Knights Of Columbus – Council 3205

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

By Grand Knight Ron Gay

Brothers,

Our August 3 meeting was very well attended considering it was still 106 degrees outside. We had 39 members in attendance which is better than expected when you consider the number of members out on vacation. If you were not able to join us we discussed the following information.

Fr. Uche was our program, and he gave a wonderful talk on his journey to the Priesthood and subsequently to the United States. Fr. Uche can converse in four different languages; his native tongue in Nigeria, English, Spanish and Flemish, which he picked up while he was studying in Belgium.

The Council has a busy fall planned with plenty of activity for everyone to join in on. The Treasurer reported that we have $10,294.55 in our operating account, and $759.57 in our charity account. The July 10 pancake Breakfast netted $262.26. The Financial Secretary reported that we have 277 members in the council. We still have 55 members who have not paid their 2011 dues. Their names were turned over to the retention committee.

The Grand Knight reported on the diocesan conference in Rockdale attended by the Grand Knight, Deputy Grand Knight, Chancellor and Financial Secretary. We learned that we have to put on or participate in four first degrees this year if we want to be a Star Council. This is a new requirement. We need 16 new members and 6 new insurance members to reach our Star Council goals.

Membership – Richard Darnell reported that there will be a First Degree for new members on August 17 in Zurek Hall @ St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church. There will be a 2nd and 3rd Degree in Bryan on September 18.

Church – Michael Vidrine reported that the August pancake breakfast will be Sunday, August 7 in the PAC. Michael Hlavinka’s pancake team is cooking. This month’s proceeds will benefit our seminarians. The 2011 Clergy Appreciation dinner will be December 15 in the PAC @ St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church.

Gary Richardson gave a report on Aquinasfest. Jesse Alvarez, chair of the Raffle reported that all tickets have been distributed. The Bar-b-que dinner is being chaired by Leonard Muesse, facilities is being chaired by Al Mazoch, parking is being chaired by David Gerling, Jeff Blaszek is the chair of hamburgers and hotdogs. I think you can see a pattern here, the KofC are leading this parish event.

Community – Larry Hubbell asks that you save the date, October 16 for our community blood drive.

Council – Council raffle tickets will be ready for distribution at our September meeting.

Family – Kevin Biasiolli reported that the Family Swim Party is August 12 at the home of Ron & Terri Gay, 1106 Deacon Dr. in College Station from 6 to 9 pm. The Council will provide pizza and drinks,members can bring a dessert.

Fourth Degree – C. J. Romero is the new Faithful Navigator. The assembly meets Tuesday, August 9 @ St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Hearne. The social begins at 6 pm.

The Council has already made its state charity goal of $2,450.00. The Council audit and the council budget are attached to this report.

Ron Gay, FSD
Grand Knight

Brothers,

We had our monthly meeting last Wednesday, July 6, and we had a terrific turnout for July with 35 members in attendance. Gary Richardson and his team did a fantastic job cooking our meal of hamburgers and hot dogs with chips and brownies. If you were not able to join us for this month’s meeting, I want you to know that we missed you. We hope your schedule will permit you to be with us at our next meeting on August 3.

Fr. Edwin, our new Pastor at St. Thomas Aquinas, was our program. We are very fortunate to have such a spiritual man as our Shepherd at St. Thomas Aquinas. For me the high point of his presentation was learning how important his own Father had been in his life, and in the development of his vocation. Also, he told us of how he had met the saintly Mother Teresa of Calcutta on three occasions. What a marvelous story!

Brother Paul Marvin has been appointed by Supreme Knight Carl Anderson as the new Financial Secretary for Col. Walter Parsons Council 3205.

Our Council has a busy fall coming. Brother Gary Richardson has taken the reins of Aquinasfest as the Chairman. Aquinasfest will be September 24-25. As I listened to Gary’s report I was struck with how many Brother Knights have stepped up to take over the leadership of this important parish fundraiser. Brother Knights Leonard Muesse (Sunday Lunch), Jesse Alvarez (Raffle), Jeff Blaszek (Hamburgers & Hotdogs), David Gerling (Parking), Mike Quick (Saturday Night Function) and Al Mazoch (Facilities). I think it’s pretty safe to say that the Knights of Columbus are the one parish ministry that is guaranteeing the success of Aquinasfest.

C. J. Romero is moving forward with organizing our Shotgun Raffle this fall.

Our first family activity will be a Swim Party, Friday, August 12 at the Grand Knight’s house, 1106 Deacon Dr. from 6 to 9 pm. Family Director Kevin Biasiolli has planned a great party, and you and your family will have a wonderful time, so come on out!

Richard Darnell reported that our initial first degree for the fraternal year will be August 17 @ St. Thomas Aquinas. We need to recruit 17 new members this year to meet our Star Council goal. There will be a 2nd & 3rd Degree Sunday, September 18, in Bryan. More details will follow but mark your calendars now.

See you August 3rd!

Ron Gay, FSD
Grand Knight

Brothers,

We have dedicated the ultrasound machine @ CTOMA and they are now open and ready for the very serious business of saving babies’ lives. There are so many people we need to thank for the successful completion of this project.

First I want to thank Karen Hall for her vision, and her willingness to partner with the Knights of Columbus to make the ultrasound project a reality. When we started this project we had no idea of the obstacles that would be placed in front of us, but Karen stepped forward and asked us for our help, and we gladly obliged. Thanks also to Bobby Reynoso and the Coalition for Life for their help and assistance with this project.

I want to thank Mark and Pat Schoenemann, Emil Ogden, Russ Kellen, Dr. Barry Veazey, Dr. Tim & Lisa Fields, St. Joseph Council 11759, Cameron Council 12601, Caldwell Council 6366, and Texas A&M Council 10624 for their financial contributions to the wine & cheese fundraiser that helped raise the funds to purchase the ultrasound. Thank you to our Supreme Council for supplying the matching grant. I want to thank our State Deputy, Tony Herreth, for taking the time to come to Bryan/College Station and celebrate this achievement with us.

Thanks to Al Mazoch for bringing the liquid refreshments to this evening’s dedication. Thank you Deacon Ted for your most gracious blessing of the ultrasound machine and the room in which it resides. Thank you to all of the Knights who showed up this evening for the dedication; Darrell Lovelette, Dick Allen, Mark Schoenemann, Bob Albanese, C. J. Romero, Ray Thomas, Al Mazoch, Dr. Paul Ogden and Bobby Reynoso.

This is a great milestone in our Council’s history, and we should all be proud of what was accomplished. Years from now people will point to this project and say it’s what turned the tide in the local culture wars. God bless.

Ron Gay, FSD
Grand Knight

from the KC National website (6/9/11): http://www.kofc.org/un/en/news/releases/detail/charitable_contributions2011.html

Organization donated $154 million and 70 million service hours in 2010

The Knights of Columbus announced that it set new all-time records for charitable donations and volunteer service hours in 2010. Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson released the results of the Catholic fraternal organization’s annual survey in a presentation to its board of directors and state leaders, meeting June 8-12 at its international headquarters.

The results of the K of C’s Annual Survey of Fraternal Activity for the year ending Dec. 31, 2010 indicate that total charitable contributions reached $154,651,852—exceeding the previous year’s total by more than $3 million. The figure includes $29,083,191 donated by the Supreme Council and $125,568,661 in contributions from the organization’s state and local affiliates.

Sixty percent of the contributions were for projects at the community level, many involving youth activities. Large donations during the period included $1 million distribution for a Food for Families program and $1 million for an effort in cooperation with Project Medishare to give prosthetics to Haitian children who lost limbs during the January 2010 earthquake.

The survey also indicated that the quantity of volunteer service hours to charitable causes by Knights grew to 70,049,433—an increase of 797,507 hours compared to the 2009 total. Among the service programs receiving significant K of C volunteer hours were Habitat for Humanity, Special Olympics, and the Global Wheelchair Mission. There were also more than 428,000 K of C blood donations during the year.

Cumulative figures show that during the past decade, the Knights of Columbus has donated $1.406 billion to charity, and provided more than 653 million hours of volunteer service in support of charitable initiatives.

“The Knights of Columbus significantly expanded its outreach to those in need last year, and will continue to do because of the economic problems facing so many people in our communities,” said Supreme Knight Carl Anderson. “Despite the fact that the economy has also created hardship for many of our own members, Knights have stepped up as never before to meet the needs of their neighbors. We have taken very seriously the fact that we are our brother’s keeper.”

The Knights of Columbus was founded by Father Michael J. McGivney, a New Haven parish priest, in 1882. It has grown into the world’s largest lay Catholic organization, with more than 1.8 million members throughout North and Central America, the Philippines, the Caribbean islands and Poland.

 

Knights of Columbus waged successful defense on East and West Coast cases

June 14, 2011 – Flag Day

(NEW HAVEN, CONN.) – The United States Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance, thus ending a seven year battle involving two separate cases, one originating in California and the other in New Hampshire. The Knights of Columbus, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, played a key role in defending the Pledge as a “defendant intervenor” in both cases.

“The Knights of Columbus is proud to have played a major role in successfully defending the constitutionality of the words ‘under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance,” Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson said. “We were instrumental in persuading Congress to add those words to the Pledge in 1954, and they express a fundamental belief that we have held as a nation since our founding, that we ‘are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights.’ The notion that this somehow violates the First Amendment has now been soundly rejected by both the First and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeal, and the Supreme Court has now allowed both decisions to stand. It is a victory for common sense.”

The Ninth Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the Pledge in March 2010 and the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the California case in March 2011. The First Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the Pledge in November 2011 and the Supreme Court denied certiorari in that case yesterday, June 13, 2011.