Knights Of Columbus – Council 3205

by GK Ron Gay

Brothers,

Council 3205 hosted a First Degree this evening in which 19 new members were inducted. Please join me in welcoming five (5) new members into Council 3205 in College Station; Gustavo Roman, Mike Pawelek, Matt Tennis, Carlos Guadarrama-Perez, and Shane McAuliffe. Our Council has inducted ten (10) new members this year for a net gain of eight (8) new members. We need seventeen (17) new members to reach our Star Council goal. I want to thank our Membership Director, Brother Richard Darnell, for the excellent job he is doing in recruiting new members. However, we are only half way to our goal, so we need to keep recruiting.

I also want to thank our Degree Team of Gary Richardson, Michael Hlavinka, Adrian Martinez, Al Mazoch, and Ray Thomas for their excellent work. Nineteen new members were exemplified tonight, twelve (12) for Council 10624 at Texas A&M, five (5) for Council 3205 in College Station and two (2) for Council 11759 in Bryan.

Our next first degree will be Thursday, March 1 in Zurek Hall @ St. Thomas Aquinas in College Station. If you have a prospect invite them to come to the new member orientation that starts at 6:30 pm.

Ron Gay, FSD
Grand Knight

By GK Ron Gay:

Brothers

We had outstanding attendance at our first Council meeting for 2012 with 35 Brother Knights giving us some of their very valuable time on the first Wednesday in January. Brother Ralf Trujillo was out of the hospital and able to join us after his recent open heart surgery. Brother Don Parsons is still hospitalized following stomach surgery. If you were not able to join us, we want you to know that you were missed. We hope you will put our next Council meeting, February 1, on your calendar today.

The Grand Knight summarized the Council’s successful activities during the month of December. The 2nd Annual Wine & Cheese event was very successful, netting the Council $3,653.00 for our charity account. Many thanks to our Brothers who helped make this year’s tasting a success; our sponsors, Jeff Paradowski’s Law Office, Paul Marvin and Ron Gay. Also I would like to thank Al Mazoch, C. J Romero, Bob Albanese, Larry Hubbell, Dick Allen, Don Parsons, Leonard Muesse, Paul Marvin, David Gerling, Dan King, Michael Herring, Darrell Lovelette, Ray Thomas, Russ Kellen, Phil Lippman, Deacon Dave Mays and James Supak for their generous contribution of time towards the success of this event.

The Council provided a continental breakfast and a pizza and salad lunch for about 45 Deacon candidates and their wives at St. Thomas Aquinas on December 10. Food was prepared and delivered to about 100 guests that day. The Council covered the $200 in expenses. I would like to lift up Al Mazoch and Jim Ebanks for helping with this event.

Our annual Clergy Appreciation Dinner was on December 15. We had 140 people attend this year’s dinner at St. Thomas Aquinas. Bishop Joe Vasquez was there and he delivered the keynote speech. There were 20 Priests, Deacons and Religious in attendance. Many thanks are owed to Michael Vidrine and Tom Zike for chairing this year’s dinner. Thanks also to Russ Kellen for providing the Christmas music. Special thanks to Lilly Muesse for making all of the table decorations. Thanks also to our Pastor, Fr. Edwin and to Fr. Uche for being so supportive of this event.

Fr. Edwin thanked the Knights for the Clergy Appreciation Dinner. He also challenged us to make Christ visibile in our parish, homes and community especially during Advent. He asked the Council to consider putting up a large, public Nativity scene up so that the whole community can see it and be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas. The Officers will be meeting in the very near future to discuss how to make this happen.

Our Treasurer, Dan King, reported that our accounts are very healthy right now. We have more than $8,000 in our operating account and we have more than $6,000 in our charity account.

Our Financial Secretary, Paul Marvin, reported that the 2012 dues notices have been sent out. We anticipate collecting $10,000 in dues this year, so far about $1,000 has been paid in. Paul is working with John Romero and Dan King to make it possible for members to pay their dues with a credit card via the web site.

Membership – Richard Darnell reported that we will have a first degree on Wednesday, January 25 at St. Thomas Aquinas. Candidates need to report @ 6:30 pm. So far this fraternal year we have 5 new members and 2 dropped members for a net gain of 3 members.

One of our big Council activities is the Super Bowl Chili Sale slated for February 5. This is a major project for us, and Leonard Muesse and Gary Richardson are going to need everyone to help out for it to be a success. Check the web page to sign up for one of the shifts for the Chili Cook.

The Super Bowl Chili Cook will be followed by Lenten meals project. We serve fish every Friday during Lent. Ash Wednesday is February 22, our first Lenten Meal will be Friday, February 24.

The Pancake Breakfast will be January 8 with Mark Schoenemann’s Team on duty. The proceeds from this month’s breakfast will be donated to the Wheelchair Foundation.

The Council received a request from Chris Smith to support his work with NET Ministries, a group of young people who travel the country putting on retreats for students and young adults. The Council voted to support Chris with a contribution of $250.00.

Brother Phil Lippman presented to the Council and opportunity to help fund a Automatic External Defibrillator. The Council voted to dedicate the proceeds from the February pancake breakfast to the purchase of an AED for the parish.

Family Director Kevin Biasiolli has approached the Women’s Guild about the Council partnering with them on the Valentine’s Marriage Liturgy again this year.

The Fourth Degree Assembly will meet next Tuesday, January 10 in Zurek Hall.

Ron Gay, FSD
Grand Knight

By Grand Knight, Ron Gay:

Our 2011 Clergy Dinner was a resounding success! With Bishop Joe Vasquez of the Diocese of Austin in attendance, Council 3205 welcomed more than 20 members of the Clergy from the Bryan Deanery and thanked them for their dedicated service to our Catholic community. Approximately 175 people enjoyed a great dinner, and the opportunity to visit with our local clergy including Msgr. Malinowski and Sister Gretchen Kunz, and to cherish their service to us and our families. Members of the Msgr. Valenta Assembly 2041 provided the color guard for the opening flag ceremony. The Pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas and Council 3205 Chaplain, Fr. Edwin Kagoo, gave the opening prayer. Bishop Vasquez gave some wonderful remarks praising the work of our local clergy. Fr. Uche, also of St. Thomas Aquinas, gave the benediction.

Ron

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By Grand Knight, Ron Gay:

Brothers,

It has been a busy December for our Council. As usual, we started our month with a pancake breakfast. Thanks to Russ Kellen’s team, and our Squire’s Circle for an excellent Sunday breakfast.

Next came our second annual Wine & Cheese Fundraiser. We had around 80 people attend and we raised $2,500 with our Nativity scene auction. Our Council will send $800 to six parish ministries for their participation in the Nativity scene auction. This year’s Wine & Cheese fundraiser will clear almost $3,800 for our Council’s Charity obligations. I want to lift up Darrell Lovelette for his efforts in securing the wines for the tasting from Messina Hof Winery. Thanks also to Al Mazoch and Bob Albanese for helping with the set-up. Thanks to our wine stewards C. J. Romero, Bob Albanese, Al Mazoch, Larry Hubbell, Gary Richardson, Darrell Lovelette, Don Parsons, Paul Marvin, Whitley Cave and Dan King. Aubrey Hunt provided our background music and she was fantastic.

Last Thursday night we had a fantastically successful Clergy Appreciation Dinner. We had 150 people in attendance as we offered special recognition to our Clergy. Bishop Joe Vasquez was very pleased that our Council took the time to honor all of the Priests, Deacons, and Religious in our Deanery. Thanks to Tom Zike and Michael Vidrine for all of their hardwork in organizing and setting up this year’s Clergy Dinner. Thanks to Al Mazoch, C. J. Romero, James Supak and Michael Herring for providing the Fourth Degree Color Guard. Thanks to Al Mazoch, Bob Albanese, Tom Zike, Leonard Muesse, Mark Olivieri, Russ Kellen, Michael Hlavinka, C. J. Romero, Kevin Biasiolli and Whitley Cave for helping with the set-up. Big, big thank you to Lilly Muesse who made all of the table decorations, and to Terri Gay who helped Lilly decorate the tables. Thanks also to Russ Kellen for providing the background music, and thanks to Gary Richardson and Whitley Cave who served the beer and wine. I’d like to lift up our parish STAY group and Brother Ed Styduhar for cleaning up after the dinner. Finally, I want to thank all of our Brother Knights and their wives along with the parishioners of St. Thomas Aquinas who showed up to honor our Clergy.

I want to lift up Fr. Edwin and Fr. Uche for all of their support of these important Council activities. They both played an active role in both functions and they would not have been successful without their presence and prayers of support.

Now it’s time to turn our attention to the Super Bowl Chili Cook coming up in February.

Terri and I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year! God bless you one and all, you are the greatest Knights of Columbus Council in the Order.
Ron Gay, FSD
Grand Knight

Brothers,

The 2011 gun raffle was a huge success for our Council. In spite of a down economy, our Council still managed to raise $4,738.00. I’d like to lift up our Raffle Chair, C. J. Romero, for his outstanding work on the raffle. With C. J. at the helm our Council raffle has raised $11,500.00 over the last two years! Well done C. J., well done. I also want to lift up Past Grand Knight Russ Kellen for his gift of a shot gun for this year’s raffle, thanks Brother Russ. C. J.’s leadership marshalled a lot of help from our Council members for the sale of raffle tickets, so my thanks to all of the Council members who stood out in front of Academy or Gander Mountain, or sold tickets to friends, relatives and co-workers. All of your efforts paid off for our Council’s charity efforts.

Now we must turn our attention to the Council’s next two projects. We need a lot of help to make these next two events a success.

The first event is our 2nd Annual Wine & Cheese Tasting scheduled for December 8, 2011. December 8 is a Holy Day of Obligation, The Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The Wine & Cheese Tasting will begin immediately after mass, 7:00 or so. There will be eight (8) different wines to taste and an assortment of cheeses. The event costs $25 per person. We will have our first Nativity Scene auction during this year’s tasting. So far, we have 9 Nativity scenes donated for the auction. We also have $1,500 in pledged sponsorships for the event. We will need some volunteers for this event, Brothers to pour wine, and serve. What we need most of all is people to attend the event, and encourage their friends and fellow parishoners to attend as well. We hope to raise $2,500 for our Council’s charity efforts with this Wine & Cheese Tasting.

The following week, December 15 will be our annual Clergy Appreciation Dinner. This year’s dinner will include Bishop Joe Vasquez. The dinner will begin at 6 pm in the PAC at St. Thomas Aquinas. Mike Vidrine and Tom Zike started preparing for this dinner in the early summer, and they have done an excellent job. We need assistance from the members of the Council to sell tickets after each mass starting December 3 and 4. Brothers we have to have a great showing from our local Catholics to honor our local Clergy.

Ron Gay, FSD
Grand Knight

By Grand Knight – Ron Gay

Brothers,

We had a great meeting last Wednesday, November 2, 2011. If you missed it, you missed a great time with 35 of your Brother Knights.

Deacon Dave Mayes showed a video and answered questions about the upcoming changes to the mass. Fr. Edwin was also there to help answer questions. I’d like to thank Fr. Edwin for his time with us last Wednesday. Fr. Edwin broke bread with the Council, and stayed for the whole meeting. Thank you Fr. Edwin!

We have a lot of events coming up in the next few months.

Church Activities – We need everyone to save the date, December 15, 2011. That is our Clergy Appreciation Dinner in the PAC at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church from 6 to 9 pm. Bishop Joe Vasquez will be here, and we want to have a great turn out for his visit to our area.

Important – Brother Don Parsons also asked all of us Catholic Gentlemen to prayerfully consider participating in Eucharistic adoration, particularly during the hours from midnight to 6 am. We need real Catholic men, Chivalrous Knights, to step forward and take on this duty of staying with the Eucharist during the early morning hours, midnight to 6 am. I’ve already called and added my name to the list for the 3 to 4 am shift on Saturday mornings. I know many of you are already committed to a time slot during the early morning hours, and your to be commended. If you already have a time slot adoring the Eucharist, and it’s possible for you to change to an early morning shift, then I want to encourage you to do so. If you do not have an adoration time as of yet please call Don Parsons and arrange to serve.

Membership – Please welcome our newest member Whitley Cave. Our next first degree will be after the New Year in the middle of January.

Council – Our gun raffle is in full swing. We have a net gain from the sale of raffle tickets of $2,300 so far. Please call C. J. Romero if you need additional tickets. We have another sales opportunity on Saturday, November 5 @ Academy from 9 am to 5 pm.

The Council’s Christmas Party will be Friday, December 9, at the home of Russ Kellen.

Community – Larry Hubbell says we collected 21 pints of blood at our blood drive in October.

Thanks also to everyone who showed up and worked with the Special Olympics.

Church – The Council voted to spend up to $200 to provide food for the Deacon Formation Class for the Diocese of Austin when they meet @ St. Thomas Aquinas on December 10.

Pro-life – The Council will sponsor a table at the Good Samaritan Pregnancy Services Dinner on November 10 at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Bryan.

Our 2nd Annual Wine & Cheese fundraiser will be Thursday, December 8, from 7:30 to 10 pm in the PAC @ St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church. December 8 is a Holy Day of Obligation, so the Wine & Cheese event will take place after mass.

Youth – We have had four new young men join our Squires Circle.

The Council also voted to send $100 to Council 10624 at Texas A&M University. They are collecting religious supplies to send to the Catholic Chaplains in Afghanistan.

Ron Gay, FSD
Grand Knight

Brothers,

The Knights of Columbus and Special Olympics have had a close association for more than 40 years. We have several members of our parish who are Special Olympians, and there will be an opportunity for our Council(s) to help with a state tournament right here in B/CS. Please review the e-mail below and go to the Special Olympics web page and view all of the volunteer opportunities available to us. If you have time and can lend a hand, I know our Special Olympians would appreciate it. It will require very little of you except time. I’ve given out medals on several occasions and I can’t tell you how rewarding it has been We will talk more about this at our meeting tonight, but I wanted to give everyone an advanced look at what was available to us.

Furthermore if we can get 15 to 20 people to sign up, not only will that help the Special Olympics in a big way, but it will help our Council satisfy all of the “Community” requirements for our Star Council Award.

Ron Gay, FSD
Grand Knight

EMAIL:
Ron,
Thank you so much for your email. I have spoken to our awards directors for Games about your participation and they said they would love to have some Knights help cover awards positions. We will be having awards at Aquatics, Flag Football, Veterans Park, and Golf. Our volunteer sign ups are now live on our website, so please take a look and see if any of those shifts fit into your schedules. Of course, if you would prefer another type of shift, that is also an option.

Here is the registration link: http://sotx.org/news-events/news/2011/volunteer-at-fall-classic.html

Please let me know if I can help you with any other questions.

Judy Yoshimaru
Director of Volunteer Services
Special Olympics Texas
512.491.2947
www.sotx.org

Dear Brother Knights,

St. Thomas’ very own Peter Ramirez will be on the Labor Day Telethon on KBTX.  His parents are Marla and Trey Ramirez.  Peter has spinal muscular atrophy and his goal is to raise $800 for MDA.  You can visit his secure website at https://www.joinmda.org/MyEvent/MyHomepage/tabid/221807/Participant/ramirezmarla/Default.aspx   to donate.  Please pass to other parishioners and friends.  You will start to see promotional clips on KBTX with Peter and his family and the family will be interviewed live on Sunday night.  He has $600.00!  Let’s far exceed the $800.00.

Many Blessings to you and your family!

Roger R. Martinez ’85

Brothers,

We held our initial First Degree for this fraternal year last Wednesday, August 17. Please join me in welcoming two new Brother Knights to our Council, Allen Goffinet and Nnaemeka Mozie. I would like to thank our degree team for their commitment to our new member recruitment program. Thanks to Gary Richards, Michael Hlavinka, Adrian Martinez, C. J. Romero, and Jody Supak for your excellent work in exemplifying our new members. Jody is our Knights of Columbus Field Agent and filled in for the missing Warden. Richard Darnell is doing an excellent job as our Council’s Membership Director. We still need fifteen new members this year to reach our Star Council goal.

We have a 2nd and 3rd Degree exemplification scheduled for September 18 in Bryan. We have 80 members of Council 3205 who live in the Bryan/College Station area who are still First Degree members. We need for all of our members to advance to full Knighthood. Please put September 18 on your calendar and plan to be at the 2nd and 3rd Degree in Bryan.

I also want to lift up Brother Kevin Biasiolli for his work on this Summer’s pool party. Kevin did an outstanding job in organizing this year’s event. Kevin’s still getting acclimated to a new job that takes him out of town a couple of days each week but he still made sure we had pizza and drinks for the families attending this year’s party. Thanks Kevin, job well done!

Don’t forget we have AquinasFest on September 24 and 25. Our next pancake breakfast is Sunday, September 4.

Save the date, our next Council meeting will be Wednesday, September 7.

Ron Gay, FSD
Grand Knight