Dallas Diocese Chapter August 27th Meeting Notes

Sep

Dallas Diocese Chapter Meeting Notes

Council 799 Meeting Hall

President’s Report (Patrick Vlk) – Welcome and we are still looking for sites to host the next 2 meetings – November 19^th and March 25^th. Contact Patrick at pvlk@mexcor.com.

Global Wheelchair Mission (presented by Jorge Ruiz for Bill Weber) – Goal for this year is to have 100% participation by all 63 Councils at least donating $150 (the cost of 1 wheelchair). That would amount to $9,450 plus the proceeds from at least 14 Wheelchair Sundays conducted in the parishes. Bill Weber would be happy to help you coordinate with your Pastor. Bill can be reached at yankeeweb@tx.rr.com or 214-405-8023.

Membership Report (Jim Kowalski) – The new fraternal year has not started off great. Dallas Diocese is second from the bottom in the state in recruiting. Some Strategies for improvement:
1. “Just Ask”
2. Use programs or events (fish fry’s, pancake breakfasts, etc.) as recruiting opportunities.
3. Jim will take the lead of DD’s on which Councils to visit to offer help and ideas for recruiting.
4. Jim developing an email communication on recruiting.
5. Membership chairmen should NEVER have “No report”!
6. It’s never been easier to sign up new members. Use your phone and the “Join” page to input information instantly.

Emergency Relief (Ben Oani) – We were fortunate that hurricane Laura does not appear to be as bad as was forecast. If you know of any brother in need as a result of catastrophe or natural disaster please contact Ben.

Report of the Fourth Degree (Pat Conway)
- The new District Master should be appointed this week.
- There will be two upcoming Fourth Degree Exemplifications. Both are at 5052 from 10AM to Noon and Fort Worth will be on September 19^th while Dallas will be on October 10^th. There will be zero cost for Clergy – including Deacons. Planning on Bishop Kelly being present.
- A gold “Master Sword” has been formally presented to Bishop Kelly.

K of C Bob Stras Basketball Tournament (Jake Fleischer) – 58^th Annual Tournament has been cancelled for 2020 at the request of the host schools and the UIL in the interest of safety for the players, coaches and fans. We will be back fir the 59^th Annual next year. Any Council or assembly that had budgeted funds for advertising in the Tournament Program should re-allocate those funds to another worthy cause (i.e. Wheelchair Mission, RSVP, etc.).

Seminarian Support (John Little) – We have 77 Seminarians to support this year and we need to have at least 2 sponsors for each Seminarian. Need to get 100% of the Councils participating – last year we had 55%. We know this will be a tough year for fundraising but this is a critical initiative for the DDC. Make sure John is in the loop on all checks submitted (jlittle@lpf-law.com) and follow the instructions in his monthly RSVP updates.

Committee of 1000 (Mike Green) – Still coordinating the turn over of this year’s funds to Father Zach. Do not return any leftover pins – continue to sell and turn in funds.

Insurance Report (KC for John Regan) – If you see a parishioner who has a special needs child, please go out of your way to make that man a Knight. Our Insurance arm has a very special trust program for parents of special needs children to care for them even if they outlive the parents.

Past Diocesan Deputy (Roy Rabenaldt) – We can’t just bury our heads in the sand because of Covid-19! We have to be proactive. Our parishes and our Brother Knights need us. Continue to find ways to conduct activities and events even if they are on a smaller scale (i.e. Wheelchair Drives). People are sitting at home bored and lazy – this is our opportunity to get them engaged with the Knights and the good works we do!

Also, conducted the Annual Dallas Diocese Chapter Elections. The Following Officers were elected for the 2020/21 fraternal year:
- President: Patrick Vlk
- Vice President: Jorge Ruiz
- Treasurer: Rich Gehring
- Secretary: Jake Fleischer

Diocesan Deputy (Mike Courtney)
1. Reinforced Roy’s message. Urged Councils to look for opportunities to be proactive. Be of service to the parish and community. Make sure you are working closely with your Pastor. Be in close contact with your members.
2. On September 10^th there will be a live Exemplification at Council 8954. It will be attended by the State Deputy and we would like a good turnout.
3. Ed Diaz is heading up a Hispanic Initiative for the diocese focusing on Hispanic Knights and ways in which we can make their membership and participation more meaningful and productive and how we can attract more Hispanic men to the Knights. He needs names of 2 Knights from each Council who speak Spanish and who would be willing to participate in this effort.

Chaplain’s Report (Father Joseph) – Continued the theme of staying in contact with Brother Knights and Parishioners. One of the initiatives in his parish has been to call every parishioner to see if they are ok and need anything. One of the questions they asked was “Would you like a visit from a priest?” He spoke about one of these visits to a widow of a Knight who felt she was separated and forgotten. We cannot let this happen – especially to our own!