Greeting Brothers and Families,
Spring is around the corner and Easter Season is upon us. Let us all make this season of Lent extra special. Try to make this year a true period of self-examination to identify our strengths and weaknesses so that we can improve. Let us also pray for the conversion of sinners, to pray for those who've fallen and to pray for the strength to lift them up.
This spring season also finds the Council's future charitable donations a concern due to Bingo's limited income. The cause for this is many, i.e. low attendance, non-smoking law went into effect, the struggling economy, etc. What my concern is that the Council stays financially stable, which I believe will, due to the fore-handedness of our Council's fathers who put policies and procedures into effect to keep our financial reserves safe. To that end, I ask your prayers and God's hands to guide our budget committee in making prudent decisions to get the Council through these difficult financial times. Furthermore, I want to give a special thanks to Lou Stella and Paul Simard, the Council's Bingo Managers, for coming up with innovated ways in Bingo practices to get us through these struggling financial times.
The Blitz is on for membership recruitment! At the February Council Meeting, Brother Bill Bamford handed out Form 100s to all the members in an attempt to get our current brothers to recruit new members. I echoed the charge of recruitment at the March Council meeting. If you know of any catholic gentleman that meets the criteria for membership in the Knights of Columbus, please obtain the prospects name and telephone number and have him fill out form 100. Please turn all completed form 100s to Brother Bill Bamford for further follow-up. Again, thank you in advance for your efforts here.
The Knights of Columbus State Convention is scheduled for May 2 - 4, 2008. With that in mind, our reporting period for Service Program Activity Reports ended March 20th. Our Council has submitted 34 Activity Reports summarized here into the five categories: 11 Community, 10 Council, 4 Church, 5 Family, 4 Youth. You can all take pride in your accomplishment. Job well Done!
We are already into the last half of the Council year and it is time to begin considering the slate of Officers to lead the Council for 2008/2009. I have asked Brother Larry Belair to head up a Committee to put together a proposed slate for the coming year. Some of you will be contacted to ask about your willingness to assume certain positions. I hope that you will consider being a part of the leadership team in this Council. With your help, we can continue to be one of the best Councils in the State.
God Bless,
Joe Stafford
