The Buckeye Blast
A Quarterly Publication of the Ohio State Council Knights of Columbus Volume 1 Issue 2
KOFCOHIO.ORG
November 2020
Uncertainty is the Only Constant – Robert Byers, State Deputy Happy Thanksgiving to all the brother Knights across this great jurisdiction of Ohio. I hope you enjoy the Buckeye Blast. I feel during this time of the pandemic that we need to get the information out in a hard copy. I think most of you will agree we are starting to become tired of Zoom and GoToMeeting. We are people that like to be together, carry on conversations and tell stories about our children and grandchildren. I know a lot of you have questions about what is going on across the state an even with Supreme. My main thought is to you that you listen to what the local health departments and state agencies are telling us about being safe and conducting our meetings. As the weather starts getting a little colder and we must stay inside more, this virus is spreading more.
council, district and State Free Throw contests. If the numbers do not decrease in the next 30 days, we will have to go to a virtual district deputy meeting. I will send a note out to all district deputies letting them know as soon as I get information from Supreme and the state of Ohio regarding what we can do and cannot do. Also, I know I have received some questions about the free throw contest that councils conduct. If your council is going to conduct a free throw contest, please do it with the social distancing and whatever requirements that your local health Department has put out. The last thing I want to leave you with is from the bottom of my heart I want all of you to be safe and please enjoy these Holidays that are coming up.
The next thing I would like to discuss is the upcoming Mid-year District Deputy meeting and
SUPPORT OUR SEMINARIANS PROGRAM - Kevin Miller, Immediate Past State Deputy As we continue through this fraternal year with the current restrictions due to the pandemic it has become evident that we need to come up with creative ways to raise money for the Support Our Seminarians (SOS) Program beyond just “passing the jug”. Recently a council set up a “Vocations” table for the first time in the back of church and raised over $550 after a brief plea from their chaplain the celebrant. Many councils have continued to be successful with providing envelopes to their parishioners which can be used to place a donation in the parish’s collection basket.
Your collections can be sent to me anytime during the year. The form and instructions can be found on our state website: Click on Forms & Emails then scroll down to “Support Our Seminarians” and click on the Turn-In Form link for a PDF with all the information. Your can even order more “Jug Labels” by emailing me at: km8007@att.net with your name, address, council number and how many labels you need. Remember, the total collected in your diocese is presented to your diocesan vocation office in July at the State Tour meeting (COVID not withstanding).
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We Cannot Give Up – Father Wayne Morris, State Chaplain
Contact Information
As Britain prepared for World War II, the slogan Keep Calm and Carry On was issued to boost morale for the island nation who was about to stand against Hitler. Today we have our own worries that feel like a battle against the forces of evil and the moral destruction of our world. From the disruption of our lives from COVID and the continued political upheaval, we can easily lose heart and wonder “what is our world coming to?”. As a priest, I too feel this in my soul, but I have to keep telling myself that I cannot give in, I must persevere. Living life has never been easy, nor will it ever get easy. Life is hard because that is one of the realities of sin having entered the world, yet God’s grace is here too. Even though all seems lost,
I can’t concentrate when I pray, and so on and so on; I must Keep Calm and Carry On. The idea of keeping calm is a trust issue. I must trust that God’s will for humanity will be done. I must trust that God is providing a path (though not easy) that will lead to His will being done. I, for my part, participate in bringing about God’s will by my belief and living out Christ’s Gospel message in my daily life. My fellow Knights and Ladies, we cannot give up. We must carry on in new and sometimes odd ways of living out our faith and building up the Kingdom of God. As Knights, we are not a program, but a way of life. We live out our faith and life in, through, and with our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. May you ever Keep Calm and Carry On in your faith, ministry and service to God and Country. God Bless, Fr. Wayne Morris State Chaplain
2020 Matching Funds
2020-21 Support Our Seminarians
State Advocate Michael Felerski 1580 Gelhot Drive, #234 Fairfield, OH 45014 mfelerski@icloud.com
Immediate Past State Deputy Kevin Miller 1101 Arbor Oaks Lane Galloway OH 43119 km8007@att.net
2020-21 Measure Up State Warden Jim Maslach 4927 Autumnwood Lane Brunswick, OH 44212 kofcjkm@gmail.com
eMembership Questions? Nick Gresko State Online Membership Director greskon@sbcglobal.net
2021 Super Cash Bonanza
Membership Questions?
State Treasurer Jeffery Kiliany 559 Walnut Street Leetonia, OH 44431 jtktg@yahoo.com
Stewart Vetter State Membership Director betterwithvetter@hotmail.com
2020-21 State Per Capita Payments State Secretary Mark Siracusa 15398 Silver Pine Court Perrysburg OH 43551-1261 cuzza52@gmail.com
Retention & New Council Development John Brown (East) trouter0523@gmail.com Michael Freil (West) mcfreil2019@gmail.com
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Stuff the Turkey and More! – Stew Vetter, Membership Director There’s all sorts of exciting news to share about membership so, bullet points then I’ll explain more!! • MCGIVNEY2020 free e-membership is BACK through December 31, 2020 • A chance to reduce our Circle of Honor goal by 10% • Stuff the Turkey incentive – there’s a change to the flier!! • Stewie Claus is coming back to town • FREE hotel stay for convention or a weekend trip – either way it’s a nice trip with your wife
In honor of Blessed Fr. McGivney, Supreme is extending FREE e-membership using code MCGIVNEY2020 through December 31, 2020. If you haven’t heard about this, you might want to peek out from under your rock occasionally. Included in the announcement from Supreme, councils will no longer be reimbursed the $30 dues on their statement. This is a change from the summer run of MCGIVNEY2020. Keep in mind, there’s only a few weeks left in 2020 and you aren’t being charged Supreme per capita so it’s not a financial hit to the council. Please do NOT ask these new members to pay 2020 dues. If you are in the financial position, it might be an incentive to them to offer free 2021 dues on the council. The goodwill and 30 years of dues payments will offset that first year dues. Supreme is running an incentive for the state/ jurisdictions to reduce our Circle of Honor goal by 10%. The would be 185 fewer member to reach our goal. It would mess up my road trip to Supreme Convention but we can work that out!! The state/ jurisdiction in each division that brings in the most e-members from Nov 1-Dec 31 receives the 10% reduction. We are division 1 with 13 states including Michigan, Texas, Ontario, Pennsylvania, etc. We can win this! I’m asking everyone to use MCGIVNEY2020 and bring your members in as e-members then, exemplify them as you normally would. We are Stuffing the Turkey with cash for those councils that can score a turkey of members in
November. Any council that brings in 3 new members during November will get $150. HERE’S THE CHANGE: If those 3 members were e-members first and come into your council, the council will get $250. That’s right, an extra $100 for helping us out with the Circle of Honor reduction incentive. Last year, Stewie Claus came to town with a big bag of money. He’s coming back to town again but with one less deer. Donner is delicious! Councils that convert 3 e-members to council members during December will get $250. Since Stewie Claus loves charity, each new member’s stocking will be stuffed with a McGivney commemorative lapel pin! Good councils get cash from Stewie Claus, naughty councils might get pictures of State Officers in their stockings. Be a good council!!! The Road Trip to State Convention ends December 31. Every council that reaches their Star Council membership goal by December 31 gets a $400 gift card to the Cincinnati Marriott at River Center. That’s the main hotel for our Ohio State Convention this year. We will hopefully be there LIVE and IN PERSON. If we happen to have a virtual convention, it’s a great gift card to use for a weekend away wit your wife. The hotel overlooks the Ohio River, the Cincinnati skyline, and both stadiums. Imagine watching the barges move downriver as you snuggle with the one you love. There is no snuggling without recruiting though!! So get your councils busy!! We are a little behind our recruitment expectation for the year. October came in at 63% of our monthly recruitment goal. Membership, like children, doesn’t grow and develop according to a chart. Do the activities you can and recruit at those events. Advertise your council and activities in the parish. Stay strong brothers and pray for Blessed Fr. McGivney’s healing intervention. Stewart Vetter, State Membership Director
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Super Cash Bonanza – Jeff Kiliany, State Treasurer It’s almost time to start thinking about the next Super Cash Bonanza campaign for 2021. The first thing that you should do is make sure that you have a ticket chairman in place. This will give him plenty of time before the February Ticket Distribution meeting to lay out a plan for your council’s Charity Ticket Campaign. We still don’t know what 2021 will bring. Will the pandemic subside? Or, will it still be a factor and continue to be present throughout the world? This year’s pandemic definitely has caused difficulty for councils to raise funds for its programs and charitable causes this year. We may be in for more of the same for 2021, especially in the first couple of months. The Super Cash Bonanza Charity Campaign may be a way for your council to offset some of your council’s diminished income from not being able to conduct your regular fundraising activities. Many councils had a successful ticket campaign despite the pandemic restrictions because they already had partners lined up, they did a mail campaign to their membership, and they got creative by promoting their tickets through the internet by using Facebook, their council webpage, and other online media sources. If your council hasn’t sent out tickets to the membership through the mail in the past, this is definitely the year that you want to start. This way all of your members become involved in the campaign. Your Financial Secretary can print out mailing labels for each of your members through member management. A letter from the Grand Knight and the Super CASH BONANZA Chairman accompanies up to 10 tickets sent to each member. Details of the mission are provided so that the member knows the particulars of how to sell and where and when to turn in the tickets and money. A
“Buy Five, Sell Five More” theme is a suggested slogan for a mail campaign. If your council needs a boost in sales, consider “partnering” with local organizations or church groups to sell tickets through their contacts. Consider “partnering” with more than one organization. Now is the time to talk to some local organizations that could also use some extra income to help their organization out as well. Don’t wait until this February, get them lined up now so that they can start selling tickets as soon as you pick them up at the ticket distribution meeting. Provide them with a portion of the $2.40 instant rebate for all tickets sold by their members. Your council will benefit from the additional sales and potentially achieve a higher rebate incentive. Whether your council uses a mail campaign or other means of distributing your tickets, there must be frequent and organized follow-ups by mail, phone, email and council newsletter to make sure the tickets are being sold and not sitting idle. Arrangements need to be made for tickets and money to be collected, counted, sorted, and submitted to the State Treasurer before the turn-in deadlines. Now is the time to start lining up volunteers for these very important duties and committees. Plan early, promote, and partner! We are here to help you work toward the success of the 2021 Super Cash Bonanza charity campaign at your local council.
Fraternally Yours, Jeff Kiliany, State Treasurer Super cash Bonanza Chairman 330-853-6099 jtktg@yahoo.com
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Measure Up 2020 Close Out and Look to 2021 – Jim Maslach, State Warden The 2020 Measure Up Campaign, like a lot of things, will go down in the annuals of history as one of those strange years. COVID certainly put a damper on the program, but it did not put a damper on the spirit of our councils. The final report for Measure Up is being tallied. Checks will be starting to go out by the end of November or early December. Some of these will make nice Christmas gifts for the programs you are supporting.
and April 29, 30 and May 1, 2021. More on that will be coming out after the first of the year.
Now, as we get ready to change the calendar, we need to start planning for 2021 Measure Up Campaign. Yes, COVID will still be here. But we are ready this time. Plan your events, collections or fundraisers to be within the state and local guidelines. Measure Up Weekends are April 22-24
Jim Maslach State Warden 2021 Measure Up Campaign Chairman Phone/Text: 440-785-9838 Email: kofcjkm@gmail.com
Flyers and stickers are available on the state website at PROGRAMS –> Measure Up. Simply scroll down to Resources. The booklet and forms will be updated by December 1st. Again, thank you for all that you did during these difficult times to help those brothers and sisters with developmental disabilities and let's look forward to a great 2021 campaign.
Safety First, and the SEP in the age of COVID - Mike Felerski, State Advocate Brother Knights, as State Advocate I have been asked about the State Council’s position on everything from masks to in-person events. Supreme has left it up to the jurisdictions to provide guidance beyond “keeping safe”. The best answer is to begin is at the ground level. This goes for council meetings as well as council events such as free throws. 1) Check with your membership and ask them if they would be comfortable getting together for an event. If the membership agrees to an inperson council meeting, Supreme recommends that it be streamed over the internet using a service like GoToMeeting, WebEx, Zoom, Teams, etc. for the members who don’t feel comfortable attending in person. 2) Gain approval from the venue (church or hall) and find out what rules/restrictions they require to meet in person. 3) Follow the rules, recommendations, and restrictions of your local municipality, county, and the state of Ohio.
Speaking of safety, remember that all the rules and recommendations from the Safe Environment Program are still required. Those members serving in the key leadership positions (Grand Knight, Program, Family, and Community Directors), are required to complete the three training modules teaching about abuse prevention best practices either online or via workbook self-study guides. Members serving in those leadership roles must make sure all Knights of Columbus safe environment policies and procedures are followed at any activity sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. NOTE: If you missed your module completion deadline, your FS must resubmit the council’s Form 365 to restart your training. Make sure your email address is correct - this is how you are contacted with your login information. Check your “Junk” folder if you did not receive a link from Presidium. SEP compliance is a requirement for earning Star Council. If you have questions regarding your compliance status, you can contact me at mfelerski@icloud.com or reach out to the Supreme Member Helpline: youthleader@kofc.org.
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Report of the State General Program Director “We Are Many; We Are One”, the State general Program was designed to aid our councils in their quest to achieve “Star Council” by developing exceptional programs based on “Faith in Action”. Here is a recap of the award winning programs from the 2019-2020 fraternal year… Knights are called to serve others. Our first principle is Charity – at home with our families and in our communities. When Knights of Columbus members come together they accomplish great things. Best Community Program: Div #1 Council #14551 Human Trafficking Div #2 Council #15905 The Knight Calling Div #3 Council #10876 Blood Drive Div #4 Council #16373 Teenage Family Assistance Div #5 Council #3813 Alayna Bretisk Benefit State Winner: St. Hillary Council #14551 Our goal is to strengthen men and their families in the Catholic faith. Formation in our faith goes beyond mere facts or religious practice to an authentic connection with a loving God and his son Jesus Christ. Best Faith Program: Div #1 Council #14995 Div #2 Council #11208 Div #3 Council #4324 Div #4 Council #16373 Div #5 Council #17092 State Winner:
Morning of Reflection Men’s Retreat Alpha Spiritual Reflection Library/Reflection Room St. Bren. Council #11208
Father McGivney sought to strengthen the bonds of families in his parish and the Knights of Columbus. These programs, created for families by families, help us to live this call. Best Family Program: Div #1 Council #14995 Div #2 Council #1801 Div #3 Council #11369 Div #4 Council #15942 Div #5 Council #16706 State Winner:
Bereavement Policy Poinsettias for Widows Food for Families Community Dinner Veterans Day Remembrance Msgr. Breslin #14995
The Knights of Columbus vigorously defends the dignity of each human being at every stage of life. Best Life Program: Div #1 Council #14551 Div #2 Council #4733 Div #3 Council #14155 Div #4 Council #16373 Div #5 Council #16461 State Winner:
Pro-Life Hour Blankets for Babies Right to Life Essay Contest Matthew’s Lending Library Basketball Competition Westlake #16373
We are Catholic men who lead, serve, protect and defend. We share a desire to be better husbands, fathers, sons, neighbors and role models and to put charity and community first. Best Membership Program: Div #1 Council #1592 Custom Mem. Presentation Div #2 Council #6373 Recruit a Seminarian Div #3 Council #14155 Delta Church Drive Div #4 Council #16376 ROMEO Breakfast Div #5 Council #15533 Com. Involvem. Recruitmnt State Winner: Westlake #15533 Knight of the Year: Cin: Billy Williams Cle: J. Patrick Rynd Col: John Koenig Steb: Daniel Corcoran Tol: Joseph Hartle You: Dennis Gacioch State Winner: Joseph Hartle
Council #4424 Council #10936 Council #10876 Council #478 Council #14502 Council #4733 Council #14502
Chaplain of the Year: Cin: Fr. Anthony Vinay Cle: Fr. Douglas Brown Col: Deacon Don Poirier Steb: Msgr. Mike Campbell Tol: Fr. Geoff Rose You: Ludomir Zhybak State Winner: Fr. Anthony Vinay
Council #16461 Council #16279 Council #10863 Council #478 Council #14502 Council #3813 Council #16461
Chaplain of the Year: Cin: Dennis McGarry Family Council #12912 Cle: Adam Carr Family Council #13517 Col: Louis Mickley Family Council #910 Steb: Michael Duska Family Council #4361 Tol: Michael Wascovich Family Council #5023 You: Albert I. Makara Family Council #3813 State Winner: Michael Wascovich Council #5023 Chaplain of the Year: Cin: Jonathan Karhoff Council #3724 Cle: Maria Gilles Council #16373 Col: Seth Miller Council #10863 Steb: Victoria Humphrey Council #478 Tol: Olivia Coppler Council #1925 You: Jasmyne Whitman Council #7491 State Winner: Jonathan Karhoff Council #3724 Fraternally, Mike Nau State Program Director.
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6 – yes 6 Steps to Sign-Up an eMember - Nick Gresko, State eMembership Director An eMember is a brother Knight who joins via Supreme’s online portal. Maybe he joined on his own and you were notified, or maybe you would like to help a prospective member join online.
The process is super easy and only it only takes six steps…
Step One Step Two Step Three
After being redirected to the Supreme website, have the prospective member fill out his State, Name, Email address, date of birth, and check: ☑ I am a baptized Catholic male, ☑ I am a practical Catholic, and ☑ I Agree to abide by the laws and rules of the Knights of Columbus. PROCEED TO JOIN
Step Four
☑
Step Five
999999
Step Six
Visit the State website: KOFCOHIO.ORG and click on the Join Us! button.
Join Us!
Click on the Proceed button and have them enter their full address information. Check the box: I am interested in joining a local council. Make sure they enter your council number as the “Preferred Council #”.
Provide a credit card for the payment of the first year’s dues and if they have a current “Promo Code” they would enter it in the box provided.
An email will be sent to the State eMembership Director, State Deputy, GK, FS when Step 4 is checked and a council number is entered. If no council number is entered, his information will be forwarded to the council nearest to him, see below.
The Form 100 will have ☑ next to TRANSFER. This is because the eMember is already a brother Knight and has a membership number from Supreme. So if he is joining your council he is considered a TRANSFER on the Form 100.
The council can then go through the Admission Committee, vote on the member, send him the link to the electronic Constitutional Roll and finally attend the Online Exemplification.
However (and this is key) to your council, once the eMember goes through your Admission Committee, is voted on, signs the electronic Constitutional Roll, and attends the Online Exemplification, COUNTS as +1 new member toward the council’s fraternal year quota!
BOOM!!! you have a new member and Brother Knight to continue our good work in the name of Jesus Christ!
What do we do if “out of the blue” the eMembership Director informs us of an eMember who wants to join our council
?
When the eMembership Director emails the GK and FS the eMember’s details, a “Pre-filled” Form 100 will also be sent to them.
As always, if you have any questions please reach out to your Diocesan Membership Director or email me at: greskon@sbcglobal.net
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STAR COUNCIL AWARD - Ken Girt PSD State Special Reports Chairman For those that read my monthly Star Council Status reports, you should be aware by now of the changes to the criteria for the 2020-2021 Star Council Award. These include: 1. McGivney Award (Membership) New quotas this year. 5% Net Growth (Reduced from 7%) Minimum of 3 Maximum of 20 (Reduced from 4 - 35) The monthly Star Council Status report Membership quota percentage is based on the revised quota. 2. Founders Award (Insurance) Host and promote two fraternal benefit seminars. No attendee minimum. However, seminars must be promoted. Can do combined seminars with other councils. Use only approved presentations. General Agent reports completion to Supreme. Please contact your field agent. One the second fraternal benefit seminar is attended by members of your council, you will be awarded 100% of the Insurance quota. 3. Columbian Award (SP7) 16 Program credits, 4 programs in Faith, Family, Community and Life categories. No required programs. Supreme has added new “featured” programs for your consideration. Submitting one “featured” program will result in credit for two of the four activities required for that “Faith in Action” category. FAITH FAMILY COMMUNITY LIFE
RSVP, Into the Breach, Spiritual Reflection, Holy Hour Food for Families, Family of the Month/Year, Family Prayer Night, Family Fully Alive Coats for Kids, Global Wheelchair Mission, Habitat for Humanity, Leave No Neighbor Behind March for Life, Special Olympics, Ultrasound Program, Pregnancy Center Support
The deadline for the Columbian Award Application is June 30. Please use the State Council Special Email Address for submitting these forms. Once the state council receives and records your form, they will email to Supreme. Email Address for Supreme Forms: form100@kofcohio.org form185@kofcohio.org form365@kofcohio.org form1295@kofcohio.org form1728@kofcohio.org formsp7@kofcohio.org form2629@kofcohio.org
(New Member Form 100) (Report of Council Officers) (Report of Program Personnel) (Council Audit) (Fraternal Survey) (Columbian Award Application) (Report of Round Table Coordinator)
4. Submit Forms 365 (Program Directors) and 1728 (Fraternal Survey). Form 365 was due on August 15 and Form 1728 is due February 15, 2021. Please use the State Council special email address for submitting these forms. Once the state council receives and records your form, they will email to Supreme. See list above. 5. Safe Environment Compliancy All four required council positions must be complaint for the current fraternal year. This includes Grand Knight, Council Program Director, Family Director and Community Director. The Family and Community Directors are also subject to a background check. Supreme Council emails those four officers the information and link to the Praesidium Safe Environment Training. That is why is important that councils submit their Form 365 with the brother Knight’s names and email addresses listed for all four required positions. 6. Supreme Assessments
Removed requirement for this fraternal year.
Thanks for all the great things you do for the Order! Let me know if you have any questions. Ken Girt PSD State Special Reports Chairman girtken@sssnet.com 330-608-7949