Brothers,
We had a great meeting on Wednesday, May 2 with 25 Brother Knights in attendance.  We welcomed two new Brother Knights to our Council, Rodrigo Denolan and James Longoria.  We now have 15 new members for the fraternal year, and we need at least 2 more to meet our Star Council goal.
 
Our program was Karen Hall with the Central Texas Orphan Ministry Alliance (CTOMA).  Their building on East 29th Street is where we have placed our ultrasound.  Karen told our Council that the ultrasound has already saved several babies from abortion at the hands of Planned Parenthood.  Our Council gave Karen a check for $500 to help defray the costs of operating the ultrasound machine.       
 
The Grand Knight reported on the State Convention held recently in Houston.  The state meeting passed the State Council budgets, and several resolutions.  We also elected new state officers.  The Grand Knight and the Deputy Grand Knight represented our Council at the convention.
 
The Grand Knight also reported that there will be a 2nd and 3rd Degree on Saturday, May 12, in Zurek Hall at St. Thomas Aquinas.  Candidates should report by 9:30 am to the 10:30 am exemplification.
 
The Treasurer reported that we have $14,527.53 in our operating account, and $8,015.14 in our charity account.  The May 2012 Budget summary is attached to this note.
 
Our Council Chaplain, Fr. Edwin, asked the Council to support the parish Corpus Christi celebration on June 7 at St. Thomas Aquinas.  Our Council voted to supply the canopy for the Corpus Christi celebration.
 
Friday, May 4, is Family Movie Night in Zurek Hall at St. Thomas Aquinas.  We will be showing the moving “Courageous” starting at 7 pm.  The Council will provide free popcorn and soft drinks.  Council Director Kevin Biasiolli has done a great job of pulling this project together.    
 
We sponsored another blood Drive, and Community Director Larry Hubbell reports that we collected 13 units of blood.  Thanks to Brother Larry for organizing another successful blood drive.
 
Our Council will help cook the meal for the Special Olympics Equestrian Competition on Saturday, May 19 at the Brazos Expo Center.  We need more volunteers for this project.  Please meet us at the Brazos Expo Center at 4 pm on Saturday, May 19 and give us a hand.
 
Matt Whiteacre reported that the Squire’s have 5 new members this year.
 
Our Council’s annual Hamburger Cook and Corn Cook will be Wednesday, June 20 in the PAC at St. Thomas Aquinas.
 
Our first order of new business was the election of Council Officers.  The list of new officers is attached.
 
In addition to our budgeted contribution to CTOMA our Council voted to make the following contributions. 
 
$250 to St. Thomas Aquinas to replenish paper supplies.
 
$250 to the Military Chaplainn’s Scholarship fund promoted by the Supreme Council. 
 
$50 to the American Legion
 
$500 to the Guatemalan Medical Mission at St. Thomas Aquinas
 
Our next meeting will be Wednesday, June 6 in Zurek Hall.
 
Ron Gay, FSD
Grand Knight

 Knights of Columbus Hearne/Franklin Council #10555 2012 Annual Raffle

Thanks

Don Alan Barnett, GK

dbarnett@brazoscad.org

979-774-4100

We have contracted with Texas Country Catering this year to provide a variety of Lent meals to be served after the Stations of the Cross. The Lent meals are one of our main fundraisers. Your assistance will be greatly appreciated and needed to help prepare, serve and clean up after these meals. This is a great way for our Council members to become more acquainted with each other as well as for our new members to get involved with our Council activities.

Our first Lent meal will be held This Friday, February 24th at the PAC. Each Lent meal Friday we will need at least 5 Knights to arrive at 5 PM at the PAC to set up the tables, chairs, KC Banner, Outdoor Lent meal signs, trash cans, make a half pot of coffee, etc. The first Lent meal (Feb. 24th) we will need to set up 28 tables for seating 224. Texas Country Catering informed me they will provide “Full Service” for all of Lent meals they serve. This means we should not have to worry about serving the drinks. For this meal we will need to set up one or two serving lines, 2 ticket sales tables, 2 pizza serving tables, extra trash containers, etc. We will need to sell tickets, and pizza.

This a list of their first four meals that we will serve. Depending on our customer feedback will decide what we will order for our last two meals (March 23,30). The fried and grilled fish will be prepared on site with a 50 meal reserve if needed. All of the rest of the meals will have 15 extra if needed because of the meals being prepared at their location.

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UPDATE: 3/6/2012 for the REMAINING LENT SEASON
Fried Fish will be served
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1. Feb. 24th – FRIED CATFISH FILLET, FRENCH FRIED POTATO, BAKE BEANS, COLESLAW, HUSHPUPPIES, BREAD, & TEA.

2. March 2nd – GRILLED CATFISH FILLET, CZECH POTATO, STEAMED VEGGIE, BREAD & TEA.

3. March 9th – FRIED CATFISH FILLET, FRENCH FRIED POTATO, BAKE BEANS, COLESLAW, HUSHPUPPIES, BREAD, & TEA.
VEGETARIAN LASAGNA TOSSED GARDEN SALAD, GARLIC BREAD, WITH TEA.

4. March 16th – FRIED CATFISH FILLET, FRENCH FRIED POTATO, BAKE BEANS, COLESLAW, HUSHPUPPIES, BREAD, & TEA.
(Spring Break) SEAFOOD GUMBO ( shrimp & fish ), WHITE RICE, CRACKERS, COLESLAW, & TEA.

5. March 23rd – FRIED CATFISH FILLET, FRENCH FRIED POTATO, BAKE BEANS, COLESLAW, HUSHPUPPIES, BREAD, & TEA.

6. March 30th – FRIED CATFISH FILLET, FRENCH FRIED POTATO, BAKE BEANS, COLESLAW, HUSHPUPPIES, BREAD, & TEA.

Our charge for the Fried Fish, Grilled Fish and the Vegetarian Lasagna meal is $9.50 for adults, $7.00 for children 12 and under and $3.50 for pizza. (Same as last year, even though our price increased .$25 a meal from last year for the fish meal except for the new Lasagna meal).

Our charge for the Seafood Gumbo meal (Spring Break) is $8.75 for adults, $6.50 for children 12 and under and $3.50 for pizza.

Starting around 6:10 pm at each Lent meal we will need at least 9 volunteers to work. We will need 3 people at each ticket table, two taking money and one handing out plates. We will need at least 1 volunteer to serve the pizza. We will also have to dump trash and clean up the haul , take down the tables (unless we are told not to do so) after each meal. We will need to watch the caterer and have 2 volunteers on standby to make sure that the drinks and the meal is served in a timely manner and assist the caterer if needed for all meals. The meals will be served starting around 6:30 pm.

The caterer will also provide “To Go” plates for all meals and they will probably serve the meat portion at all of the meals.

As you can see, many things need to happen before these meals are served to make this a successful fundraising event. I will send out a weekly lent meal reminder as well.

Also remember that if you cannot assist with serving these Lent meals you can support your Council by purchasing meals for you and your family!
If you need to contact me, please do so.
Fraternally,
Leonard Muesse
(H) 776-3034
(C) 777-6901
lmuesse@verizon.net

Brothers,

Please join me in welcoming three new Brother Knights to Council 3205, Anthony Martin, Jerimie Pinter and Galliano Macalle.  All three men were exemplified in the first degree this evening, March 1.  Many Thanks to our degree team, Gary Richardson, Michael Hlavinka, Adrian Martinez and Al Mazoch.  They did a fantastic job!  We now have a net gain of eleven (11) new members this fraternal year.

I still need some Brother Knights to step forward and help with the moving of an elderly parishioner on Saturday, March 3 at 9 am.  She is moving from her apartment on Southwest Parkway to the Crestview Retirement Community.  Please let me know if you can help this Saturday.

Out second Lenten Meal is tomorrow.  Please be there by 5 pm to help set up.

Ron Gay, FSD
Grand Knight

SOUTHWYCK GOLF CLUB

”Bringing the Scottish Links to Houston”

Learn more about the course on their web site at www.southwyckgc.com
4 Star Rating from Golf Digest – “Voted Top Places to Playin Texas,” Dallas Morning News

$85.00 ENTRY FEE FOR INDIVIDUAL
$320.00 FOR A TEAM OF FOUR

~ Green fees, golf cart, range balls, prizes
Kolaches and beverages before tournament start
BBQ Brisket & Sausage Lunch (immediately after tournament)
Closest to Pin, Longest Drive and in One” Prize on two of Par 3′s
Free transportation will depart hotel at 6:15 AM/return after lunch
“Challenge points” on predetermined holes for prizes Let’s have fun!

Florida Format (Ladies Welcome) 8:00 AM shotgun start

Golf Committee Co-Chairmen: Pete Muceus 281-491-9671 peterkofc@comcast.net

Bob Sumicek 281-920-9473 tkocsumicek@sbcg1oba1.net

Download here: https://docs.google.com/open?id=1LZiXLtxHXzGz9yHKrXGSEMWuFhd804JT9R-8SSe8BJqbvVAY8W2SqK2AFeQ0

Brothers,

We had an excellent meeting on February 1, with 40 members in attendance. Our program was the director of Scotty’s House, a sanctuary for abused children.

We welcomed four of our five new brother knights to the meeting, Carlos Guadarrama-Perez, Gus Roman, Matt Tennis, and Shane McAuliffe. We have ten new members recruited this year, while our Star Council goal is 17 new members and six new insurance members. Our Council’s next first degree will be Thursday, March 1 in Zurek Hall.

In the Grand Knight’s Report I spoke about current attack on religious liberties in this country. The Bishop’s letter to faithful was just the first step, we have to reach out to our elected representatives and ask for their help for an exemption from the HHS mandate. I was pleased that all forty members signed letters to Representative Bill Flores and Senators Cornyn and Hutchison. We also talked about the Komen Foundation’s decision to defund Planned Parenthood. It turns out that our enthusiasm was premature, so we have decided to wait before sending a thank you note and a check to the Komen Foundation.

Darrell Lovelette and I were elected to represent the Council at the Texas State Convention, April 27-29 in Houston. Brothers Paul Marvin and C. J. Romero will be our alternates.

Our treasurer reported that we have $10,938.20 in our operating account, and we have $5,420.56 in our charity account. So far, we have collected $949.35 in dues through our paypal account.

The Financial Secretary reported that we have collected $3,631.50 in dues for 2012. We billed out $10,240.00 in December. We have more than 130 members who owe us one or more years of dues totaling $13,238.00. Our total membership now stands at 286.

We have a lot of Council activities during the month of February.

February 5 is our Super Bowl of Chili. Our members made over 400 quarts of chili. Sales were brisk, and so was the weather. It looks like we will net close to $1,800 on this project.

February 10 we will partner with the Women’s Guild for the Marriage Liturgy in the PAC at St. Thomas Aquinas. Mass starts at 6:30 pm followed by a catered meal for $40 per couple.

Lenten meals will start Friday, February 24, in the PAC at St. Thomas Aquinas. Leonard Muesse has done a great job of putting the Lenten meals together again this year. We will not be serving fried fish every week this year, Leonard has changed the menu up some, and I think you’re going to like it.

Our January pancake breakfast netted $175.00 for the International Wheelchair Foundation. The proceeds from our February pancake breakfast will be donated to St. Thomas Aquinas for a AED machine.

Since our last meeting the Council has donated $500 to the Coalition For Life, $250 to NET Ministries, $250 to Paul Piega, a new seminarian we have adopted. We also bought a KofC retirement annuity for Fr. Uche.

We look forward to seeing you at our next Council meeting on Wednesday, March 7.

Ron Gay, FSD
Grand Knight

Brother Knights,

Gary and I would like to express our sincere appreciation to all of you that worked so diligently to make our 2012 Super Bowl Chili Cook Fundraiser such a huge success! We had a great turnout of volunteers and had a very busy morning. It was great to see some of our new members involved as well! This is our 4th year with this fundraiser and everyone and everything worked like a well oiled machine! We cooked 414 quarts this year, up from 356 quarts last year. Even though we did not sell out and had chili leftover, there is no price that can be put on the great fellowship that our Council members had with this fundraiser. As all of us Brother Knights know, fellowship and organization comes before profit and this is what happened with this fundraiser.

We have an estimated 53 quarts left over that are still for sale in the freezer if anybody wants to buy some more. Just let me know.
The estimated profit from this fundraiser to date is: $1,768.60.

Fraternally,
Leonard Muesse
979-777-6901
lmuesse@suddenlink.net

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Dear Norma,
The 10-year effort to create a pro-life specialty license plate in Texas has finally met with success, and the Choose Life license plate will soon be a reality!

Thanks to the support of the Texas Legislature, Gov. Rick Perry, Attorney General Greg Abbott, and thousands of pro-lifers across the state, a specialty license plate with the message “Choose Life” will be available for purchase by the end of November. Out of the more than 150 specialty license plates in Texas, the Choose Life license plate is the only one to promote the loving option of adoption wherever you drive.

The Choose Life license plate promotes infant adoption as a compassionate alternative to abortion. When you purchase a Choose Life license plate, $22 of the $30 annual fee will go to a fund administered by Attorney General Greg Abbott, who will give grants only to qualified pro-life organizations that offer assistance to pregnant women considering placing their children for adoption. Those organizations include pregnancy resource centers, Gabriel Projects, maternity homes, and adoption agencies. Organizations like Planned Parenthood, which perform or promote abortion, are not eligible. (The remaining $8 covers state and county administrative costs.)

As the official state sponsor organization of the Choose Life license plates, we are excited to announce that Texas Alliance for Life has begun a statewide tour to promote the purpose and sale of the Choose Life license plates. We are calling our multi-city speaking tour the Choose Life Texas Tour. We will equip the grassroots with important information and statistics about adoption and what individuals can do to help us save lives by getting the message out effectively.

Having a local contact is very important in organizing the Choose Life Texas Tour. Would you help us find a venue like a private home for a reception, pro-life meetings, civic organization meetings, church ministry fairs, etc.? If you are interested in helping organize an event in your area to promote infant adoption through the Choose Life license plate, please send us an email at chooselife@texasallianceforlife.org.

This is one of those wonderful opportunities where you can make a huge difference for life in your own community. If you aren’t able to help plan a local event, perhaps you would consider a donation to help the success of the Choose Life Texas Tour. Please donate online HERE or click on the Donate now! button. (Please note “Choose Life” in the comment section.)

Please watch our website for the Choose Life Texas Tour schedule, and we hope to see you when we are in your area!

Sincerely,
Joe Pojman, Ph.D.
Executive Director

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

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