Home of the Knights of Columbus #11730

Knight of the Month: Dan Szarkowski
Dan serves as Inside Guard for the Council, where he assists the Warden with equipment, securing the room and shepherding those gathered for meetings and activities when necessary. He has also assisted the Grand Knight with the visuals for meetings. Dan is a big player in the breakfast burrito fundraisers: he contacts precooks and delivers supplies to them as well as precooks himself. Recently, he had an idea for a new flavor of breakfast burrito (chorizo). After a successful test batch, it was incorporated into the breakfast burrito menu. In the kitchen, he fills any roles that are needed, and last month he weighed the ingredients to ensure each burrito had the proper amount. 650 burritos were wrapped that morning! Thank you Dan for all you do!

Family of the Month: Charley and Donna Walker
Charley and Donna have been been expressing their faith with service to our parish and community in many ways. Charley most recently promoted to our council a scholarship program for young adults starting college. He then worked the project with other knights to get the program underway. Also recently, Charley led the Keep Christ in Christmas Poster Contest. As Warden of this council, he keeps our Knights shed and its equipment in order. He also participates in our breakfast burrito fundraiser.
Donna, a retired registered nurse, has extended her proclivity for helping others to the parish and community by volunteering for many services. She is a Stephan Minister for the parish and diocese. In that role she meets with care receivers who just need someone to talk to. Donna helps with the Mater Filius home at St. Gabriel, where new mothers can go to get a better start. Donna is a member of the Ladies of the Forest where she participates in activities including fundraisers where she makes delicious items for bake sales. At times, she even helps at Knights events, and she helps serve meals at funeral receptions for the parish. Lastly, Donna just became an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion to help the congregation receive the precious Body and Blood of our Lord at Mass.
Thank you Charley and Donna Walker for all of the great work that you do for our parish and community.

The November Knight of the Month award goes to John Parker.
Since joining the council, John has been taking an active role in helping with our council’s activities. He found his niche with the Breakfast Burrito fund raising event our council does most months of the year. Over the past several months, he has been training under the guidance of Greg Sullivan to learn all aspects of breakfast burrito production and sales, which includes planning, purchasing and distributing supplies, managing the kitchen and assembly lines, and selling the product after morning Masses.

The November Family of the Month Award goes to Solomon and Rachel Baase.
The Baase family exemplified outstanding dedication and service contributing their time, talent, and energy particularly with the Charity and Social Outreach’s Thanksgiving Food Drive. Their collective efforts not only reflected a deep commitment to community service, but also highlighted their individual contributions. Solomon (Sol) took a leadership role in the “That Man Is You” program, then migrated to hosting the sessions. He took up a role as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion (EMHC). His devotion extended to assisting in the Welcome Center, where he greeted newcomers with warmth and hospitality. Additionally, Sol continued his dedication to spiritual growth by teaching Religious Education (RE). Because of his passion for the Catholic Faith, he is currently in training to become a Deacon. Rachel played a pivotal role in the religious education of children. She taught both the First Communion RE class and the Middle School “Luminaries” RE class, nurturing a deep understanding of faith in the younger generation. Her patient and thoughtful approach to teaching left a lasting impact on all of her students. Their son Traft led the Video Camera Ministry, ensuring that Masses and events were captured beautifully. His technical expertise and dedication behind the scenes have played an essential role in helping others participate in the services, whether in person or virtually. Revv, another son, served as an altar server. His commitment to the liturgical life of the church is evident in the way he approaches his role with a sense of responsibility and devotion. Finally, Eastyn, the youngest member of the family, also participated in the Visual Ministry. Together, they continue to set an inspiring example of faith in action.

December 2024 Knight of the Month: Kevin Bradley
The council has been assisting the Parish with parking lot assistance for the heavily attended Masses at Christmas and Easter for several years. Kevin has expertise in how to manage parking lots at events, so he assumed leadership in the effort. He started preparing for the Christmas Eve Masses last summer, because he saw inadequacies in the radios our council used and in the available signage. He made a proposal to the council and in spite of scrutiny, he convinced a committee tasked with effort that both purchases enhance the parking lot assistance team to do their jobs more effectively. This was proven out on Christmas Eve when he led a team of seven Knights to manage parking for the two 4PM Masses. Great leadership, great execution.

December 2024 Family of the Month: Bruce and Carolyn Rahn
Bruce is a long-term stalwart for our council and parish. Over the years, he has served at almost every type of council event we have had, as well as, in officer positions including most recently in the demanding position of recorder. For our parish, he is a regular serving as a sacristan but has also performed many other duties including Life Safety Time, Welcome Minister, and Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. His wife Carolyn is a member of the Ladies Auxiliary and also serves frequently as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion presenting the Body of Christ with the most pleasant, welcoming smile. The Rahn team’s dedication to a life of faith and service is inspirational. We are blessed to have them in our council and in our parish. It is with great respect and gratitude that we honor the Rahn family as Family of the Month.

On 21 December after the 4:30 mass, an exemplification was held to welcome seven new 3-degree brothers into the Knights of Columbus. The new knights from left to right are Justin Bosco (blocked in photo), Seminarian Jonathan DeCock, Logan Crane, Robert Koller, Michael Jones, Phil Davies, and Eric Mitchel. Please welcome them when you see them. Warden Charley Walker and Grand Knight Pierre Gaudreault are assisting with the ceremony.

Our council donated $2000 for the youth of Our Lady of the Pines that attended the National Catholic Youth Conference. Grand Knight Pierre Gaudreault presented the check to High School Ministry Director Stacy Paris along with other ministry representatives. This helped all youth defray some of the costs incurred to attend the conference.