January 2011 Anchor Newsletter

GRAND KNIGHT’S MESSAGE




Brother Knights:

We have now embarked on a new year of Council activities at 551 and with God’s blessings and as good fortune as we had last year, we should be bigger & better in 2011!! Many functions are being planned for 2011. We are always open for suggestions, so if you have a new one, please feel free to bring it up at out meeting on February 3. (There are no dumb ideas.)

My sincere thanks & gratitude go out to the members who worked so hard last year to promote and participate in our various activities and fundraisers. What a great job we did!! From my past experience, I have every right to feel confident that this group (newcomers welcome as well) will continue to do an excellent job!!

Trusting that we may all continue to cooperate and enjoy God’s blessings and success, I remain



Sincerely and fraternally yours,



Mike



RECENT DEATHS

Unfortunately, we lost four members in the last three months. They are Brother Thomas “Tim” Hallinan who had 60 years service, Brother Ralph Conroy also with 60 years service, Brother and PGK Richard “Dick/Big Dutchie” Epple with 59 years service and Brother Medford Ostrum with 56 years service. These were four outstanding Knights and gentlemen, please keep them and their families in your prayers.



FEAST OF ST. BRIGID DANCE—THIRD ANNUAL

The Daughter’s of Isabella will again be sponsoring the St. Brigid’s Day Dance on Saturday, January 29, 2011. It will be held in our upstairs ballroom, starting at 7 PM. Tickets are $20 per person and include Irish foods, Irish drinks, draft beer, wine, and soda. Entertainment will be provided by the Irish band, Full Kilt. Also available will be 50/50 drawings, Chinese Auction and other prizes. All proceeds benefit the St. Vincent DePaul Assumption Chapel Food Pantry and other charitable activities of the Daughters of Isabella. The last two dances have been

quite memorable and this one promises to be the same. Get your tickets today at the Council Home or by calling Lori Tomlinson at 814-684-1426.



ST. VALENTINE’S DAY DANCE

Our annual St. Valentine’s Day Dance will be held on Saturday, February 12, 2011. It will also be held in our upstairs ballroom starting with doors open at 6:30 PM. This is a fundraiser for our Home Association and the upkeep of our building. Show how much of a true Knight you are by attending this fundraiser. Tickets for this event are $15 per person and include DJ entertainment, buffet dinner, draft beer, wine & soda. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) there will be NO karaoke this year. Brother Kevin Byrne said last year of GK Moloney

“Mike, your singing had every dog & cat in the neighborhood throwing up at our back door.” There will also be a Chinese Auction available, 50/50 drawings and door prizes. If you or anyone you know can contribute a prize for any of the activities, please contact Brother Kevin Byrne at 515-0567 to offer your assistance. This is another enjoyable event, so please consider attending!!! Tickets are available at the Council Home or by calling the Club

at 942-6262.



FREE THROW CONTEST

We will be hosting our Free Throw Contest on Saturday, January 29, 2011 at St. Mary’s Hall in Altoona. The free throw contest is open to any children ages 10-14, as of January 1, 2011. 10-11 year olds will shoot at 1:30, 12-13 year olds will shoot at 2:30 and 14 year olds will shoot at 3:30. Pre-registration is preferred but walk-ins are welcome. To register, please contact Frank Goss at 329-6094 or frankgoss@atlanticbb.net, Bill Crawford at 502-7413 or Terry Anderson at 932-0465. It is open to any and all children in those age groups, they do NOT have to

be children of members. All winners at the local level will advance to the District Final to be hosted by the Bellwood Council in late February. Winners at the District Level will advance to the State Finals. Last year we

had a representative of our Council finish Second at the State Level.



CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS PARTY

Our annual Children’s Christmas Party was a huge success. This was our best one yet with 48 children in attendance. It seems to get bigger & better every year. Food and refreshments were enjoyed by the children and members who were there. Santa Claus, presents and an antique sleigh really made it a memorable day. Thanks to all who helped with this special event. Special thanks to Kim Moloney for all the time and effort she spent in organizing the entire affair. Also, thanks to John & Robin Kessler for use of the sleigh and to all those who

helped set-up and then clean-up after the party. Brother Glenn Lunger took a ton of pictures and many of those

will be uploaded to our Council website (www.knightsofcolumbuscouncil551.blogspot.com) in the near future.



FOOTBALL SWEEPSTAKES TICKETS

As mentioned in last month’s Anchor, we sold 130 tickets for this fundraiser. So far, we’ve had five winners from Council 551 with the highest prize being $300 on a ticket sold by GK Moloney. Once again, thanks for selling & buying and congratulations to our winners!!! We hope to sell twice as many next year!!



BOWLING LANES

We are trying to “revamp” our two bowling lanes in the basement. The machines need a little bit of work and the basement as a whole needs a good cleaning and a fresh coat of paint in most areas. We would really like to see

this completed by the Fall of 2011. We have decided to use our monthly ticket money and donations for the cost

of this work. We currently have $400.00 set aside for this project and will need approximately $2000.00 more to complete what we need to do. So, we are asking our Brother Knights who have previously enjoyed good times at our lanes to consider making a donation to this cause. Please forward your donation (no donation is too small) to KofC, Attn: Bowling Lanes, PO Box 711, Altoona, PA 16603. GK Moloney has started us out with a $50 donation on his behalf and an additional donation of $50 in memory of his father, PGK John Moloney. Many

good times were had in the basement, so please help if you can. There is also a donation jar on the bar at the Club!!



DISTRICT 74 MEETING

The Knights of Columbus District 74 semi-annual meeting will be held at our Council Home on Wednesday, January 19 at 7 PM. Our District Deputy, Bill Erbeck, will be leading the meeting and representatives from the local Councils will be in attendance. All officers of Council 551 are strongly encouraged to attend. Let’s show our District Deputy a good turnout!!



KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS MEMBERS RETREAT WEEKEND

Under the leadership of Father Aron Maghsoudi, Council 551 will be hosting a retreat for any Knights from the Altoona area. The retreat will be on Saturday, March 26 through Sunday, March 27 at St. John the Baptist Retreat Center in beautiful New Baltimore, PA. Please see the attached insert for more details. We hope to make this a successful event and strengthen our relationship with God and Church as a result.



IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

TODAY……………………..ORDER YOUR TICKETS FOR OUR UPCOMING DANCES!!!!

January 17……………………………………………..Martin Luther King, Jr Day

January 24……………………………………………..March for Life, Washington, DC

January 29……………………………………………..Free Throw Contest 1 PM

January 29……………………………………………..St. Brigid’s Day Dance, 7 PM

February 12……………………………………………Valentine’s Day Dance, 6:30 PM

February 14……………………………………………Valentine’s Day

February 21……………………………………………President’s Day

March 26-27…………………………………………..Knights of Columbus Retreat Weekend