KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS COUNCIL 11424
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006 NEWSLETTER

A November/December meeting will be held on November 19th after 10am Mass.

PAST EVENTS


FALL FAMILY PICNIC EXTRAVAGANZA:

Our Council’s annual fall family picnic/bonfire//clay pigeon shoot occurred on October 21st at the at the
Patterson family compound near the Dayton airport.  13 brother knights and their families and friends
enjoyed a wonderful Saturday afternoon.  Deputy Grand Knight Don Harrison and brother knight Dave
Kazmark put on a shooting exhibition, powdering clay pigeons with almost every shot.  The food was
great as was the camaraderie of Tennessee Volunteer fans cheering on their favorite televised football
team.  The bonfire drew a crowd when it got a little cold after the sun went down.  Thanks to the Patterson
clan and everyone else who helped put on this terrific family event.

ROAD CLEAN-UP:

Our Council’s semi-annual highway clean-up scheduled for Oct 7th was a bust.  Only three people
showed up for the event, which was then cancelled for lack of participation.   Event coordinator Herman
Osborne, Past Grand Knight David Patterson, and your Grand Knight cannot be expected to work this
worthy community project by themselves.  Our Council must give prayerful consideration to either
dropping this activity or fully committing to support future clean-ups.


UPCOMING EVENTS

KC BREAKFAST:

Our next Knights of Columbus fundraising breakfast will be held on November 12th after 10am Mass.  
Council Lecturer Herb Snell needs volunteers to help with donated food, preparing the meal, and
cleaning up afterwards.   We raised $300 last time, and the fellowship was priceless.  Please plan on
helping with this fundraiser or at least bringing your family to enjoy a great breakfast.


PARISH CHRISTMAS PARTY:

Another event which should be on everyone’s calendar is this year’s parish Christmas party which will be
held on December 16th.  Our Council will host the party which will include food, music (Brother Knight Jan
Rodriguez from Chattanooga will spin the oldies), and a “surprise” visit by  Mr. and Mrs. Claus.  Stay tuned
for more details as they become available.


GRAND KNIGHT’S REPORT

13 brother knights attended the Council 11424 monthly meeting on October 21st at the Patterson’s fall
family extravaganza.  

Planned as the “world’s shortest Council meeting,” our longer than expected gathering turned into a great
opportunity for people to discuss several issues which were on their minds.  

The most important concern was that our small group seems to be loosing its commitment to fully
participate in various worthy events.  With only 30 or so active members, we need everyone to take part in
at least some of our community, church, and family activities.  It seems that a handful of people are
carrying the load for the Council, and quite frankly it just isn’t fair to expect these folks to continue without
greater representation from their brother knights.  Let’s face it, we are an aging bunch, and some of us
cannot do all the things we used to be able to do, despite our good intentions.

So, I ask that each of us put Council activities a little higher on our family priority list.  Please make a point
of attending Council functions (like our upcoming Christmas party!) and offering to help from time to time.  
I also ask that everyone include the Council in your prayers > we need to grow if we are to continue to
operate.  Please ask a Catholic friend to consider becoming a Knight.  We need new members.

A second concern involves finances.  If we want to help worthy charitable organizations as well as support
our Parish, we need the money to fund our contributions.  We bring in a little bit of money by the few
fundraisers we put on, but we need to consider raising our Council’s annual dues if we are to do more
than lip service.  Our dues have not changed since the Council was founded 12 years ago, but the cost of
everything has more than doubled during this time.  At the October meeting it was suggested that our
annual dues be raised from the current $36 (way below the average for Tennessee) to $40.  We would
still offer an early bird discount ($35, vice current $30) for those who pay their dues before February 1st.  
We will bring this up for a vote at our next combined November/December meeting on November 19th.

Finally, it was heartwarming to receive a thank you card to the Council from our very own Taryn Balwinski,
the 2007 Junior Miss Wheelchair Tennessee.  She appreciated our support and the continuing love and
support of brother knight Bernie Switter and his wife Rose.

Very respectfully,

Doug Schott,
Grand Knight, Council 11424
St Bridget Church, Dayton, TN