First off I want to thank you for your confidence in electing me Grand Knight for this council. I am honored. I can only hope I can live up to the past Grand Knights, as they have set the bar pretty high. I want to thank outgoing Grand Knight, Mike Hartel, for his dedication, hard work, and service to our council. He did a wonderful job and deserves our gratitude! I also want to thank the outgoing officers for their hard work and service to the council. This is a great council, and it would not run as smoothly as it does without the good leadership that we have. Next, a thank you to the incoming officers. I appreciate you offering your time and talents to run our council, and I look forward to working with each and every one of you. I have one more thank you and that is to the entire council membership. It not only takes great leadership as really nothing would get done without the general membership taking part and participating... so thank you all for all you do!
I hope everyone is safe and healthy during these trying times. Currently we are planning for the July meeting to be outdoors again as was the June meeting. We are holding hope that we will be able to access the social hall by then in order to not worry about the weather. It has been nice to return to the mass, although a little odd with the masks and social distancing. I believe that it is worth it to be receiving the Eucharist again though. It is just not the same watching on TV for me.
My next topic is not so pleasant. I have been made aware of a complaint about our elections this year. There is a perception that some positions were chosen by the officers, and I want to clear this up right away. I will also discuss this at the July general membership meeting and open it up for questions and discussion.
I want everyone to know that this is "our" (meaning everyone's) council. We start off the election process with officer nominations being taken at the April and May general meetings. We did not have those meetings this year due to Covid-19, so we took them via email/phone calls. They were posted on the website and in the newsletter. We also take nominations before we vote at the June meeting. Any member can either nominate any other member or himself for any position. If there are multiple nominations for a position after everyone is qualified as being able and willing to serve, we will hold a vote to determine who is elected to that position. If there is only one candidate they are elected by acclimation after a motion, 2nd, and a vote. This year we were missing a couple of key positions, and we did actively recruit members to fill those positions. Recruiting for positions should in no way be misconstrued as being dishonest or not following the rules. We simply want to keep good men in all positions to insure continuity of this great council. I hope this helps to quell any issues anyone has about our election process and if there are any problems with this please do not hesitate to contact me or bring it up at our next meeting for discussion.
Our 2020-21 board of officers was elected at the June general membership meeting and the results are as follows:
Grand Knight - Tom Gray
Deputy Grand Knight - Phil Mularski
Chancellor - Kevin Kennedy
Recorder - Rob Tusset
Treasurer - Ray Coughlin
Warden - Tony Guido
Inside Guard - Joe Kish
Outside Guard - Vince Ursini
Advocate - Ken Krause
3-Year Trustee - Mike Hartel
I will be working on appointments of some director positions very soon. If you are interested in a leadership position, it is a good step to get your feet wet being a director. Just let me know if you are interested.
Vivat Jesus,
Tom Gray
Outgoing Grand Knight’s Mike Hartel Closing Remarks
We look forward to your support for your elected officers in the new fraternal year which begins on July 1. The council is in good hands with Tom as our new Grand Knight, Phil as the Deputy Grand Knight and many returning and new officers and directors.
I would like to thank each and every one of you for the support and fraternity you have given Karla and me over the last two years. We had quite a few changes and challenges over the past two years. A new Faith in Action program, transfer to a new District, construction at church and the Covid virus to mention just a few.
I believe that with your participation and support, our council is as strong as ever and will continue to do the good works the Knights of Columbus are known for. Thank you for all that you do and may God Bless each and every one of my Brother Knights and their families!
Vivat Jesus,
Mike Hartel