his spouse a check and that s good because she is cared for and that s what we are here for. I have had a couple of experiences where it has not been as good. Unfortunately, it was because the Knight was not ensured. This conversation is not about trying to pressure anyone into buying insurance. The point is because the Knight was not insured in any way shape or form, he was not an ensure Knight. Because he was an associate member and not an insured member, we are now legally no longer able to sell his wife any products. Sometimes they don t need it, but sometimes they do. Sometimes they could use an annuity, which would enable her to take whatever money she has and put it into a guaranteed payout and get a guaranteed income for the rest of her life. Sometimes they could use another insurance policy. Sometimes they do live longer than us and could use a long-term-care and like to get a policy. Legally, when a Knight dies his wife can no longer buy anything from us, because she is no longer married to a Knight. We can sell to Knight, their wives, and dependent children, but once he dies, but once he dies it s over. However, the IRS does give us a 1 year grace period if the Knight was an ensured Knight. In this case I spoke to the Knights about the need for insurance, but it never happened. Yes, there are other good companies out there, but we are good too. If you don t really need insurance, you might want to think about getting a small annuity. By starting an annuity, you are now an ensured Knight. That now gives you wife that year grace period to decide if some type of policy with us would be something helpful and advantageous to her. I m at 850-941-1046 or timothy.pugh@kofc.org. Call me let s talk.
District Deputy Report: (DD Joe Purka) Presented lapel pin for 2014 STAR Council 1. RECRUITING and MEMBERSHIP: Your Council goal is 13 new members and 5 new insurance members. To date, you have added three new members and seven new insurance members. 2. Youth Programs: a. Spelling Bee: District competition in Jan. Regional: 1-3 p.m. Sat Jan 17 th, at Little Flower, Pensacola. State competition is Feb 1 st, in Kissimmee. b. Basketball Free Throw: District competition mid-feb. Regional in late Feb or early Mar. State competition is Mar 14 th in Haines City 3. Reports Due: a. Special Olympics Partnership January 30 th b. Survey of Fraternal Activity Jan 30 th c. Semi-Annual Audit February 15 th d. Soccer Challenge Report due February 15 th 4. District Deputy Mid-Year Meeting: For Gk, DGK, FS and any other interested officers at COR, 10 a.m., Sunday, January 10 th. 5. March for Life January 22 nd in Washington DC. 6. Run for Life February 14-22, 2015 East Coast West Coast, Panhandle. a. Financial donations b. Sponsoring Runners c. Pro-life dinners along the route 7. Knights of Columbus Day of Prayer for the Unborn Child - a. March 22 nd b. Sponsor rosaries, prayer services, special masses for parish. c. Prayer for Life Prayer Card (#4665). 8. New Guidelines for Council-Home Corporation relations: Go to Officers Online, then Desk Reference, last title 9. Convention (May 22 nd 24 th ) Delegates to be elected at first March meeting..
Prayer Requests: Deacon Lou Marini Deacon Jim Cox Family of Larry Victor Steve Sharpe Greg Muntzner Dick and Judy Ikena Santo Fioreletti Dawn Carpenter Norbort Ciolek Les Honsetter Frank Cole Edwin Ortiz Peter Williams Moe Powers Mike and Shelly Flinn Tony Alcobia Good of the Order (Deacon Lou Marini) Deacon Lou shared the following: Meeting Closure Group of men are out fishing all day, in the middle of a lake. A man walks out to them and no one seemed to be surprised. Why? The lake was frozen the men were ice fishing. DGK closed with a prayer and the meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m. Next general membership meeting is February 3 rd at 7 p.m. After-meeting Social Attendees remained for a social at the end of the meeting. PGK Steve Zajac provided the snacks and beverages.
Family of the Month December 2014 Dave and Lisa Underwood The Underwood family worked hard this year in many parish and council related activities. They have been very active members of the HNJ parish during the past year. Dave and Lisa have consistently assisted with set-up and tear down for many HNJ events. They have nine Children, all of whom participate in a number of church and school activities. Their oldest son Trevor, has written a book that is based on his Catholic upbringing. He is looking to release his second in the series. Their son Gregory graduated with Honors from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville in November with a degree in Music. He supports HNJ by playing Trombone and Tuba at Easter and Christmas Masses. Their 21 year old Quadruplets, George, Blaine, Troy and Gloria are Juniors at the University of West Florida in Pensacola. Blaine and George are working towards Electrical Engineering Degrees, Troy is studying Social Work, and Gloria is working towards a degree in Anthropology and Archeology. George and Blaine are also members of the Air Force ROTC at UWF. All the quads are very involved in their local Church, Church of the Nativity. Troy and Gloria are Eucharistic Ministers. Troy is in his second year as the President of the local UWF Campus Ministries and Gloria is the Liturgical Coordinator. With the CCM group they have also worked with the local soup kitchens, help build house for Habitat for Humanity and worked with Ladies Society White Elephant sale, to name a few. They also volunteered at the Alfred Washburn Center on several occasions. They handed out food, mail, and clothing, and helped people to do laundry and take showers. Gloria is still very active in the Choir at both locations. Danna is 17, a senior at NHS and has been a strong member of the CYM youth board at HNJ. She has attended several meetings to help administer this year s activities and has lead classes this CYM season. When Niceville Marching Pride band is not marching for the football team, where she plays the Clarinet, she works every Friday night at the KoC Bingo Night where she has earned her 150+ volunteer hours towards her Bright Futures Scholarship. She is an active member of the Honor Society Club. The twins, James and Samuel are freshmen this year at NHS. James is a member of Track team running the 1600 meter race. James and Samuel are both altar servers at HNJ. James plays baritone/melophone and Sam plays Tuba for the NHS Marching Pride. Dave, Lisa and the children are very reliable members of the Bingo team. As time allows the children s schedule they serve as an Early Bird and core helpers on the floor and running the kitchen. Troy even acts as the Bingo Caller from time to time. Every Friday Lisa runs the kitchen supporting her father, Brother George Lambert, the Lead of the Bingo Program. Lisa also volunteers to bake goods and cook each Friday for the Bingo sessions. She is volunteering at Catholic Charities, working in the food pantry on Mondays and answering phones on Thursdays. Lisa is also a lead member of the HNJ Prayer Team and member of the Voices of Praise Choir. Dave comes to help clean up each week and stands in as cook as needed. He is busy keeping all these activities going for the family. Dave was also elected to be a member of the Parish Council for the next two years. The family works in support of Parish social functions such as setup and clean-up members for the Pasta Night Support Team, where Lisa also cooks her famous cakes. The dinners collect hundreds of dollars for charity programs supported by the Knights, while also providing members of the parish with an excellent dinner on Saturday nights at a very
reasonable cost. Typically 80-100 people show up for the monthly dinners. Additionally, the Quad Boys are all members of the Knights of Columbus. Brother Dave and Lisa, and their children demonstrate through hard work their Christian values and the KOC principles of Charity, Unity, Fraternity and Patriotism. Knight of the Month December 2014 Father Sebastian Seb Naslund Although Father is relatively a newcomer attendee to our Council (less than three years), he is a very conscientious supporter of our programs and can often be found participating in numerous Council and Parish activities. He has attained the fourth degree status of a Knight. Since joining the council, he volunteered to be the Council Good of the Order Advocate during periods when our assigned permanent Advocate was absent due to health issues. His lectures have captured the attention of all the Council members who listened as he provided interesting and dynamic lectures regarding the KOC values of Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism. Father is first and foremost a thoughtful people person, and he is deeply dedicated towards providing comfort and aid to anyone in need. He also feels strongly that the duty of pastors and parents is to help and guide young people, and to properly listen and answer to the call of God when summoned. He was an Air Force Chaplain after spending over 12 years in overseas and Continental US Bases. He spent a number of years supporting mission activities in the poorest sections of Belize. Since his retirement as an active priest, he has been researching worldwide archives regarding the lift of Joseph, the Father of Jesus. He is co-writing a comprehensive book with two other priests concerning the church s early saints and leaders, and is considered a subject matter expert in theology. He provided invaluable assistance during a Council sponsored Sunland Christmas Party for a group of over 50 handicapped persons. This annual event involves both providing of food for the handicapped, as well as for their family members and staff of the agency, and the distribution of gifts. The Council knights purchased presents for the guests and then helped Father Seb, dressed as Santa to distribute the presents by name to each guest. This Council is truly blessed in having such a dedicated member of the retired clergy so actively involved in the daily endeavors of the Knights of Columbus.
Deputy Grand Knight Steve Zajac receives the 2014 Star Council Lapel pin on behalf of Council 7667, from District Deputy Joe Purka.