Organizational Meeting June 28, 2025
Meeting Minutes
NOTE: Meeting slides presented online at KofCDallas.org.
Ben Oani called meeting to order at 8:31am
- Opening Prayer (Ben Oani for Father Joseph Mehan)
- Pledge of Allegiance / National Anthem (Kevin McGillis – 3rd Texas District Master)
Welcome / Opening Remarks (Ben Oani DDC President / Mike Courtney, Diocesan Deputy)
– Explained organization mtg, held earlier than usual to prepare for upcoming year
– Mtg aims to provide info to help councils get started effectively.
– Agenda including presentations from state representatives, insurance and investments and board of excellence.
– Acknowledged or meeting hosts: Grand Knight (Council 1162): TJ Knight and Paster / Chaplain Fr Joseph.
DDC Achievements:
– Celebrating the DDC success in membership goals: with 95% achievement and over 600 new members.
– Membership is not just about bringing in the numbers – but the right numbers.
– The Diocese is 103% to its charity goal with the plans to return a significant amount ($70K) to Bishop Burns
– The American Wheelchair mission is highlighted, with the Diocese leading the state and nation in contributions.
– The Spanish Initiative Program is praised for its continued growth and leadership under Nick Flores and team.
– Councils encouraged to pick one thing and do it better than anybody else.
– Formal meeting will be followed by working lunch and Q&A session with Program director’s.
Welcome:
– State Officers: Ron Alonso (State Deputy) and Reed Fontenot (State Warden)
– Newest District Deputy John Floaty introduced.
Texas State Presentation (SD Ron Alonso)
– Congratulated all new Grand Knights and Financial Secretaries.
– Shared kit information in the form of the Fraternal Calendar, Fraternal Excellence, and Protocol Handbook.
– Ron shared his experiences and anecdotes.
– Introduced the State Officers w/ pictures
– Bishop Michael Mulvey (State Chaplain / Corpus Christi Diocese)
– PSD Alfredo Vela (Supreme Dir – looking to serve 3rd term)
– Texas membership
– Texas completed “Circle of Honor” (100% Goal) (over 5300 new members) in May.
– So close to “Pinnacle” (120% Goal). (Texas jurisdiction established 1904 – Achieved Pinnacle only 3 times).
[Presentation Break (Welcome & blessing from Fr Joseph A. Mehan (Pastor – St Michael’s the Archangel – Garland TX / DDC Chaplain)]
– Do not use form 100’s for new members (too long to process and only used now for transfers).
– Use member management (accessible by Grand Knight and Financial Secretary).
– Texas is #4 (Philippines is #1 – After joining 1st degree only (each degree of membership requires recruitment of new knights).
– Hurricane Beryl affected membership for Galveston-Houston Diocese.
– Texas Charities
– Texas #1 in charities for the order ($12.5 Million)
– New State Charity Pin introduced.
– Charity goal is $10 / member on council roster.
– Dues should not be used or not solely used for fund raising:
– Supreme Per Capita ~$9
– State Pre Capita $10
– Charity goal per member $10
Total assessments / Charity $29 <== minimum member dues.
Dues should cover assessments and charity goal.
– Mike Courtney requested councils budget for 120% of the charity goal upfront.
%70 percent of member charity goal goes back to Bishop Burns
Remaining 30%:
part of charity goal goes towards Special Olympics.
part goes to emergency response.
– Star Council (Guarantees Council is in good health)
– DDC – 26 Star Councils (23 confirmed + 3 pending). / 200 star councils in the state (Record is 218)
– Philippines again beat Texas with Star Council (but w/o Safe Environment).
– Dr Dean Hanson – introduced as the “Star Council” program leader reporting to State Deputy.
Commented:
Councils encouraged to make their achievements a big deal
Advertise their activities within the parish, ambo announcements, church bulletins.
– Forms 185s (Officer Slate) and 365s (SEP officers) due now (Before June 30).
– Other forms for programs were also reviewed especially SP7.
– Special Olympics forms now due by June 30 (not January).
– K of C logo has changed (originally 5 bars in middle is now 3) – be mindful of logo when having council shirts made.
– Footbal Frenzy tickets coming soon – helps keep per capita lower (money does not support NFL).
– State Golf tournament in Beaumont.
– Silver Rose (1 rose / 1 life) – Supreme has 8 Silver Roses spanning across the continent. 7 of them come to Texas (to Laredo). Walk to the International bridge and transfer to bishop on the other side.
– State Cornhole Tournament in Halettsville.
– Lasty, Councils should look at implementing CORE… Many members look outside the knights to fill this faith formation gap.
Break 1: (10 minutes)
DDC Programs (Ben Oani -Facilitated)
All programs (including featured programs and directors) are also online at KofCDallas.org
Pro Life (Tom Clark)
– Hike for Life: dates: McKinney (Oct 4), Dallas White Rock Lake (Oct 11), Richardson / Garland (Oct 18).
Return of the Dallas Flagpole Hill Hike – help with St Joseph Residence (Home for Aged) – June 26…
Hike for Life has raised over $1M over the past 10 years.
Membership (Reed Fontenot)
– Recruiting the right men to join. 646 members to date (83 for June)
– 32 out of 50 councils have exceeded their membership goal.
– 545 is goal for next year (but Diocese is going for 650)
– Schedule out CUFS for the remainder of the year and get them on the DDC website.
Safe Environment (Bryan Finley / Jorge Ruiz)
– 2 programs:
-K of C Compliance (4 officers/directors)
-Diocese Compliance (All active members servicing public / parishioners).
– Church Ministry Compliance through Diocesan Program
– DDC compliance takes care of Knights not in other ministries.
– Safe Environment compliance for the council required for Star Council.
– Jorge Ruiz explained the SEP Website
Committee 1000 (Mike Green)
– No report (director not present – see program materials at DDC Website).
Fourth Degree Report (WDM Kevin McGillis)
– Now format Exemplification rollout on Flag June 14 at Mary Immaculate in Farmer’s Branch
104 from Dallas / Ft Worth Diocese + 3 from Austin + 2 District 5: 1 Midland + 1 Abilene.
Many dignitaries attended including the Worthy Supreme Master Mike McCusker, VSM Pat Conway, and SD Ron Alonzo.
– Kevin reported on several other upcoming 4 degree events.
– Needs 186 forms for all new Assembly officer installations.
American Wheelchair Mission (Bill Weber)
– Showed video of recent Mexico trip.
– 44 councils and 1 Assembly donated $758,521 for 5056 wheelchairs (Diocese Record) 50% of Texas total: $1.5M for >10000 wheelchairs.
– Highlighted Prince of Peace (Plano), Mary Immaculate (Farmers Branch) and St Mark (Plano) together totalled $390K for 2600 wheelchairs.
– Wheelchair Sundays are the best way to raise money and they provide a great recruiting opportunity for the Knights.
Emergency Response Program (Eduardo Valenzuela / Ron Kwiat)
– Council’s should budget $500 in an event a bother is in crisis and needs emergency help.
– Have an Ask to help with the Mother Of Theresa Missions of Charity (House on nuns doing works of charity). Help with window replacement.
RSVP (John Little)
– Goal: 4 sponsors for 50 seminarians in diocese (made goal). 17 got 5 or more.
– 48 councils, 7 Assemblies, and 1 squire group that participated (a record).
– 243.3 total sponsorships pledged (240 funded – $120K, another record (3 seminarians not funded left formation).
– 7 districts (103,107,111,114,116,117 and 118) participated in the program.
– Submit form 2863 before June 30 midnight to claim refund.
– For next fraternal year, increase participation, the refund is an incentive to do more.
Break 2: 15 minutes leading into working lunch.
K of C Insurance / Investments (Don Burks for John Regan)
– Introductions to all the field agents.
– Insurance program helps with all the K of C charities (eliminates any tax burdens).
– K of C insurance invests in a Catholic supported entities approved by the bishops.
– Program helps with recruiting. Reach out not only with Fraternal Benefit events but early during recruiting or exemplification events.
– Mutual Funds has been a big success with the program – over 100 clients.
– Investments / Financial or Asset Advisors are accessible to all Catholics (not just Knights).
Bob Stras Memorial Kickoff / High School Basketball Tournament (Jake Fleischer /Roy Rabenalt)
– Support our Catholic Youth and the largest Catholic High Schools in the area.
– K of C provides more than just the name of the tournament:
– all the trophies/awards provided
– K of C T-shirts for all participants
– Fed all the teams after every game.
– Gifts for the coaches and a stipend to the host schools (for referees, security, and other operating costs)
– Tournament majorly funded by the 50-page printed program and page sponsors / Advertisers – see web site for more details.
– Tournament dates – Dec 4,5,6 2025 (8 boys teams – Dallas Jesuit HS, 8 girls teams at Bishop Lynch HS)
– Question asked (Where do the teams come from?)
– K of C does not select teams.
– Teams select by coach/athletic directory of the host schools.
– 40 percent catholic players and the rest from public high schools (some teams from out of the area, as far as Russia).
License Plate Chairman / RSVP Seminarian Support / Audit committee (Dan Stoffel)
– RSVP (Refund Support for Vocation Program) – Seminarian support.
– Mentioned getting the 990 IRS tax form filled in to keep our charitable status.
– License plate program (State of Tx) donates $22 per plate back to K of C for retired priests.
– ~$30,000 collected last year.
– License plate frames for $30.
– Magnet for fridge, riding mower, or metal bumpers for $20.
Award of Excellence
– DDC Knight of the Year: SK Alfredo Gamboa – Prince of Peace Council 11716
– DDC Council of the Year: 12153 St Gabriel The Archangel of McKinney
– DDC Chaplain of the Year (to be presented at the next Clergy Appreciation Dinner in February)
Wrap-up (Mike Courtney)
– Thank you State Deputy Ron Alonzo for traveling from Corpus Christi.
– Thank you to all Program Directors, District Deputies.
– The Insurance program – giving every member the opportunity and access to the Insurance Program.
– Take all this information back to your councils – to bring successes for us all.
– Emphasizes the importance of continuous recruitment and maintaining high standards in council activities.
– District deputies need to support councils in meeting their goals and ensuring compliance with requirements in highlighted.
– Councils called to action to start their budget meeting and set ambitious charity goals for the coming year.
– Thank you to the wives and families for supporting what we do.
– Closing Prayer (Three Hail Marys – The unborn, the mothers of abortion, the medical field involved.)
– Meeting Adjourned at 12:20p
– Social – Meet directors / Visit Program Director Tables.
Submitted:
SK Joseph A Boduch – DDC Secretary
