May 2018 Voice of the Spirit

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE OHIO STATE COUNCIL KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS

MAY 2018

State Deputy News and Notes Kevin Miller My Brother Knights:

Knights should sit down and discuss these matters with their officers and As we approach the end of our fraternal program directors. Always make sure year, I would like to take this to speak with your Chaplain, Pastor, and opportunity to thank you for all your Knights of Columbus insurance field hard work and efforts that will be agents. They may also have valuable supporting the Knights of Columbus in insights and input in assessing your your councils and parishes throughout overall performance and have great idea the state of Ohio. Our order and church on how to move forward. are truly blessed by your dedication to our important cause.

Plan -- With that information in hand, your council leadership team can begin As this year concludes, this is a most to structure a plan and calendar for the opportune time for all of us - councils upcoming fraternal year. This should and State Council alike -- to review and include all meetings, activities, and assess our progress, determine what we events, both old and new, that you plan can improve on, and begin to make to hold during the upcoming year. plans the upcoming fraternal year. We During this process, be sure to consider should be mindful of the words of other important factors, such as parish Benjamin Franklin: "By failing to and diocesan activities; Holy Days of prepare, you are preparing to fail."

Obligation, holidays and other With this in mind, I'd like to briefly Liturgical events; local school activities review a few ideas to assist you in and breaks; or any other event or moving forward to a successful year in happening that may cause a scheduling 2018-19. conflict. Make absolutely sure to use Supreme's Star Council program and Assess -- First, it's critically important our state program as an overall planning to comprehensively review your efforts guide. Both are designed to provide a over the preceding year. What programs model for success and will ensure a or activities worked extremely well? strong and focused council throughout Which ones fell short of your the fraternal year. expectations? What ideas arose over the past year that you may want to integrate Budget -- Another important planning into this year's planning? Grand feature is to consider how to maintain

the overall financial stability of your council. Now that you have a plan, you may want to think about budgeting -how much revenue you plan to earn through fundraising activities, council operational costs, and how much you plan to donate to anticipated charitable activities. This process allows councils stay "on track" financially and gives members a better understanding of how council monies are being used, allowing for more responsible discretionary spending for all those needs and requests that inevitably arise during the fraternal year.

Promote -- This is where effective communication comes in play; any great plan is no better than people that you need to support it! It's important that

CHARITY | UNITY | FRATERNITY | PATRIOTISM

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I know many council’s already follow your council's plans, intentions, and these practices, but I hope that many of overall goals are effectively and you who may not see the value of a more consistently communicated throughout structured planning process and how it the year to its members. Any great contributes to your council's overall undertaking deserves a great start, so it's success. If you follow these simple steps, important from the outset to make sure you'll have the foundation of the that all members know what you're planning process which allows for input, trying to do, what you want them to do, transparency, and engagement -- all key to and just how important they are in factors success of any organization, making your council a success.

Our Guarantees Set Us Apart Knights of Columbus life insurance offers something precious few other financial products can – guarantees. As long as you pay your premiums, the policy proceeds will be there for your beneficiaries should something happen to you. That’s peace of mind, and that’s what we offer with every product in our portfolio.

We guarantee the cash value in your whole life policies will be there.

We guarantee the rates on your term insurance.

We guarantee the rate and your principal in our retirement annuities.

On top of those product guarantees, I guarantee that I will offer professional, highquality service that you would expect from our organization.

Our Order is among the highest rated life insurers in North America. AM Best has rated the Knights of Columbus “A++,

Superior” for 40 consecutive years. It’s a testament to our track record for excellence and security.

I would suggest that a principal reason that we were able to achieve those accolades is because we remain steadfastly committed to the vision of Venerable Father Michael J. McGivney by providing life insurance by brother Knights for brother Knights.

That commitment is an essential core value of the Knights of Columbus, and our core values permeate all levels of our organization. We pledge to serve our brother Knights, and their families, according to our Golden Rule: “In all my professional relationships, I pledge myself to the following rule of conduct: I shall, in light of all conditions surrounding those I serve, render that service which, under the same circumstances, I would apply to myself.”

Take steps to protect your family and your financial future.

including councils in the Knights of Columbus.

As always, thanks for your dedication and service to our order - and success in planning for the upcoming fraternal year! In His Honor, Vivat Jesus!

Kevin Miller State Deputy

State Membership Frank Iannaggi The final stretch The final stretch is here the last few months of this fraternal year are now within our sight . We have run a great race until now with many councils working diligently to recruit new members to sustain then for the next generation. They have recruited young and old to help with their many programs in building our Domestic Church.

fraternal year beginning July 1 . We want you keep that momentum recruit, recruit, and when that fails ask someone you As I write this article the Supreme always though was a knight because he is Council Membership report indicates the at every activity…don’t let your drive be State of Ohio has brought in 1,423 new beaten by the fresh smell of spring. members, losing 633 to suspensions and withdrawals leaving a net of 790 Focus on continuing to build you members. Although our numbers are councils during May and June, bring 5 below our expectations we did achieve new member in May and June for 63.24 % of our Supreme goal of 2,250. monetary incentives. ( see membership We are up from last year’s number of awards in program book).

695 due to some great retention efforts and are 95 members ahead for the same But one more thing I ask of you please time period. plan to attend the 119th State Convention in the Arch Diocese of Cincinnati as a Brothers well done , 36 councils made delegate and take an part in the selection their Supreme quotas as of May 1 and of new leadership for the next 12 years. are on the path to star councils. June 30th Your active participation will promote is not that far off and our efforts must be your views on leadership and direction maintained and honed for the next for the great jurisdiction of Ohio. In

addition to doing your part at the state level it is most important that you select a strong leadership team for your council and that you vote them in this May. Continue to mentor one another .

I must for a moment reflect on the last 10 months as your Membership Director and say that it has been a joy working with each diocesan membership director.

Thank you.. being part of the IN His Honor Team has truly been an honor Below are the current Statewide statistics by diocese. We can, with your help achieve all the goals set for this fraternal year, simply because, all that we do, we do IN HIS HONOR!

Councils got the credit for their Activities and Rod Anderson Reports this year.

But want to Don’t Stop! personally thank them for their Whew! What a flurry of last minute reports and Council Program Activities Reporting! submissions to me Yes, the State Program reporting ON TIME deadlines for the 2017-18 year were over throughout the year, mid-month, and as usual, there was the and especially at inevitable procrastination by many the close of the Councils to get their reports in at the last State Program year! minute! The State Program Directors Mike Nau, Bob reviewed and graded each and every Walsh, Tim activity report submitted before the Mangan, Brett Gissell, Tom Buehner, closure.

Frank Ianaggi and Stew Vetter: THANK quotas for the fraternal year for the Fr. YOU for all you do for the Knights, the McGivney and Founders Awards. So, And since they submitted their final State Council, and me.

DON’T STOP! Keep working to achieve reports on Council Program Activities to all that you can for the Knights and the me I have been working very hard to Now, back to the business at hand.

Catholic men in your parish and compile all of their summaries and While the State General Program for this community. review all the Councils to determine the year is concluded, there is still work to be hundreds of State Awards which will be done. Councils still have until the end of And always remember that the State In presented at the 2018 State Convention in June to work on their Programs and His Honor, and Supreme programs and just a couple of weeks, now! While I am submit their Columbian Award service will help you recruit new still working to finish up this task, I want Application, Form SP-7, to Supreme as Knights: to thank the 215 Councils in Ohio that the first requirement for Star Council participated in the State General Program honors. And May and June still offer “If you build it, they will this year! I also especially thank the plenty of time for recruiting new State Program Directors for their members and meeting, or exceeding the come!” diligence and work to make sure the Supreme membership and insurance

General Programs

Youth Stewart Vetter What to write about in May? I could write about my love of the Kentucky Derby. I could write about my excitement for another Ohio K of C Convention at new facility none the less.

I could try to explain to you how crazy busy I was in April.

But none of those seem quite right. How about this: Thank you to all of the councils that submitted a nomination for youth of the year. I would like to make a few observations: Based on hand writing, many of you are doctors. We, as a state team, need to make deadlines more clear and well known. Our state is blessed with many great youth programs and with LOTS of fantastic kids. It was a pleasure to read all the write-ups.

The end of the school year is in sight. The exhausted teachers are begrudgingly thinking about next school year so it’s a good time to contact them about participating in the drug and alcohol poster contest next year. Keep in mind, the public schools may require superintendent permission first.

See you at convention!!!

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Community Robert Walsh With the end of the program year I would like to thank all the councils that participated in the program. The activities reported helped the Community with Blood Drives to helping others with medical needs and

making repairs on houses that improved the lives of others.

Now would be a good time to find that special activity in your Community that would improve it for next year’s With the many activities that were done, program. Thank you for all you do, “In I would have liked to seen more His Honor”.

Councils reporting. Please consider reporting the good works that your Council does for your Community.

families attend Mass together, but what makes the family you’ve nominated stand out? One thing to consider for Tom Buehner those submitting nominations next year – please give enough context for me Family of the Year (and all of the State Directors) to Nominations understand who these families are and why they are an exceptional family that Thank you to all of the councils that you feel should stand out among all the submitted nominations for Family of the other nominations submitted throughout Year. Overall, I received 57 the State. nominations. It was very challenging this year to choose each of the diocesan Thank you winners and ultimately the overall winner. We have some incredible Thank you to everyone that submitted families that our councils chose to reports of your Family activities this recognize. It was great to read about all year. Keep up the great work and of them. Some of the submissions this continue to remember to provide year left a lot to be desired – a lot of activities that families can participate in.

Family

Support Our Seminarians

It is our duty as Knights of Columbus to help Build up the Domestic Church and support families. We can do this by offering activities for families to practice, share, and deepen their Catholic Faith.

And thank you to all of the State Officers, State Directors, and District Deputies throughout the state. Your friendship, guidance, and support throughout the year has been comforting.

the classroom study was over for the day.

Perhaps they needed some medical attention? Tires As we approach the end of this program for their car? year, each of us should recall where we Gasoline? An evening out with were a year ago. Most of you did not God Bless our seminarians. know anything about the SOS program. their brothers for a movie and a quick meal?

Maybe some grocery supplies for Perhaps some of you don’t know of this the room? The list goes on. As your valued program yet?

THANK YOU!!! diocese contributions increase, your The financial numbers are not known yet support for these young men will Over $128.,000 collected statewide in increase. but will be available at the upcoming the 2017-2018 SOS Pennies For Heaven convention.

Campaign.

Maybe each of us should consider how How do we measure success? Think of we can make a minimal financial donation to the “SOS” program and it this way. Once our seminarians assist with helping our future priests become priest, each of them will recall how the KNIGHTS assisted them during know who the ‘KNIGHTS’ are and how they assisted each of them. their formative years. How FUNDS were made available to assist them once

Ed Olenhouse & IPSD Robert Collins, Jr

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You’re A Click Away Robert Gilliland Printing out and Submitting the Council 185 and 365 Forms!!!

Council Financial Secretaries and Council Grand Knights have the ability to process their Form 185 (Report of Officers), and Form 365 (Service Program Personnel) forms on the State website. Council Financial Secretaries and Council Grand Knights have access to a special Council Administrative Forms section on the State website.

When all of the Council officers have been entered into the State website, click “Save Form” on the bottom of the page so that the selected information can be stored in the State Website. This is important because the forms are generated from the saved data.

changes. This system is an important step in building up the Council Officers for the State Directory and keeping it current with up-to-date information about the Council and its officers.

The Form 365 (Service Program Personnel) Report Just like the Form 185, the Service Program Personnel r epor t conveys information about who in the Council is in charge of the various service programs like the Council General Program director, the Church, Community, Council, Youth, Membership, and Retention directors. This is normally submitted by the Grand Knight as he appoints the various service personnel.

The Financial Secretary will have access If at any time an officer is changed, even to this form to help the Grand Knight if if it is clicked on the “Print Form” and need be.

“Submit Form to Supreme” buttons will be hidden and a message reminding the user to save the information will be displayed (see next image). You need to simply click the "Save Form" button and the buttons will become visible again.

You can save the form and come back to it at any time in the future. The website will remember what officer you have The Council Financial Secretary will see selected for a particular office and you a screen like the one below that will can continue filling the form in when allow selection of any member in the you come back to it at a later time.

Council roster to fill the elected position.

The Form 185 (Report of Officers)

Start the process by clicking on the Officers Election Date and select the date of the Council Election of Officers from the calendar date picker that pops up.

Select the appropriate Officer from the dropdown list for each officer position in your Council. As you change the officers, you will see a red notice at the bottom that the data has changed. Not to worry, it is a safeguard for you to let you know that something was changed. If a particular office is unfilled (no one is elected to that position and it is empty), simply leave it at the “-- Please Select -” option and the position will remain unfilled when the form is printed.

Once the data has been saved, click on “Print Form” and after a few seconds, a PDF document will download to your computer for you to print off and keep for your records.

Please feel free to email me at BobG@sceinet.com if you have any questions.

When the “Submit Form to Supreme” button is pressed, the same PDF that is generated in the “Print Form” will be electronically emailed to Supreme Council, the State Council, your District Deputy, and to the Council Financial Secretary.

The nice thing about this new system is that the “Submit Form to Supreme” can be repeated, without having to enter the data again. The saved data will be used for the report. This also make is easier to submit a new form partway in the fraternal year is any officer position

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Measure Up 2018 Jeff Kiliany, State Warden

How does you Council Measure-Up?

Did your council Measure-Up? The 2018 Measure-Up Campaign was officially conducted on the weekends of April 26-29 and May 3-6. That is when we obtained a statewide liability insurance policy to cover other parties from any negligence from K of C councils during their collections. The policy is only in effect during this time.

We do realize that a council is not always able to conduct their collection on these particular weekends. Your council can do its’ Measure Up solicitations anytime throughout the year, but will not be covered under this

particular policy. If any type of insurance is required, it will be up to your individual council to make those arrangements. We encourage councils to conduct other fundraisers throughout the year, not just on these particular 2 weekends. You can do such things for instance, as a solicitation after Masses, with the permission of your Pastor.

A few councils have already sent in their Measure Up checks. I thank you for your promptness in sending these in. I am encouraged by the checks I am receiving and comments from councils about the success of their Measure Up campaigns. Hopefully this will be another great year for Measure Up in Ohio!

Councils are asked to send one check with their total collections, making it payable to Knights of Columbus Ohio State Council and mailing it to: Jeff Kiliany, 559 Walnut St., Leetonia, OH 44431.

Eighty per cent of the collected funds will be returned to the councils for their charitable contributions to agencies of their choosing. The other 20% is distributed by the Knights’ Ohio Charity Foundation to statewide agencies which assist those with developmental disabilities, and for the purchase of those special rulers which are given to the councils.

Super Cash Bonanza 2018

Knights In Action

Mark Siracusa, State Advocate

Marblehead Knights Dedicate “Respect For Life” Memorial

Dear Brother Knights, Hello, I just want to tell you what a GREAT first turn -in we had with our SCB charity campaign. We are on track to reach our goal of $1,000,000, but we can’t quit now.

I need you to keep selling those charity tickets and don’t forget to be partnering. Yes, my Brother Knights keep looking for those partners to help us sell our tickets.

Remember our 2nd turnin is on Thursday May COUNCILS # TICKETS 10.

1757 2357 10936 2309 Below are the 10 ten 3324 1816 councils so far. Will 13608 1737 they end up that way, or will someone else pass 13813 1505 them?

16373 1500 3410 1450 16376 1350 Charity Father thanks 7978 1172 you for all that you do 2158 1167 for our Order.

The Marblehead/St. Joseph Council 12224 from Marblehead dedicated its Respect Life Memorial on October 1. Council members along with Chaplain Father Jim Brown attended the ceremony. Several members of 4th Degree DeSoto Assembly also were present.

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