We are men who lead, serve, protect and defend, whether we are giving out Coats for Kids, donating wheelchairs, lending a helping hand in disaster relief efforts, supporting local pregnancy centers or providing top-quality financial products.
Congratulations to David on his selection as the 38th Annual Knight of the Year for fraternal year 2023-2024. When announced as this Years’ Knight of the Year by Efrain Ochoa, last years’ selection, David received a thunderous round of applause. During my talk with David, I soon surmised that the central core of David involved giving. While David wasn’t exactly sure where this desire to give to others came from; but he thinks it probably came from his humble beginnings while being raised along with 6 siblings by his mother in El Paso. David gives generously to his family members, to Holy Spirt Church and equally important random people that he and his wife Veronica feels need help. They oftentimes buy groceries or random items for strangers when it appears someone has difficulty paying. So it naturally followed that when I asked him why he joined the Knights he said: “to help others”. So for all the years of giving it is only appropriate that he be selected Knight of the Year. David spent the first 10 years of his life in Chicago, came to El Paso with his family and lived there until he entered the Army in 1975. This is also where he met his future wife, Veronica, at the tender age of 15. During his 10 year military career, much of it spent at Fort Hood, he married Veronica at Fort Bliss in 1978.
His post military life was in warehouse management at Sweepstakes Clearing House in Dallas. He retired in 2015 after 30 years on the job. David joined the Knights in 2006 at the urging of a longtime late friend of the Knights – David Briggs, and served as our Chancellor during the 2010- 2012 fraternal year but stepped back from being an officer when his elderly in-laws moved in from El Paso and became the daily center of their lives. (Ameli Rojis and Juan Rojis both passed away in 2019 at the ages of 109 and 108 respectively). Since his retirement David has stepped up his participation in Knight and church activities. Have we ever had a fish fry without David – I don’t think so. Could we cook for the residents of St. Joseph’s Assisted Living center without David – we could but we never have. David has been on countless Knight Hands projects – most recently during spring P.I.P Days. He is currently director of church activities and a Hospitality Minister at the 7:30am Sunday Mass. Wherever there is work to be done, you will find David. He not only bring his extensive knowledge of carpentry and common sense, but also brings joy to the event. His happiness rubs off on others and so he is an inspiring member of this council. David and Veronica have recently taken up a bit of traveling – one excursion to Italy another to the Holy Lands and still another to Greece and Turkey. They will soon be returning to Italy with Fr. Uche.
One of the David’ interesting hobbies is making crosses out of tree branches. It’s more than a hobby, though, because he gives them away to children and grownups alike as gifts. Another example of David’s passion for giving. When I asked David what he had learned from being a Knight he replied “I found more ways to help others” and “the look on people’s faces when we help them is so rewarding”, also “I have learned to care for others even more”, and “I enjoy the physicality of working for others”. David’s favorite words are “hello” and “always be joyful”. It easy to see why David was the Knight of the Year.
