1. religion and spirituality
2. christianity
3. catholicism

STAR COUNCIL NEWS
VIRGINIA STATE COUNCIL
Stephen A. Burnley, State Deputy
March 2015
ONE MEMBER, PER COUNCIL, PER MONTH
State Membership Watch
Newsletter Highlights
• General Program Director Message
For the remainder of the Fraternal Year, we will be
including monthly updates as to how we are progressing
towards the State Supreme membership goals.
• State Deputy Award Update
Gross = new members + reactivations & reinstatements
• Membership Director Message
Net = Gross less suspension & withdrawals
• Annual Meeting of the Virginia State Council
Net / Net = Net less deaths and transfers in/out
• Silver Rose
Goal
Categories
Gross
Net
Net/Net
• Upcoming Exemplification
• Special Olympics Polar Plunge Recap
• Coats for Kids Recap
Arlington Diocese Men’s Conference
Mar 8th 3rd Degree Council #2473 (Arlington)
Mar 21st
Home Council / IT Meeting (Richmond)
Mar 28th
Free Throw Championship (Richmond)
Founders Day
Apr 11th
3rd Degree Council #511 (Hampton)
Apr 18th
4th Degree Exemplification (VA Beach)
Have you scheduled your Spring Church
membership drive?
Have you scheduled a Fraternal Benefits night?
Are you on track for Star Council?
Are you on track for the State Deputy Award?
Do you have your KOVAR fundraising plans locked
in?
Apr 25th 3rd Degree Council #367 (Norfolk)
May 1-3 Annual State Convention (Richmond)
Are Council Trustees starting to think about
candidates for Officer positions for the 2015-16
fraternal year?
May 16th 3rd Degree Council #9056 (VA Beach)
Jun 6th
3rd Degree Council #6546 (Richmond)
Jun 27th 3rd Degree Council #5332 (Manassas)
%
Goal
67%
49%
86%
Consistently recruiting for upcoming 1st Degrees
(“One Member, Per Council, Per Month”)
Mar 28th 3rd Degree Council #7877 (Stafford)
Mar 29th
Actual as of
2/28/15
878
547
360
Checklist for your Council’s
Winter Action Plan
3 Month Outlook of Coming Events
Mar 7th Supreme
FY Goal
1,315
925
429
Have you planned a Founder’s Day event?
—1—
ONE MEMBER, PER COUNCIL, PER MONTH
MEMBERSHIP TEAM
2014 - 2015
Stephen C. Layne (Eileen)
Membership Director membership@vakofc.org George Clark (Patsy)
New Council Chairman newcouncil@vakofc.org
George Kuhlow
Recruitment Chairman recruitment@vakofc.org Home 804-897-9867
Cell 804-338-5838
Home 703-494-1607
Home 434-589-6158
Cell 434-327-3066
Steve Buttie (Marci)
Recruitment-Northern sbuttie@hotmail.com
Home 703-838-3689
Alphonse Obuchowski (Sandy)
Retention Chairman retention@vakofc.org
Home 703-352-1380
Carter Barrett (Linda)
Retention— Northern cpbarrett@verizon.net
Home 703-440-8779
DJ Dejesus
Retention/Recruitment-Tidewater djlawatia@cox.net
Home 757-424-2525
Peter Friesen (Mary Ann)
Roundtable Chairman roundtable@vakofc.org
Home 703-922-0096
Zachary Ochoa
College Council Chairman ochoazk@gmail.com
Home 757-814-1051
Joe Pavelchak
Retention/Recruitment-Southside Joseph_pavelchak@msn.com
Home 434-454-7011
Samuel Patterson
Recruitment–Central dd27@vakofc.org
Home 804-241-7544
Dan Gracey (Pat)
Retention-Central danchief@aol.com
Home 804-794–0020
Jesus Cota (Sylvia)
Ethnic Council Development jasfcota@verizon.net
Home 703-817-1716
“We have a moral obligation to invite
every eligible Catholic man to join the
Knights of Columbus”
MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR MESSAGE
What Your Council Needs for a Church Drive
To make your church drive a success you will need the right tools. Here is a
quick guide to the items a council should have at their recruitment drives:
• Why You Should Become a Knight flyer (#10100): This flyer provides
an overview of the Knights of Columbus, explaining how the Order was
created to unite men in their faith and help them in times of need; how the
Knights offers many opportunities to grow in service to faith, community,
family and youth; and the value of the Order’s insurance program.
• 24 Hours Can Change Your Life flyer (#10099): This flyer explains how a
man can make a difference in his community, serve his parish and grow in
his faith by giving only 24 hours a year to the Knights of Columbus.
• Prospect Cards (#921A): These 3x5 index cards help councils collect
contact information on prospects who want to learn about the Order.
• Membership Document (#100): This is what it is all about — etting those
prospects to sign up and join you as brother Knights. Next stop: the First
Degree. Afterward, your prospects and their families can start being active
within the council and Order. When conducting your church drives, have
these items on hand to display the benefits of membership, but be sure to
obtain your pastor’s approval to hold a membership drive at the church
before ordering.
Follow these additional steps for a successful church drive:
• Choose a weekend and prepare an announcement for the parish bulletin,
asking that it be run during the two weekends before the drive.
• During the drive, display your council’s activities through handouts.
Include information on your council and copies of council’s newsletter.
• Arrange for the pastor, grand knight or membership director to make a
brief announcement before Mass explaining the Order and encouraging
men to fill out a Prospect Card. If needed, use the Suggested Remarks for
Membership Recruitment flyer (#10067), which includes an announcement
that may be customized to reflect your council’s activities.
• Have Knights in position at church exits to answer questions from
prospects. They should also collect the Prospect Cards and assist interested
men in completing Membership Documents. After the event, deliver the
completed Membership Documents and Prospect Cards to the membership
director.
Remember to immediately contact those who signed Membership
Documents, letting them know the dates and times of their meeting with the
Admission Committee and the First Degree exemplification.
Stephen Layne
Membership Director
-Carl A. Anderson, Supreme Knight
—2—
ONE MEMBER, PER COUNCIL, PER MONTH
GENERAL PROGRAMS STAFF
2014 - 2015
David Crew (Angelina)
General Programs Director generalprograms@vakofc.org Home 703-430-0644
Cell 703-624-8099
Thomas Sawyer (Jenni)
Church Activities Chairman
councilactivities@vakofc.org Cell 757-235-0788
Doug MacPherson (Jerri Pat)
Family Activities Chairman familyactivities@vakofc.org Home 804-275-7187
Cell 804-304-1446
Bob Maher (Angela)
Community Activities Chairman communityactivities@vakofc.org Home 434-589-1170
Cell 540-717-2241
Frank Guest (Linda)
Youth Activities Chairman youthactivities@vakofc.org Home 703-569-5826
Cell 703-980-2526
Reyes Guerra (Julia)
Council Activity Chairman councilactivities@vakofc.org Home 703-372-2243
Cell 703-655-2799
Andy Altman (Michelle)
Culture of Life Chairman cultureoflife@vakofc.org Home 703-404-0182
Cell 703-727-2002
Chan Mohney (Debbie)
Special Olympics Coordinator specialolympics@vakofc.org Home 804-379-3918
Cell 703-963-2017
Mark Zaccagnini
Youth Sporting Chairman markzacc012@gmail.com
Cell 757-619-6250
Dave Lopez (Dixie)
Fr. Bader Scholarship Chairman davelopez75@gmil.com Home 703-764-3713
Cell 703-928-0121
Roger Noreau
Youth Scholastic Chairman huckfinn23@hotmail.com Home 757-961-0698
Cell 757-390-1843
Tom Schirra
Scouting Chairman schirrata@gmail.com
Bill Gaynord (Linda)
Columbian Squires bgaynord@gmail.com Food for Families
John Cochran - Richmond Vincent Cannava—Arlington Cell 804-239-8920
Home 703-594-2485
Cell 703-851-7362
Cell 757-705-9933
Cell 571-442-4673
Deacon Vince Kapral (Anne)
Vocations Chairman—Richmond Home 757-301-2116
David Todd (Ann)
Vocations Chairman—Arlington Home 703-352-2724
Michael Lazzuri, PSD
Fr. McGivney Guild Chairman Home 540-774-8482
General Program Director Message
Brothers,
The month of March is “crunch time” as the cutoff for completing the
State Deputy Award criteria is March 31st. I suggest you log-on to your
Council page on the State website and confirm the criteria that State
shows as complete. Let me know if you note any exceptions.
Have you scheduled your Fraternal Benefits event yet? I am getting
concerned as only 19 Councils have reported hosting a fraternal benefits
event. If you did and we don’t show you as reporting the event send me
an email with the date of the event and I will update.
Make sure you contact the General Programs Team if you have any
questions.
Thanks for your commitment.
Dave Crew
General Program Director
Church: Vocations
Refund Support vocations Program (RSVP)
There is still time to provide financial support to a seminarian
or novice. Provide check for at least $500.00 to an individual
discerning their religious vocation (seminarian or novice) and
receive $100.00 rebate from Supreme. Remember to provide a copy
of the cancelled check with your submission.
Contact David Todd (Arlington Diocese) or
Deacon Vince Kapral (Richmond Diocese) with questions
Youth: Father Bader Scholarship
The closing date for submitting the applications is a month away. Closing
date is March 31. We have only received 4 complete applications and 1
partial application. We have also received 6 inquiries, so we are optimistic
that we will receive another 5 or 6 applications.
All DDs and GKs should communicate to your councils that there is still
time to submit applications.
Also GK’s, if you have not done so this year, please consider donating
at least $100 dollars to the State Council Father Bader Scholarship
fund before Easter. Your donation will help sustain the Father Bader
Scholarship in future years.
Contact Dave Lopez with questions
—3—
ONE MEMBER, PER COUNCIL, PER MONTH
State Deputy Award Update
We made continued progress this last month as:
• 66 Councils met the criteria to be 2H Membership Active
• 4 more Councils met the criteria to submit 4 FOMs during the fraternal year . . . bringing the total to 61
• 8 more Councils met the criteria to host a Fraternal Benefits Night . . . bringing the total to 19
• 120 Councils submitted their December 31st Semi-Annual Audit
• 19 Councils have submitted all six of their Columbian Service Program Reports
Criteria
Form #
Due
Date
# Councils
Complete
# Councils Open
ALL
ALL
ALL
ALL
127
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
16
61
21
66
140
122
120
113
8
31
28
30
25
25
25
2
2
2
3
82
122
77
3
21
23
30
135
112
115
113
118
118
118
141
141
141
140
Report of Officers
Report of Service Personnel
Semi-Annual Audit (June 30)
State Per Capita - 1st Half
1 New Member - 1st Half
Supreme Form 185
Supreme Form 365
Supreme Form 1295
N/A
Form 100
7/1/14
8/1/14
8/15/14
10/1/14
2/28/15
Submit 4 Family of the Month
Host Fraternal Benefits Night
1 New Member - 2nd Half
Fraternal Survey
Special Olympics Participation
Semi-Annual Audit (Dec 31)
State Per Capita - 2nd Half
Form SP7 Columbian Award
Columbian - Church Activity
Columbian - Council Activity
Columbian - Community Activity
Columbian - Family Activity
Columbian - Youth Activity
Columbian - Culture of Life
Knight of the Year
Family of the Year
Young Man of the Year
Young Woman of the Year
Supreme Form 1993A
DD e-mail
Form 100
Supreme Form 1728
Supreme Form 4584
Supreme Form 1295-2
N/A
SP7
State STSP
State STSP
State STSP
State STSP
State STSP
State STSP
3/31/15
3/31/15
6/30/15
1/17/15
1/17/15
2/15/15
4/1/15
3/31/15
3/31/15
3/31/15
3/31/15
3/31/15
3/31/15
3/31/15
3/31/15
3/31/15
3/31/15
3/31/15
Contact Dave Crew if you have any questions
Community: KOVAR
The First Principle of the Order is Charity and KOVAR is your charity, its success is dependent on your help and support. Every dollar
collected assists Virginians with intellectual disabilities in the form of grants or loans. Your achievement of your District goal is essential so
we can continue our support of God’s Special People Please check with your Councils. Do they have their KOVAR strategy in place? Have
they collected funds already?
Ask all Brothers, through the Council leadership, to sign up for Amazon Smile -- a no cost way to help fund KOVAR through their
purchases on Amazon. Ask if Brothers have workplace giving programs -- KOVAR is a 501(c)(3) charity which can accept funds from
corporations.
For questions contact Dennis Godfrey at pridefarm@gmail.com
—4—
ONE MEMBER, PER COUNCIL, PER MONTH
Service Program Opportunites
Church: Silver Rose Program
For over 50 years, the Knights of Columbus has sponsored the Our Lady of
Guadalupe Silver Rose Program to honor the Blessed Virgin under her title of
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of America. The purpose is to honor Our
Lady and to reaffirm our commitment to the sanctity of life. The Silver Rose
symbolizes the commitment of the Knights of Columbus to restoring respect for
the sanctity of human life from conception until death.
This year the Knights are “running” five Silver Roses across Canada and the
United States. The Knights of Virginia will receive the Silver Rose on April 5 and
depart on April 26, heading south to the Knights of North Carolina.
We are hoping to demonstrate the extraordinary work the Virginia Knights
do each day in their devotion to the sanctity of life. We can think of no better
demonstration than to have an outpouring of requests to have the Silver Rose in
your Districts.
We are beginning to receive requests from our Brothers who are interested based
on the article in the current Star Council Newsletter. We are hoping we can get at
least half of Virginia’s Districts to participate.
Call to Action: Please be prepared to state your intention at the February 28th State Meeting. The General
Programs Director will have a signup sheet for you to fill out for your participation. The needed information
is the Council #, Council point-of-contact, and a primary and alternate requested date. Based upon the data
collected at the meeting, a route plan will be compiled and communicated to the DDs and Council’s POC by mid
March.
Please contact Tom Sawyer at churchactivities@vakofc.org or by cell at 757-235-0788 with any questions.
Council: Upcoming Exemplification
The next Exemplification of the Fourth Degree will be Saturday, April 18, 2015, at the Church of the Ascension, 4853
Princess Anne Road, Virginia Beach. Friday night lodging will be at the Hampton Inn Norfolk/Virginia Beach, 5793
Greenwich Road, Virginia Beach (757) 490-3573.
Candidates must be a Third Degree Knight in good standing. There are no longer time requirements to join the Fourth
Degree. The candidate fee is $70.00. This fee is set by Supreme. This fee includes the social baldric, Fourth Degree Pin,
certificate, luncheon ticket, and processing fees.
The cost for the luncheon is $30.00 per guest ticket. The luncheon is an Italian buffet which will include a garden salad,
spaghetti and meat balls, lasagna, ziti with sausage and peppers, garlic bread knots, and dessert. Beverages are included.
There will be no ladies program at this Exemplification. Ladies may attend the luncheon.
The Honoree for this Exemplification is the late PSD Leonardo “Lenny Pulizzi. A large class will honor his name and legacy.
Please contact your local Assembly Faithful Navigator with questions
—5—
ONE MEMBER, PER COUNCIL, PER MONTH
Annual Meeting of the Virginia State Council
This Fraternal year’s Annual Meeting of the Virginia State Council, otherwise known as ‘The Convention”, will
take place from Friday May 1st to Sunday May 3rd 2015 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Richmond - Midlothian.
*****Hotel Reservation Telephone Number*****
804-379-3800
•
Annual Meeting Golf Tournament
Format: 4-person Captains Choice – Ladies welcome!
Schedule: Registration Begins at 7:00 AM. Shotgun start at 8:00 AM
Fee: $60 per person / Mulligan’s and a “String “available.
Hole in One: Win a 2015 Chevy Malibu!
Live Entertainment & Dancing
Friday Night 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM
James River Ballroom -Cash Bar &
Raffle Door Prizes!
The Virginia State Council invites all our ladies to enjoy lunch and a
presentation To Have and To Hold: Courtship and Marriage in Early
America by The American Ladies.
Martha Washington serves tea to a friend whose 2 daughters are to be
married, causing her to reminisce about her own courtship and marriage.
For questions contact Ed Polich, Convention Chairman at
edpolich@comcast.net or 804-314-1065
—6—
ONE MEMBER, PER COUNCIL, PER MONTH
Service Program Opportunites
Community: Special Olympics—Polar Plunge Recap
On behalf of the Special Olympics and the State Deputy I want to thank everyone that either plunged or contributed to The Virginia
Knights of Columbus Polar Plunge Team. We had over 40 participants who made supreme efforts to raise money to assist God’s Special
Olympians.
Overall the event raised a record $1.18 million! There were 3,000+ participants. “Bathing suits’ ranged from the same color t-shirts to
costumes that represented the property squares from the Monopoly board game.
The Virginia Knights of Columbus Team was represented at the Plunge by 20+ Knights and 6 Ladies. All six State officers were there.
As you can see from the photo below the team uniform was a tuxedo t-shirt—black for the men and pink for the ladies. We raised over
$26,600,
but I was told that figure will be higher because there were a few Knights who had not join the team; their efforts are to be added to
ours.
Thanks again for your support.
Chan Mohney, Virginia State Council Special Olympics Coordinator
Community: Coats for Kids (FINAL)
Thanks to all that have participated and have helped answer the question posed in July, “What if 1,000 coats?”
As you can see, the answer is YES!
Please consider participating in the Coats for Kids Program next Fraternal Year. More details to come in the near future.
PROGRAM
Coats for Kids
METRIC
Councils participating
Cases purchased
Coats purchased
2014-15 GOAL
35
85
1,000
FINAL
27
99
1,188
For questions contact John Cochran, Coats for Kids Chairman,
at jcochran10515@gmail.com or (757) 705-9933.
—7—
ONE MEMBER, PER COUNCIL, PER MONTH
Service Program Opportunites
Youth Programs
For all DDs and GKs...Your opportunities to engage the Youth of your Council, Parish, and Community families are still alive! The
State Soccer Challenge and KCIC Poster Contest have been completed but other opportunities are still there for you to take advantage
of. Think about including some or all of the following in your own District or Council Youth Call to Action plan to compliment your
own unique Youth programs. The due date for all of these is the end of March 2015. Your Youth Program Staff is available to answer
questions and be your Force Multiplier.
•
Young Man and Young Women of the Year - If you have this as part of your plan, you will be amazed at the applications you
receive. And I guarantee you will have hard time selecting your winners to forward. And of course, this is a State Deputy Award
Criteria as well - so don’t take yourself out of the running.
•
Essay Contest - This is an opportunity to challenge our young people to really think about they think on a topic central to
countering the societal move to a secular and false value system. With a theme of “The importance of religious Freedom” the
essay contest entries you receive will pleasantly surprise you with the original and uniquely youthful perspective our youth have
on this important topic.
•
Fr Bader Scholarship - This is a Virginia State Program to assist the winning applicants with the financial burden of their
freshman year of college. It is based on the “Whole person” and does NOT solely rely on academic success or financial need.
Every High School senior that applies has a chance - as long as they are the son or daughter of a Virginia Knight in good
standing. Virginia Knights themselves may also apply, but only if in dire financial need.
•
Substance Abuse Poster Contest - This contest, aimed at our younger youth, helps them form early and correct views on Drug
and Alcohol Abuse. And it helps arm them against the peer pressure they will undoubtedly experience to make the wrong
choice.
Contact Frank Guest at youthactivities@vakofc.org with questions
Community: VKCCI
At its February 7th quarterly meeting, the VKCCI Board voted to increase the maximum amount of funds to be awarded under a
VKCCI grant request to $3,000. The last time that the VKCCI grant threshold was increased was in 2007. It is felt that needs of our
citizens are growing and the former threshold did not meet the level where our Councils could adequately address the needs being
presented. We thank you for your continuing generosity in supporting this charity work of the Virginia State Council.
Please support upcoming golf tournament being sponsored by Fr. Cilinski Council and St. Clare’s Council on May 21 in Clifton with
the proceeds benefiting VKCCI. In addition the Norfolk Tides has agreed to donate part of the proceeds from ticket sales to their June
27 baseball game to aid VKCCI.
We encourage councils to sponsor a fund raiser for VKCCI at the council, assembly, and their geographical area to assist all of us in
fulfilling the dreams and visions of our founder, especially this month celebrating the founding of our Order. Please remember to bring
your annual council contribution check to the State Council Annual Meeting the first weekend in May.
Contact PSD Mike Lazzuri with questions
Have You Ever Wondered About Becoming a Knights of Columbus Insurance Agent?
Have you ever wondered what is would be like to do good for other families while you do good for yourself and your family? Have
you ever wondered what is would be like to lay your head on your pillow at night knowing you have made the world a better place?
Have you ever wondered if there is more to your working life than just showing up and working? Have you ever wondered what it’s
like to work in a
position that pays your for your successful efforts, with no limit? Have you ever wondered? Have you?
Contact General Agents Harry Canter, Kevin Choate or Jim Ulmer to learn more.
—8—