Texas YOU DID IT!

My Brother Knights in the Great State of Texas,

My heartfelt thanks to the over 100,000 of you that made an incredible difference in your councils, parishes, Dioceses, and Texas State Council in the last year and beyond. Texas is once again in the Circle of Honor due to your generous contribution of Time, Talent, and Treasure, just as you do for your own parishes.

You helped bring 4911 Catholic gentlemen into the Order, which is the fifth highest total in 119 years of Texas State Council history. We ended up #1 in Division 1, edging out Michigan who also had an incredible year. They printed green buttons with “BEAT TEXAS” and distributed across their state, to no avail…

You contributed $968,966 to State Charities which will allow nearly $740k to be returned to the bishops of the 15 Diocese in Texas for their respective charities. By nearly every council filing Form #1728, we learned Texas lead the Order with over $9.5 Million given in charitable contributions, and we also lead the Order with 2,169,604 volunteer hours provided to our communities. If ALL councils filed their #1728, and other forms, imagine what our real numbers could be.

We reached a new record for Star Councils in Texas with a whopping 208. This amazing feat will be recognized by Supreme in a future Columbia magazine. Star Council State Director Bill Tillotson feels that record will be broken this time next year. We exceeded the Safe Environment Compliance Goal by reaching over 300. Thank you for caring for our youth, the elderly, and all vulnerable people who can be preyed upon.

Last year, Texas led the American Wheelchair Mission intake with around $725K. Our closest competitor was California with $200K. This year, you helped donate over $966K, while California was second again with around $225K. First Lady Beth Frugé was responsible for approximately $100k in donations, and she went on two wheelchair distributions in Mexico visiting Hermosillo in November and Oaxaca in July. There were at least 15 new Parishes in Texas that hosted a Wheelchair Weekend for the first time. Their success was amazing.

While what YOU accomplished in the last 12 months was impressive, all our numbers reset to ZERO on July 1, and we started over again. Amazingly, one month into the 2023-2024 Fraternal Year, Texas and Michigan are once again sparring for the coveted #1 position. I know TEXAS will prevail as we continue to bring Catholic gentlemen into our ranks.

Last year, our “Under 50-Year-Old Intake Goal” was 1,269. We doubled that goal bringing in 2,589. This will certainly help the longevity of many councils that have been struggling to get new blood in the ranks. Council Officers, please attend your Diocesan Conferences and ask your DDs about Supreme and State webinars and training videos. First time GKs and officers are hungry for knowledge to succeed.

Again, thank you to the State Family, the 15 Diocesan Deputies, 220 District Deputies, and over 750 Grand Knights of Councils who have accepted their leadership roles in Texas, while getting involved in the COR Initiative in helping bring our Brothers closer to God and letting “CHRIST BE OUR LIGHT”.