New Fraternal Year - New Challenges

Now that we have started the new fraternal year our Grand Knight has challenged us to attain the Star Council award this time. We are looking to go back to St. Gabriel parish and complete the Fr. Wants You campaign. We went through about half the list last time and will shoot for the other half this time. We hope to do this starting in the fall. We will need volunteers once again to call on potentials members and invite them to an open house. Details are being worked out at this time.

IMPORTANT:  We will NOT be having a first degree in August due to several team members unable to attend.  We will have a first degree in September.  

We also need to get a better proposer / mentoring program going. We have brought too many guys into the order and then we never see them again. Perhaps they just need someone to show them the ropes and encourage them to attend council meetings. That is the role of the proposer / mentor. Please tell me if you are willing to take on that role. We want to assign a mentor to every new member starting this September.

Council 3414 families might not be aware of four great programs the Supreme Council has developed for our youth. Each year Tri-County Council members assist children by promoting physical fitness, substance abuse awareness and a deeper understanding of our Catholic faith.

The Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship and The Knights of Columbus Soccer Challenge are sponsored annually, with winners progressing through local, district, and state competitions. International champions are announced by the K of C international headquarters based on scores from the state-level

competitions.

Entries in the Knights of Columbus Substance Abuse Awareness Poster Contest must fall under one of these topics: Alcohol Awareness and Abuse & Drug Awareness and Abuse. Each poster must include a slogan reflecting either of the topics and an original visual image.

The goal of the Knights of Columbus Essay Contest is to give students an opportunity to define the role of a Catholic citizen in a free society, and to strengthen the bond between the Knights of Columbus and local schools.

All boys and girls 10 to 14 years old are eligible to participate and will compete in their respective age divisions. These are great opportunities for educators in our community to conduct an event as part of their physical education or religious education program.

Bill Stump

Knights of Columbus Council 3414

Youth Activities Chairman

As a Knights of Columbus field agent, I hear about group life insurance every week. If you have it, it's certainly not a bad thing, but it can be a misleading security blanket. Most times, the amount offered is far from what you need, and the only way to determine what you need is with a comprehensive needs analysis. Your group coverage is not based on any analysis. Instead, they apply a formula: you make X amount in salary and the group life is either a flat amount ($15,000 seems popular) or a multiple of your salary (somewhere between 1.5 and 2.5 is common). Either way, it has nothing to do with the number of children you have, the mortgage balance you carry, or the amount of money your wife would need if you die. It's a completely random number.

It can also disappear at any time. All of us know people - friends, family members, neighbors - who have lost their jobs. When the job is lost, so is the group life insurance coverage. If the company experiences difficulty and budgets need to be cut, group life can be reduced or eliminated. And that decision could be made at the worst possible time for you.

Most group life insurance coverage reduces or disappears when you retire. Many times it can be converted, but at a very expensive premium (remember, you're no kid anymore when you retire, and premiums do rise as you get older). Just because you turn 65 doesn't mean you no longer need life insurance or need less coverage. Actually, the opposite is true.

Do you still own just group life insurance? It must be supplemented with a personally owned portfolio. I can tell you exactly how to blend your group benefit with your K of C life insurance so things can be in your control. Don't let the feeling of security that group life provides distract you from the real issue: taking control of your family's financial future!

The July dinner was a huge success!  A big "thanks" goes out to all the Ladies for your help and donations of cobblers, corn, salad, ice cream, etc. Also, we greatly appreciate the men for putting up and taking down the tables and chairs. We will not host a dinner in August. The annual Steak and Chicken Dinner will be September 9th.  We hope all the Knights and Ladies will attend.

The Auxiliary has decided to cancel our annual Garage Sale.  It is a lot of work and clean up is always a challenge.  We hope you can help support us with our charities by coming to our dinners.   

Our officers were installed along with the Knights at a reception held on July 17th.  We are still looking for Ladies to fill  some vacant positions on the board, which are: Membership, Publicity, Chaplain and Parliamentarian.  If you are interested please contact President Sheila Van Keirsbilck at 734-2382.  We are always looking for new members.  Our meetings are on the third Monday of each month at 7:00p.m.  We met at the Knights Hall.