November 2010 Newsletter

GRAND KNIGHT’S MESSAGE


My Dear Brother Knights:

Another year is quickly coming to a close and yet another fine one it was here at 551. Membership is up as well as meeting attendance. We also completed many improvements at our Council Home as well as the rental units. This was made possible by YOU! I would like to thank all who help out on a regular basis. A lot of hard work has been done in the past year and obviously we are headed in the right direction. Special thanks to Brother Tom Strunk for organizing all the Degrees that were held throughout the year---Thanks Tom!!

Outlook for 2011: St. Brigid’s Day Dance, Valentine’s Day Dance, more Degrees, annual car wash, hoagie sales, family picnic at DelGrosso’s Park, Pirate Game bus trip, annual golf tournament, a Knights of Columbus Family Breakfast Mass and I’m sure I’m missing a few planned events. We have a lot of younger members again with smaller children who are active in the Council. Like it was 30 years ago—remember? A family picnic is the best way to show our appreciation for those families!!

As the Christmas Season fast approaches, please remember to keep Christ in your minds & hearts.



Fraternally,

Mike



NEW MEMBERS

Congratulations to the following new members who took their First & Second Degrees in September here at our Council: Chris Berger, Paul Kantoski & Mike Fleck. Glad to have you aboard and look forward to seeing you around the Council and especially at our monthly meetings!!



CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS PARTY

Our annual Children’s Christmas Party will be held at the Council Home on Sunday, December 5th from noon until 3 PM in the upstairs ballroom. The party is open to our members’ children and grandchildren. Please sign up at the Council home by November 30, so we can get our shopping list to Santa in time for the party. Please stop by, call the Council Home at 942-6262 or call GK Moloney at 946-0868 to sign up. We need to know the age and gender of each child attending. Special thanks to Kim Moloney for making this party a reality. Santa Claus has already been notified and will be in attendance as well. Again, please sign up no later than November 30.



THIRD DEGREE

On October 17, we hosted an exemplification of the Third Degree at our Council Home. A total of 30 gentlemen received the honors of the Third Degree on that day. Our Council was represented by the following 10 members: Chris Berger, Denny Irwin, Charles Kelly, Shawn Kelly, Ray Kennedy, Brian Kirkpatrick, Tony Lombardo, Glen Lunger, Shane Tomlinson, and Stu Trotter. Congratulations!!!



FUNDRAISING EFFORTS

Football Tickets: We sold 130 Football Sweepstakes tickets for a net profit to the Council of $320. Thanks to all who bought or sold these tickets.

Hoagie Sale: We sold 700 hoagies at our most recent hoagie sale for a net profit of approx $1200. Thanks to all members and their families who bought or sold the hoagies with a special thanks to all those who met to make the hoagies. We had just enough help and were able to make the hoagies in just over 2 hours time.

C.O.A.L. Tickets: If you haven’t bought or returned your tickets yet, please do so as soon as you can. Our final turn in date is November 22.

All profits from these fundraisers go into our accounts to help with our charitable activities throughout the year. Again, thanks to all those who participated in any of these endeavors.



COUNCIL HARDWARE

If you need to borrow “anything” from our Council Home, you must contact our Home Association President, Joe Tomlinson, at 943-8385 and get his ‘OK’ before taking anything out of the building. Our members are welcome to use our equipment; we just ask that you contact Joe before taking anything. Please return any borrowed items in a timely manner. “Do not just come in and help yourself.” We simply cannot afford to lose any of our “stuff!!”



FREE THROW CONTEST

Our Free Throw Contest for kids ages 10-14 will be held in late January. More details next month!!



ANNUAL DUES

Please keep an eye on your mailbox!! Your annual dues notice should be received in early December. Please pay your dues promptly so that we can meet our obligations to the State and Supreme Councils in a timely manner. If you have any questions or concerns when you receive your dues notice, please contact our Financial Secretary, Frank Goss, at 329-6094 or via email at frankgoss@atlanticbb.net.



DID YOU KNOW?

Our 10th Supreme Knight was Luke E. Hart who served from 1954 to 1964. Brother Hart served as a Supreme Officer for nearly 42 years, first as a Supreme Advocate, then as Supreme Knight. He launched the Catholic Advertising Program to “correct false notions about our faith,” and coordinated funding for the microfilming of more than 40,000 Vatican Library Documents, making them available to scholars outside the Vatican for the first time. Hart modernized the business operations of the Order as membership increased to more than 1 million and insurance in force surpassed $1 Billion. He successfully lobbied for the election of Supreme Officers by the Board of Directors rather than by the General Convention. He was the first Supreme Knight to move to New Haven and actually resided in the headquarters building until his death in 1964. Hart is also remembered for his leadership in the getting the words “under God” added to the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance. In fact, Hart presented President Kennedy with a framed copy of the Pledge in commemoration of the Order’s role in the addition of “under God” to the Pledge in 1961.



Dates to Remember

November 25……………………………Happy Thanksgiving!!

November 29……………………………First Day of Deer Season—Good Luck Hunters!!

November 30……………………………Deadline to sign-up for the Children’s Christmas Party

December 2………………………………Regular Monthly Meeting at 8 PM.

December 5………………………………Children’s Christmas Party, Noon—3 PM

December 25……………………………Merry Christmas!!

December 26……………………………Happy Kwanzaa

January 1………………………………Happy New Year’s and the Solemnity of Mary.