August 2016

 

5. The Opening Ode was not sung.  Motion made, seconded and approved to dispense with opening ode.

 

5. Chaplain’s Message – No report due to Fr. Diegelman not present.   Fr. Bob isn’t feeling well and has indicated that his health will prevent him from continuing to serve as our council’s Chaplain.   Trustees will be discussing matter and will offer plan to GK as to a replacement.

 

5. Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting – Don Williams:
   • Motion made, seconded and minutes approved.

 

5. Report of Admissions Committee and Reading of Applications – Chris Cushing
   • No applications offered.  Two of our most recent 1^st Degree Knights, Brother Daniel Golombisky and Martin Kirwan were present and received a round of applause from the council.

 

5. Balloting for Membership.  None.

 

5. Grand Knight’s Report –GK Andy Sciacca:

 

• Roadside cleanup on 16JUL16 with breakfast at 8:00 AM.   Brother Art brought great breakfast of sausage, eggs, and English muffins and prepared coffee.  Took approximately an hour to do the trash pickup.  Event is conducted every other month.  Next roadside trash pickup will be in September.
• 1^st Degree ceremony was conducted by our council on July 16^th.   Brothers Leonard, Kirwan and Golombisky were brought into the Order.
• Supreme Webinar was available on 23JUL16.
• 5^th Sunday Rosary was conducted on July 30-31^st.   Twenty attendees across the 3 Masses.  In future all Rosaries will be conducted within the Church.
• District 5 and District 10 will be hosting the upcoming State Convention next May, as it will be held locally at the Sheraton Imperial in RTP.   Post meeting note – general kick off meeting was held on 10AUG16 at Holy Cross Church from 6 to 9 PM to do planning for the event.    Our GK is seeking committee from council to assist him in contributing to this event.
• Ice Cream Social will be held after the 5:00 PM Mass on 13AUG16 and after the 11:00 AM Mass on 14AUG16 in conjunction with Supreme’s Family week and the birthday of our founder Fr. Michael J. McGivney.   Estimating 30 guests will attend each of these socials.
• Our International Council Service Program Award will be presented at each Mass weekend of 13AUG and 14AUG.   PGK Chris Cushing may have the honors of presenting this to St. Matthew parishioners.    Our PGK will discuss with Fr. Bob and Fr. Thanh about permanently displaying this award in the Church Commons.
• Veteran’s Administration Bingo will be conducted on Wednesday, 17AUG16 at Durham VA hospital.  Gather at 2^nd Floor CLC at 6:30.
• Next possible 1^st Degree ceremony would be 21AUG16.  Currently there are no candidates so degree will not be held.
• Brother Tom not ready to conduct BBQ fundraiser as previously planned.  Instead pancake breakfast OpLAMB fundraiser will be held Sunday, 28AUG16 between the Masses.  Advertising will begin now.   PowerPoint presentation will be created and run on a loop in the Parish Center to help solicit donations for our support of those will intellectual disabilities. 
• Council calendar at bottom of these minutes.

 

5. Treasurer’s Report – Mike Memrick

 

5. Financial Secretary’s Report – Mike O’Kane

 

5. Auditor’s and Trustee Report – Art Saraphis:
   • Official Supreme audit due on 15AUG16 has been completed with FS and Treasurer’s books balancing.

 

5. Chancellor’s Report – Dave Kuboushek:
   • No report.

 

5. Advocate’s Report – Chris Cushing.
   • Reminded council that the Diocese of Raleigh actually owns the shed and they pay the insurance on it.  Advised council to make no changes to the locks on the shed without conferring with pastor and Diocese officials.

 
 

5. Service Program Reports – Deputy Grand Knight Ken Johnston
   • Church and Council Director positions still open.   GK wants volunteers rather than having to appoint someone.  GK and DGK are presenting filling those positions.  GK will send out email containing the duties of those two directorships.

 

• Council Director – (Position Open – DGK Ken Johnston covering): No report.

 

• Church Director – (Position Open – GK Andy Sciacca covering): No Report.

 

• Community Director – Joel Lipsey: Not present. 
  • GK indicates that no current events from Special Olympics at this time.  The bike project work will commence in October.

 

• OPLAMB Director  Chris Cushing
  • Our storefront collections in June and July totaled $1,827.

 

• Family Director – Dave Kuboushek.
  • No candidate for Family of the month but noted that last weekend no priest was present to Celebrate the Mass at 11:00 AM and our Brother Tom Clifton served as the Celebrant for a Communion Service.
• Culture of Life – Paul Hilchey
  • Baby bottle campaign will be begin on 17SEP16, with announcements starting on Masses 10SEP16
• Youth Director – Willie Towell:  Not present.  No report.
  •  DGK indicates that both Soccer and Free Throw contest kits have arrived.    Soccer event will be held on 17SEP  in conjunction with TYM kickoff event.
• Membership – Ken Johnston:   No report.
• Parish Council – Willie Towell:  Not present.  No report.
• Public Relations – Mike Peters. 
  • Has received an abridged version of our International Council award submission from Brother Don.  Mike is working with local, state and national media outlets to publicize our receipt of this award.

 

5. 4^th Degree Report – SK Dave Kuboushek:
   • At recent Officer’s Initiation ceremony on 27JUL16 which was conducted at Holy Cross Church there were 46 attendees.   Food was catered by Northern High School’s Culinary Arts program and was highly appreciated by all who attended given its modest cost of $20 per person.   Our Assembly (#3365) and the Divine Mercy Assembly (#3005) from Chapel Hill provided wine.   We will likely do this ceremony next year here at St. Matthew using same caterers. 
   • FC Walter Preddy handed out two Form 4 applications to Brothers Scot Catlin and his son Sergei who have intentions of becoming 4^th Degree Knights.

 

5. Unfinished and New Business
   • Our Warden Walter Kuehn has completed his inventory of who has keys.  7 brothers have some or all keys.  Many are PGKs.
   • GK spoke about the Supreme Council’s Cross of Christ Fund Raiser.    Package of 10 Crosses which are manufactured by Middle East Christians cost $5.   Benefits Christians in Middle East.   Council will order 10 sets.
   • Baby Bottle campaign will begin 17SEP16.
   • Next Roadside Cleanup is 17SEP16.
   • TYM Kickoff Event with Knights cooking hot dogs/hamburgers and conducting Soccer Challenge will be 17SEP16.
   • Council’s 1^st Degree team was awarded Knight of the Month certificates by GK Andy Sciacca.
   • FS Mike O’Kane has received two communications to our council which due to time constraints were not read at the meeting.
     • First was a thank you from one of the class of 2016 graduates:
     • Second was card from Louie and Ana Camacho family who recently had a ramp repaired for them by Brother Mike Memrick.  In their gratitude they also donated $50 to our council.

 

5. Field Agent’s Report – Joe Smolenski
   • Brother Joe is our new Field Agent and introduced himself to our council. 
   • His family has been in the funeral home business for 3 generations.
   • Asked all council members to review their policies with him from other vendors to make sure they have the coverage and benefits which they believe they have.

 

5. District Deputy’s Report – Tim Hall
   • Reminds Knights to look at the KnightLine publication to stay informed about upcoming events and requirements for council’s and their officers. 
   • Asks us to keep our social media and online resources up to date as our youngest members are particularly sensitive to them not being and we want to attract younger members.
   • Supreme Council’s Domestic Church initiative will be a new line item in SP-7 form.
   • Asks us to get our SP-7 form in early.  No harm in submitting it even in April.   Expect all council’s to be asked to supply them at next May’s State Convention.   Little known fact that State Council supplies a gift to the first council in state to submit their SP-7 form.
   • Regarding next May’s State Convention it will be the first time that 2 Districts will be simultaneously hosting the convention.

 

5. Good of the Order
   • SK John Toohil,  Fr. Bob, GK’s father John Sciacca who just completed 5^th round of chemotherapy, SK Mike O’Kane and Brother Joe Marro and family (wife is in hospital and daughter has medical issue also). 
   • Ralph Cooper’s brother Robert Cooper, who was recently diagnosed with bone cancer.
   • Several State Officers have family members (e.g., wives) who we should keep in our prayers.

 

5. Lecturer’s Class – SK Paul Hilchey:    Deferred time to Brother Don Williams so he could update council on his recent trip to Toronto to receive council’s International Council award.   His reflections:

 

• First and foremost – it is a celebration of Catholicism and Knights of Columbus.   If you aren’t Catholic and in the hotel you must be literally overwhelmed by it.

• Always 1^st week of August.  Convention moves around – next year it is in St. Louis.  

• Clergy are awarded highest honors and respect.   They receive great love, respect and appreciation.  

• Most attendees arrive over the weekend and depart on Thursday or Friday and take tours or other sightseeing prior to the convention starting.   Host council (in this case it was the Ontario state council) arrange these and there are several to choose from. 

• State officers attending are most likely funded by their State council budgets. 

• Many attendees have attended the convention for decades – most state officers attend throughout their tenures in office (from Warden through to PSD and beyond).    It’s like old home week, as attendees reconnect with Knights from other states. 

• Convention officially begins at 9:30 AM on Tuesday and concludes with brief morning session after the Mass on Thursday. 

• Each day begins with Mass.    Very formal dress, lengthy processional and recessionals, professional choir.   Highlight of each day were the Masses. 

• Mass and primary convention meeting held in same room – grand ballroom.   Dais has 100’s of chairs for Supreme officers and highest ranking clergy.   Most clergy (priests or deacons) sit in general audience in center at front. 

• In attendance in Toronto were cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests and deacons from all over the world – including Philippines, Syria, Iraq, and Vatican.  Fr. Lesik was there.  He remembered St. Matthew, our recruiting event and spoke warmly of his time with us. 

• Our state conventions generally mirror most of the protocols used at the Supreme convention.  For example, recording how many delegates each state or territory has.   Each area can have as many as 2 delegates at Supreme Convention.   In short, Supreme convention proceedings can be just as boring as State convention.   While Knights are engaged on convention matters, wives typically have luncheon or other planned activity.   Christine attended ladies luncheon on Wednesday through invitation of State Deputy’s wife.    Cost was $80.   No bargain for the food and entertainment offered.   Christine indicated was treated well by the State Council’s wives, but this Supreme luncheon event was overpriced.   Ladies trade souvenirs from wives of other states.   Christine got a ½ dozen small gifts.   The NC council distributed Moravian cookies.   State pins are popular trading items.   An attendee from Quebec approached me and traded my NC state pin for her Ontario pin. 

• Nominations for Supreme Directors.   These are paid positions.   Must be nominated on, seconded and then voted upon.   Highly qualified candidates.   Seconding process is ridiculous in our each state’s seconding is recorded.

• Alcohol.   No socials sponsored by Supreme.   Any cocktail parties were in rooms sponsored by attendees.   I suspect some states do this regularly and I’m not in the loop given I was a newcomer. 

• As invited guest of the Supreme council, I was offered hotel reservations for 5 days ($138), air fare for 2 and 2 tickets to the State’s dinner.   Christine and I were only there for parts of 2 days (Tuesday and Wednesday).   We arrived around 7:30 AM in Toronto and departed around 9:00 PM the following evening.   Supreme Council covered registration cost for the convention for both of us and secured white dinner jacket tuxedo for the States dinner.    I secured by registration packet from a VIP room and my reserved tuxedo from Supreme Secretary’s office (I had provided them sizing information the prior week).   Supreme staff was most gracious and offered great service as an international council award recipient. 

• States Dinner is quite a show.    Other than clergy, all men dressed in white dinner jacket tuxedos.   More than 2500 attendees bussed from Convention hotel to site of dinner – AllStream Centre, because it was only place in Toronto that could sit that many guests in one seating.   Transportation started at 5 and ended at 7:00.   Figure 8 guest per table.   NC Council required 2 ½ tables.   Called States Dinner because each state or territory gets recognized with their own state song.  Professional singers.   Flag waving when those on the dais enter and as your state is recognized.  A very ritualized affair.  Bagpipes preceded the dignitaries.    Supreme provides flags for each table.   Takes well more than an hour for each state to be recognized.  Everyone sings along.   Food is being served entire time – multiple courses.   Food not so different than what you might expect at 4^th Degree Exemplification.   Cost was $60 per person.    Multiple dignitaries spoke – Supreme Knight, Supreme Chaplain, keynote speakers, Sisters of the Poor mother superior.   Recipient of $100,000 award. 

• Award ceremony always held afternoon of 2^nd day.  Scheduled for 2 hours – actually completed in about 1.5 hours.   Must have been 100 awards distributed.   Open to wives, families.  Most awards given for agents or State Deputies who met or exceeded  Insurance quotas, membership quotas.   Only 6 service program awards – they were given to GK (or representative).   State Deputy and his wife processed across stage with GK and his family.   Award handed to recipient by State officer (picture), then walks across stage to Carl Anderson (picture), then exit.   Emcee read an abbreviated version of each award recipient’s submission.    Service program awards physically largest awards given (exception was framed print given to Family of the Year). 

• If you think you would like to attend, you’d have to pay your own costs but I believe State Council would welcome your attendance as part of NC Council delegation. Tentative council calendar:

 

5. Closing Prayer

 

5. Closing Ode and Adjournment – Motion made, 2^nd and voted on passed to dispense with Ode. Meeting adjourned at 9:17 by GK Andy Sciacca.

 

5. Important Links:

 
Tar Heel Knight: HTTPS://APP.BOX.COM/S/X19SOI0KA1TUBLTD73R71TEKO3FL16R2
Fathers For Good:  WWW.FATHERSFORGOOD.ORG/EN/INDEX.HTML
Golden Plume: MASTERS NEWSLETTER APR 2015
Knightline: May 2015 issue of Knightline
St. Matthews Catholic Church: WWW.SAINTMATTHEWSCHURCHES.ORG
Council 13812 Web Site: WWW.KOFC13812.ORG
 
  Upcoming Calendar:
 
  Council 13812: August 2016 Events  
 
Council 13812: September 2016 Events  
 
Council 13812: October 2016 Events