Brother Knights,

              On March 16th, our Knights marched with pride in the Northland Snake Saturday Parade.  Our Council was led by St. Patrick himself(Tom Maschler), a 4th Degree contingent, motorcycles, our banner, the Santa Maria, and our Veterans trailer.  The weather was cold, but the guys had a great time.  The Council owes a big thank you to Fred O'Halloran, Gus Bannick and all who helped or participated in this event. 

              I would also like to thank TCA and our Hall Rental Committee for the excellent job they do in keeping our Hall  in great shape and bringing  in additional funds.  Ernie Anson and his team(TCA) have made some excellent and

much needed improvements to our Hall and grounds.  Our Hall Rental Committee and Craig Deaver, have done an     amazing job of promoting our Hall and grounds and filling up our calendar with rental events.  Both these groups of

brother Knights are making a big impact on our Council and how we operate.  Next time you see any of these guys take the time to thank them for what they are doing to improve our Council. 

         We are still in need of a Family Activities Chairman.  If interested contact the GK.  

A few dates/events to remember:

• Children's Easter Party-March 30(Sat) 1:00-3:00 (at the Hall) members children & grandchildren
• Easter Sunday-March 31 Christ is Risen!
• Council #3414 general Council Meeting-April 2nd (Tue) 7:00PM (at the Hall)
• Spaghetti and Meatball Dinner-April 14th(() 5:00-7:00PM (at the Hall)    public welcome
• 2nd & 3rd Degree-April 7th (Sun)  at Good Shepherd Parish---Smithville, MO (be there by 12:15PM-the new church off 169 Hwy)
•  Council#3414 Planning Meeting-April16th (Tue) 7:00PM (at the Hall)
• 4th Degree Exemplification-April 20th (Sat)  at Kansas City Airport Hilton   check in 9:00AM-canidates
• KofC  State Convention-April 26th, 27th, 28th  (Fri, Sat, Sun)    Jefferson City, MO
• Council#3414 general Council Meeting-May 7th (Tue) 7:00PM (at the Hall)  1st Degree, then the meeting

          I would like to thank the Council for selecting me as the March 2013 Knight of the Month.  I truly appreciate this honor.

                  Vivat Jesus,

                   Mike O'Neil      GK

Service Programs Update for March 2013;

* Church - Addressing the needs of the Church

Last week marked the last of this year's St. Charles Fish Fries. Over the six events we server about 2,049 customers. This activity generates the income for funding the grounds keeping for the Knights at St. Charles, fuel for mowers, equipment maintenance etc. A tremendous thank you to all who assisted over the six weeks.

* Community - Our "Snake Saturday Parade" was chilly, but the entry looked great.

Our toy makers have begun the process of making wooden toys for this year's distribution later in December. One project, a fire truck is shown below in the early stages of construction. Each truck comes with three ladders. Look at that fine craftsmanship.
 

Spring is here and the school year is coming to a close. Today's youth, the leaders of tomorrow, are looking for a challenge. We must find interesting programs for youth to grow in responsibility, faith, and trust.

Yet, despite their commitments and dedication, the youth of the world are often condemned because of the uncontrolled actions of a minority of young people. As Knights of Columbus, it is our responsibility to provide youth with the means and the opportunities to become personally committed and involved in meeting the challenges of our times.

For the part that Council 3414 plays in the big picture, there is a great deal more all of us can do to improve our youth programs. We need to recruit more of our members to work with young people. The Columbian Squires is a great program designed to mold the youth of today into the influential citizens of tomorrow.

This is an ideal opportunity for Council 3414 members to exert more positive and constructive influence on our young people by becoming involved with them.

During the months before next Fall Semester begins, the Council 3414 Youth Activities Team will discuss plans to build a solid foundation that will support a Columbian Squires circle.

In this manner, we can take positive action to aid programs like the Boy Scouts and help to combat drug and alcohol abuse in our community. All Council 3414 members are encouraged to present to us any other avenues that may be available in helping to build leaders for the future.

Bill Stump

Council 3414

Youth Activities Chairman

Still have just group insurance?

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!