State Deputies Report at State Convention in Dallas 2023

I hope you enjoyed the 119^th Annual Knights of Columbus Convention of the Texas State Council. We want to thank His Excellency, Bishop Edward Burns, for allowing us to meet and gather in his Diocese. We also want to thank the Dallas Convention Committee, headed by Diocesan Deputy Mike Courtney and State Charity Director Reed Fontenot. Our gratitude to the whole committee for their efforts and their hard work in accomplishing this task. Thank you.

The convention was dedicated to honor our two recently deceased Bishops, Past State Chaplain, Bishop John W. Yanta, from the Diocese of Amarillo and Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza, from the Archdiocese of Galveston Houston. Both of these gentlemen were big supporters of the Knights of Columbus.

During this fraternal year, some of our fellow brothers had passed away. On Sunday morning at our Memorial Mass, we remembered these brothers. Let us continue to pray for them and always keep them in our hearts. Let us also pray for Ukraine and our Brother Knights in Ukraine. May they find peace and an end to the war in their homeland.

IPSD / Supreme Director Alfredo Vela and wife Rosa, made a commitment the previous two years to cover every diocese in the state, multiple times, when possible. Beth and I made a similar commitment, and have had the pleasure of attending many events across this Great State. We want to thank the members and their wives, of all the places we have visited, for your warm hospitality. You have accepted us and welcomed us with open arms and for that, we thank you.

On behalf of the Texas State Officers and the membership statewide, we want to thank Most Reverend Michael Sis, Bishop of the Diocese of San Angelo, for serving as our State Chaplain, and to Father Mel Bessellieu, from the Diocese of Fort Worth, for serving as our Associate State Chaplain. Our thanks, not only for your spiritual guidance and the friendship you bring to the State family, but also for what you do for the Order and the people in your parishes.

We extend our sincere gratitude to the State Officers and their wives. State Secretary Ron and Margo Alonzo, State Treasurer Bob Goss, State Advocate David and Susan Pels, State Warden Bruce and Cathy Mallory, Immediate Past State Deputy and Supreme Director Alfredo and Rosa Vela. Thank you for your assistance, your support, and, most importantly, your friendship. You have taken time off from your schedules to participate and make a difference not only with the Texas State Council, but also make a difference in the Order.

We are grateful to all the Past State Deputies and their wives who have served and continue to serve the Texas State Council. We will always rely on your advice, guidance and support. All of you have helped mold and shape what Texas is today.

Each and every success that the Texas State Council enjoys is entirely because of the efforts of our Brother Knights at the local level. Thank you to the Grand Knights, Officers and the 112,000+ members of the 800+ councils throughout this great state of Texas. You all are the ones that are responsible for the recognition that the Texas State Council receives. You are the ones that bring the members in, donates to our State Charities, and do all the Programs for your members. Thank you for what you do for the Order, for the Texas State Council, and most importantly, what you do for your council and parish community.

Membership recruitment is vital for the long-term success of the Texas State Council. Membership Director, Derek Rabey and his team have worked throughout the year with our Diocesan Deputies, District Deputies and local council officers to ensure that our jurisdiction continues to grow. We encourage all councils and members to continue to utilize the Online Recruitment tool and the BLESSEDMCGIVNEY incentive. We thank you for helping to lead Texas to the Pinnacle Circle of Honor during the 2021-2022 fraternal year, for the second consecutive year.

Every council in Texas should strive for Star Council status. To help them and to answer any questions concerning Star Council, our Star Council Director, Bill Tillotson, and his team is there to assist. Their task is to keep all stakeholders informed of their status regarding Star Council which includes membership, fraternal benefits, forms, and SAFE Environment. Our goal is to have at least one Star Council in every District. We thank you for your efforts to help get councils to Star Council status.

Blessed Fr. Michael J. McGivney’s vision was to have a Knights of Columbus presence in every parish. Our Council Growth Director, Davis Zeigler, is charged with this task. Whether it is New Council Development, Reactivation of suspended councils, and/or Round Tables, the team will strive to make sure that every parish and/or mission is represented by the Knights of Columbus. Thank you to the Council Growth team.

To keep a council vibrant and energetic, every council needs strong Programs. Our Program Director, Carlos X. Martinez, is there to help and answer any questions concerning National, State, or Local programs. Our program model is Faith in Action, divided into Faith, Family, Community, and Life. Each division has multiple activities that we could conduct. But, we also have programs at the state level. Programs such as the Ace Wings, Pro-Life Marches, ASAP Initiative, Ultrasound Machine, Silver Rose, RSVP Program, and State Golf, Bowling and Softball Tournaments are some of the activities available to keep your councils vibrant and engaged. We thank Carlos X. Martinez, and his Program team for their efforts.

We also want to thank our Education and Training Director, Ed Tydings and his Education and Training team. The future of our Order is dependent on how well we train our leaders for the future. Our Education and Training Director, Ed Tydings, and his committee are there to provide training for District Deputies, Council Officers, and Financial Secretaries. They are also tasked with gathering the information for the Finish Line which is published monthly. In addition, they take care of the website, social media and the presentations used at major meetings.

The first principle of the Order is CHARITY. The Charities Committee is led by our Charities Director, Reed Fontenot. Their main responsibility is to raise funds for our Charity Program. The Charity Program returns to the Bishop in your Diocese 70% of the funds collected. Each Bishop can use these funds for his designated Charity. Along with our Charity Program, this committee is also responsible for the Bishop Thomas J Flanagan Fund, Humberto Cardinal Medeiros Fund, Special Olympics, American Wheelchair Program and Disaster Relief. All of these are programs where every council has an opportunity to practice our first principle, Charity. Thank you to the Charities team for help to fulfill the first principle of the Order, Charity.

Thank you to the Education Committee led by Giacomo Leone. They spent endless hours going through all the essays to make sure that a child in every Diocese receives an education grant. These education grants are funded by participation in the Cardinal Medeiros Fund.

State Council Charity has its own Board of Directors. The Board is made up of the State Officers plus five at-large members. These members are Charity Director, Reed Fontenot, Art Aguirre, Greg Dutchover, Phillip Apgar and Charles Trahan. Thank you to all of you for serving on the Charity Board.

With over 800 councils and over 112,000 members, the communication task is made easier through Diocesan and District Deputies. The job of Diocesan and/or District Deputies is not easy, but it can be very fulfilling. Sometimes they must be the Drill Sergeant, other times, a cheerleader, a compassionate listener and even a front-line worker depending on the situation. Every District Deputy oversees 4 or 5 councils. Plus, they need to attend council meetings and ensure that at least one council in their district attains Star Council status. Thank you, Diocesan Deputies and District Deputies. You all are a major contributor to the success Texas enjoys.

One of the reasons the Knights of Columbus was founded was to take care of widows and orphans when the man passes away. To accomplish that, we have our insurance programs. The Insurance Liaison between the State Family and the General Agents is Tony Rangel. The insurance program in our state is led by all our experienced and well-rounded General Agents. All General Agents have Field Agents which take care of the councils at the local level. They are there to take care of all your insurance needs whether is be life insurance, annuities, long term care, retirement or whatever it might be. I suggest that you contact your General and/or Field Agent as soon as possible. A huge thank you to our General and Field Agents, thank you for taking care of our families.

If there is a Field Agent at your local council meeting, please introduce them to your membership and give him an opportunity to speak at the meeting. Plus, use your Field Agent for recruiting purposes. He is very interested in your success as an individual and as a council. His only job is the Knights of Columbus. His success is dependent on your success.

The visible arm of the Knights of Columbus is the 4^th degree which is also the Patriotic Degree. To communicate and coordinate between the State Family and our 4^th degree, we have our Master of the Sword, Pat Conway. Our Masters around the state, James Hatcher, Javier Martinez, Kenneth Franch, Guadalupe Ortiz, Giovani Hippolite and Jesus Villarreal, Jr. are there to help and coordinate Bishop visits, fallouts, assist at funerals and other functions where the 4^th degree is requested.

Every year the Texas State Council and State Council Charities goes through an audit with independent auditors from outside the organization. Both organizations also must submit tax returns to the IRS. To help interpret the audit and to help with the filing of the tax returns, we would like to thank our Audit Committee consisting of Roy Rabenaldt, CPA (Chairman) and Phil Apgar, CPA.

Our appreciation and gratitude to our Football Sweepstakes team. To keep our State Per Capita down, we have our Football Sweepstakes. Our committee was chaired by Jimmy Hernandez. He and his committee put their best effort forward amid controversies to make the Football Sweepstakes a success.

Thank You to our Special Assistants to the State Deputy, Terry Simonton and Doug Oldmixon, and our Assistant to the State Chaplain Deacon Simon Resendez.

Our appreciation and gratitude for our Liturgy Couple, Pat Henz and his wife Mary for having the Altar ready to celebrate Mass at our major functions. A special thanks to our Hospitality Couple, James and Nan DeGhelder. They hosted the hospitality rooms with safety always on their minds.

We had the privilege of having Blessed Fr. Michael McGivney tour North Texas back in March when his Relic was negotiated by General Agent Chris Stark to have Supreme Representative, Fr. Jon Kalisch escort this prized possession as it was in front of over 10,000 pilgrims, traveled more than 1,000 miles of Texas country in five days. Five cities, three Diocese, three Catholic Schools, and three K of C Halls were Blessed with McGivney, and his presence helped recruit at least 42 new Brother Knights! Thousands of prayer intentions were sent to New Haven, and were offered in prayer by Fr. Jon at Blessed McGivney’s tomb! Thank you, Chris & Fr. Jon!

As previously mentioned, our Insurance Liaison is Tony Rangel and his wife Cindy. Our Master of the Sword is Pat Conway and his wife Debbie. To them we owe a deep sense of gratitude for all that they have done.

Our Founder, Blessed Fr. Michael J. McGivney was Beatified on October 31, 2020. We have the Fr. McGivney Guild to promote the works of our Founder. Heading the promotion at the State level is John Plote and his wife Lynn. Our State Historian is PSD Douglas Oldmixon and his wife Jo-Dee. Our Supreme and State Per Capita Chairman is Brad and Ruth Meyer.

A special Thank You to the two ladies in our group. Mary Maresca is the Sunshine Lady and Patti Bettge who oversees the Prayer Program coordination.

A State Deputy’s task can be a daunting one. But, we have a great staff in our State office. Thank you to our Executive Secretary, Michael McLaughlin, our Accountant, Kari Jordan, and Kathleen McLoughlin, Records Coordinator. They make our jobs so much easier.

Finally, last and certainly not the least. Thank you to all the wives of our Brother Knights. Thank you for letting us do what we do and supporting everything that we do. A very HUGE AND SPECIAL THANK YOU to my wife, Beth. As I travel around the state, you will usually see her by my side. Thank you for your love, and sacrifice. Thank you for keeping me grounded and for cheering me up when needed.

My Brother Knights, the success of the Texas State Council is and always will be because of the efforts of all the councils at the local level. We still have two more months to go. Please reach for the stars and lead your council to Star Council status. Christ be Our Light!!!

God Bless and

Vivat Jesus