Year End Wrap Up
The Knights were busy in December, helping spread the Christmas Cheer…
- The Annual “Keep Christ in Christmas” campaign with signage, reminding everyone to keep Christ in Christmas. This year we also handed out “Keep Christ in Christmas” prayer cards at several of the Masses.
- Operation Santa Clause-Helped in collecting and distributing toys for children.
- Assisted in the decorating of St. Elizabeth Parish, which including setting up the manger for the outdoor Nativity.
- Set up luminaries for the Christmas Eve Mass.
- and finally, we helped take down everything we set up.
Council Christmas Party
Was held Sat, Dec 13 at the Kimberton Golf Club. It was a good opportunity to get together, relax and enjoy a good meal and socialize. “Frank Sinatra” was back this year to provide dinner entertainment, and we also had music provided by Rodstar Entertainment. Thanks to Bob and Cam Hayes for hosting again this year, and to everyone who donated the raffle/door prizes. A good time was had by all!
Parish Blood Drive
The council conducted its third annual blood drive in conjunction with the American Red Cross. Sixty-Five individuals came to the Ludwig’s Fire Hall to donate blood. Sixty-two usable pints were collected. Council members and members of the Parish should be proud of these folks for giving the gift of life. Blood continues to be in short supply and anyone over the age of 17 is encouraged to donate whenever possible.
Parish Tree Removal
On Sept 13, the Knights met to remove about 30 dead trees from St Elizabeth Church property. Two pictures show Mark Antony single handedly removing what Msgr Mullin called a small amount of concrete. As it turned out it was the tip of the iceberg. It appears the contractors left a large below grade pile of motar. When the rest of us completed the tree removal we found Mark, pick axe in hand, with the rock pile. Another project complete on schedule. Well done!
Family Picnic
Our annual Family picnic was held on Saturday, Aug 9th and our hosts this year were Brother Glenn Kowlaski and his wife AnnMarie.
Springton Manor Harvest
Sat Aug 9th-Another successful growing season completed, it was time for harvest! We had another great potato harvest again this year. We harvested 2331 Lbs (1.1 tons) of high quality, organically grown, Yukon Gold Potatoes. As always, they will be donated to Cares Food Network for distribution to various Chester County Food Cupboards for use by our less fortunate brothers and sisters.
A BIG SPUD THANK YOU to all the volunteers who came out for the harvest on Saturday as well as those who helped with the planting and hilling during the year. We had 25 to 30 volunteers on Saturday including Knights, wives and children. A great turn out on a beautiful day.
As always, A Great Big Thank you goes to Pat Kasper, Mary Damian and Pat McDonald for there help with the Parish Youth. We had a great group of children volunteers and I think they even had some fun getting dirty. Click here for pictures!
Annual Golf Outing
Our Sixth annual St. Elizabeth Council’s spring golf outing turned into a summer golf outing after the spring date was washed out. This year’s event was held Fri, Aug 1st) and was once again a success. Special thanks to Brother Bob Hayes and the Kimberton Golf Club for hosting again this year.
Parish Landscaping Project
On Saturday, June 21st, the Knights tackled a project to edge, weed and mulch all the trees inside the curb at St. Elizabeth Church and School. This included the islands at the front of the Church. The following note the Organizer SK Bill Schell:
Brothers, I can’t find a big enough thanks to all the Brothers who participated in the Church Mulch Project this past Saturday. We had 28 Brothers, 2 teen age sons (Jonathon Brennan & Anthony Arena) and 1 wife. (Mary Phelps) for a total of 31 Volunteers. In addition, we received responses from 7 other Brothers who wanted to participate but had other commitments. Fantastic!!!!
We weeded, edged and mulched 75 trees, 2 large shrub beds and 2 flower beds and used 20 yards of Mulch. All of this in 4 hours.
A special thanks must go to Brother Steve George for his labor and the use of his edging machine. Steve is a landscaper by profession and relatively new to our Council. Steve’s help saved us time and labor. Another special thanks must go to Brother Joe Arena for getting the mulch donated by Mulch Man. And, with that a big Thank You to The Mulch Man and the Wozniak family. Another special thanks must go to Brother Elliot Rosado for getting the pizza donated by Dominos. GOD bless St Elizabeth Parish and the Knights of Columbus. Click here for pictures!
Parish Clothing Drive
This year’s clothing drive was held the weekend of June 14-15, at all Masses, benefiting St. Vincent De Paul Society. It was a great success! The level of support we received from our council and the support we received from the parishioners of St. Elizabeth’s Parish was outstanding. The Society of St. Vincent DePaul dropped off a 48 ft trailer on Friday. We had Brother Knights on hand for the 5:30 mass on Saturday and all morning on Sunday until about 1. In between donuts, coffee and a brief rain shower around 11, we filled this trailer front to back with bags of goods piled about 4 ft high all the way through. Msgr. Mullin thought we looked a little hungry so he sent out some muffins to get us through the day too! It was especially nice to see not just the quantity donated but the quality as well. We should all feel proud that our council and our parish rises to the occasion to share it’s blessings with those less fortunate time and time again. Many thanks to all who participated, and to John Fiore for organizing! Click here for pictures!
2008-2009 Election Of Officers
Officers for the upcoming Fraternal year were elected at the June Council Meeting. Congratulations to the “Officers Elect”!
- Grand Knight – SK Harry Tucci
- Deputy Grand Knight – SK Bill Shields
- Chancellor – SK Bill Schell
- Warden – SK Fred Clark
- Inside Guard – SK Curt Zingaro
- Inside Guard – SK Pat Donoghue
- Outside Guard – SK Jeff Ciardi
- Outside Guard – BK Matt Ward
- Advocate – BK Ray Williams
- Treasurer – SK John Fiore
- Recorder – BK Ed Smith, PGK
- 3rd Year Trustee – SK John Rogge, PGK
- 2nd Year Trustee – SK Jim Smith, PGK
- 1st Year Trustee – SK Chris Ruggiero, PGK
Springton Manor Hilling
June 7th – The potatoes at Springton have been growing well but it was time to weed and hill the potato plants. Four Brothers came out on Friday to do tilling and prep work. Although the forecast was HOT, we had 8 Brothers and one wife (Flo Clark) turn out on Saturday. In addition, we had about 15 Children and Parents help with the hilling, weeding and picking up rocks. Pat Kasper, as usual, was there with drinks and snacks for everyone. Larry Welsch of Cares Food Network also provided much of the labor, encouragement and support.
A special thanks to all the Brothers who turned out and to those who couldn’t make it because of other commitments. The toughest job is not the field labor but getting the youth involved. Again this year we must give a BIG THANKS to Pat Kasper for her dedication to the Potato Project and to St Elizabeth Parish. I know she said quite a few Hail Marys on Friday night that we would have a good turn out on Saturday. As we all know, Prayer works. Click here for pictures!
BK, Deacon Jim McAvoy
Congratulations to BK Jim McAvoy who was ordained a Deacon on Sat May 31st. Sunday Jun 1st, was the first Mass when our Brother Jim McAvoy (along with BK Deacon Rick Freemont) assisted the Celebrant as a Deacon. Several Knights attended this Mass in support of Jim.
“Measure Up” Campaign for ARC
The Knights were out in force again at local ACME stores in Eagle and Exton collecting for The ARC. The “can collection” drive was held during weekends in April and May. Thanks to our generous community, this year’s drive resulted in about $2900, better than last year.
Thanks to SK Tom Kirk for organizing our efforts, and Our thanks to ACME stores in Eagle and Exton for their continued support in providing us a location for this worthy cause. As you can see from the photos, one little helper really helped bring in the donations this year! Click here for more pictures!
4th Degree Exemplification
The Exemplification was held over Memorial Day weekend. Congratulations to our council’s newest Sir Knights:
- SK RJ Dawson
- SK John Fiore
- SK Tom Kirk
- SK Matt Zingaro
St. Elizabeth Parish – Stepping Forward Together
The Second phase of the building campaign was celebrated on Sun, May 18th. Despite the heavy rain, the Parishoners who attended had a good time. The Knights were very busy that day helping with the various activities…most of it during the rain! SK Jim Smith was key in organizing our efforts, including:
- Planting trees on Friday and setting up the parking lot
- Collecting tables and chairs and setting up the event on Saturday
- Parking, food tables, event support and takedown on Sunday
- Returning tables and chairs and other equipment on Monday
Postal Workers Food Drive for the Lord’s Pantry
The Postal Workers Food Drive (Sat, May 10th) for the Lord’s Pantry was another great success. The Knights were very well represented for both the first and second shifts. So much food came in that sorting had to stop so the tents could be taken down at 5:00. At that point, all the remaining food was weighed and moved inside to be sorted later in the week.
Thanks to BK John Magee for organizing our participation.
Here’s how the event worked: The Postal workers picked up donations from their customers. As each truck finished their routes, they dropped off all collections at the Lord’s Pantry. All donations were then checked for current dates (non-expired), then sorted by category. As the sort bins filled up they were weighed, and then taken to the storage area. All told, the final statistics are pretty amazing: DOWNINGTOWN: 9,546 lbs + EXTON: 3,106 lbs = Over 6 Tons of food!
St. Elizabeth Parish, May Procession
The St. Elizabeth Parish , May Procession was held May 7th). Many Knights participated, including several members of the fourth degree Color Corp. Other participants lined the walkways as the children went by and then joined the procession carrying our banner with the other Parish Ministry groups.
St. Elizabeth Confirmation
Members of our 4th Degree Knights provided color guard escort for the Parish’s Confirmation class. Due to the size of the Confirmation group, there were two masses led by Cardinal Rigali. Following the entrance procession, the color guard move to their seats. Cardinal Rigali took time for photos and greetings with the color guard.
Spring Beef and Beer Social- Bartending
The Knights “Manned the Saloon” at the Parish Beef and Beer Social. There was a western theme that included a lot of cowboy hats, boots and bandannas, as well as instructed line dancing.
Springton Manor – Potato Project
SK Bill Schell is organizing the effort again this year to till and plant potatoes for the benefit of area food banks.
April 20th–We had a great turn out on Saturday: 8 Brother Knights and over 20 children and parents. It only took 1 1/2 hours to plant over 300lbs of potato sets. (We planted 200lbs last year) On April 19th, Brothers Jim Smith, Harry Tucci, Larry Welsch (CCCares) and Bill Schell did the prep work.
Communion Breakfast
Following the 8:00 AM Family Mass, the 6th annual Communion Breakfast was held on Sunday March 30th in the Parish Social Hall. Following the opening prayer by our brother Chaplin, Father Frank Chambers, Worthy Grand Knight John Rogge presented Monsignor Mullin with a pledge card for $10,000, along with the first installment check. Our Council has committed to supporting the Parish in the “Stepping Forward” capital campaign program. WGK Rogge also presented certificates to some newer brothers who made their First degrees this year. All new members this year are presented certificates dedicated to His Holiness, Pope Benedict. Everyone had a great time and enjoyed the excellent breakfast, provided by BK Vincent Montesano and Montesano Brothers Catering. Click here for pictures!
The Knight of the Year Award went to Brother R.J. Dawson. This year, RJ was recognized for initiating, leading and carrying out our council’s Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Family of the Year Award Went to the Fiore Family. John and Angie have been active in various council committees, most notably the “Stepping Forward” capital campaign. WGK noted that in one presentation alone, John mentioned his participation in the Knights of Columbus three times-talk about getting our name out there. A related article was submitted to the Community Courier, and was printed in the Downingtown editon on Wednesday May 7, 2008 More pictures here!
Parish Mardi Gras Social
Held Sat, Feb 8 in the Parish Social Hall, it was a night of socializing, dancing, Cajun food and drink. This Parish event was well attended and everyone seemed to have good time. The Knights were glad to serve as bartenders for the evening, SK Harold Gibson organized our barstaff.
Immaculatta College Art Show
Also becoming an annual event for us, the set-up activities took place on Jan 25-28. Following the event, take down took place Feb 10th. SK Jim Smith made sure our assistance was directed where it was needed.
Pro-Life Bus Trip to Washington, DC.
The annual Parish bus trip to Washington, DC to participate in the March For Life. The rental of the bus was organized by SK Harry Tucci and BK Ray Williams.
Quarterly Adoration for Pro-Life
Held with the Parish Pro-life committee on Sun, Jan 20 in the St. Elizabeth Daily Chapel.
K of C Basketball Shootout
The annual event was also held on Jan 20, in the Bishop Shanahan Gym. Our council’s event was coordinated and organized by BK Ed Smith. The District Basketball Free Throw was held Feb 10 at St Basil Church in Kimberton. Our council had 6 representatives and three winners. Congratulations to Noelle Alicea, Kenny Jarema and Stephen Long. These three youngsters now move on to the Regional competition on Feb 23 at Cardinal O’Hara HS in Springfield. We wish them good luck! Several St. Elizabeth Council brothers, as well as several from St Basil’s, assisted the District Deputy in the production of a very spirited competition. Thanks to all who helped make this program a success again.–BK Ed Smith Click here for pictures!