Brothers:
The Fall Season is in full swing as the trees are changing into their beautiful colors, and the weather is becoming crisper each day.
October was quite busy for us. In addition to our normal activities, our focus was on one item of concern and another item of opportunity. The item of concern is our budget. Like everyone, the performance of our Columbia Knights’ investments has directly impacted the ability of our Council to maintain the level of Charity we have provided over the past several years. Meetings were held, budget items have been adjusted, and our plan going forward, though lean, will permit us to continue with our programs.
The opportunity we have created is for our Council to take on the challenge of the Aid and Support After Pregnancy (ASAP) Program which our Supreme KofC is promoting www.kofc.org/ASAP. Working with St. John Neumann parish, we have begun the collection of pre-natal and newborn items to help pregnant mothers and newborn infants. A “Giving Baby Bottle” with tags indicating needed items has been placed in the SJN Narthex. If you belong to St. John Neumann, or have the opportunity, please take a tag, purchase the indicated item, and return them for our pick-up. Final pick-up will be November 13th. Thank You ASAP Committee for your time/efforts on this!
Sadly, we lost a special Brother recently, our Brother Al Fill. Al joined the KofC in 1996, and remained active as his health permitted. Anyone who attended our past Christmas Parties up to a couple of years ago has met Al. There is a special place in Heaven for Santa, and if you look there, you’ll find Al.
Our Council has several upcoming events early in November which you should place on your calendars. On November 9th, we have our annual Memorial Mass and Pot-Luck Dinner during which we honor the Brother Knights who have left us in the past year. On November 12th there will be our annual Knight at the Races dinner and fund-raising event. This is always fun and it gives our Chapter the opportunity for a (mostly) pure social evening of food and fun. Again, thank you to the committees making these events possible. Also, please mark December 10th for our Children’s Christmas Party. See the pages in this Olive Branch for more details.
November is traditionally a month of Family, so I encourage you to take the time to make new memories with those you love.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Vivat Jesus!
George Franz Grand Knight