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.
Meeting Minutes
09/02/2025
Dining Room
MEETING CALLED TO ORDER at 7:30 P.M.
OPENING PRAYER: by JOEL LOPEZ
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: by PAUL RYAN
OPENING ODE: by ALL
ROLL CALL OF OFFICERS: P=PRESENT, A=ABSENT, EX=EXCUSED
CHAPLAIN:
GRAND KNIGHT: MARC EVANS: P WARDEN: JESUS RADILLO: P
DEP GRAND KNIGHT: PAUL RYAN: P. INSIDE GUARD: RUSSELL LEROY: P
CHANCELLOR: EFRAIN OCHOA: P OUTSIDE GUARD: JOEL LOPEZ: P
FINANCIAL SECRETARY: PETER PERTA: P ADVOCATE: RUSSELL GULLEY; P
LECTURER: JOEL LOPEZ: P 1ST YR TRUSTEE: JIM RUSSELL: P
TREASURER: JAMES SMITH: P 2ND YR TRUSTEE: DAN MURPHY: EX
RECORDER: ROBERT NIETO: P 3RD YR TRUSTEE: MIKE FITZGERALD: P
ARE ALL PRESENT IN POSSESSION OF A CURRENT MEMBERSHIP CARD: per Outside Guard: Yes
All persons who are not Knights (or honored guests) shall please retire form the chamber. The doors shall now be closed and the guards assume their positions.
Approve Minutes of the Prior Meeting – The minutes of our August 5th General Membership Meeting were posted on the Council’s website on August 22nd. A motion was made to accept the minutes as posted. The motion was seconded and the minutes were approved as posted
Grand Knight’s Report
New Knights attending their first meeting:
Gerardo Terron -This is his second meeting; He is happy to be here and serve his community
Gerardo Piña Martinez -He is from Monterrey, México and works for a trucking company; he is married, has 2 children, and is happy to serve!
Special Presentation
Family of the Month: Kyle Gillespy with his wife and 5 children were presented a certificate as Family of the Month.
Fall Festival – The Fall Festival this year will be on Saturday, September 27th and food will be served on Sunday September 28th. Planning is being led by PGK Chris Kubin. We will be asked to serve much as in prior years, including assembling the stage on Thursday the 25th with new plywood (that we purchase), setting up tents / tables / chairs / coolers on Friday the 26th, warming 15 cases of smoked turkey legs to be served on Saturday and Sunday, break down and store tents / tables / chairs / coolers on Sunday the 28th, dis-assemble stage on Monday the 29th. We especially need help late Saturday afternoon (around 5 p.m.) as we will be tearing down the gaming area. Only food service will take place on Sunday, September 28th. Please sign up and to help and contact brother Knight Gamaliel Hernandez if you have any questions.
Knights of Columbus and the Parish
GK Marc Evans met with Father Uche on July 9th. We asked Fr. Uche what kind of direction on the Knights can best serve the parish. We currently have many programs running currently.
Fr. Uche provided directions from Parish for desired Knight activities and support
Marriage and the Church
Marriage invites spouses to the banquet of LOVE -not one of privilege and convenience but one of service, forgiveness, and fidelity. We warmly inviter all couples, married and unmarried in the Church, those preparing for marriage, or those needing healing or seeking clarity in the area to a special session as part of the Year of the Family. We will explore the teachings on marriage, common struggles, and paths forward. This includes discussion on the annulment process. Fr. Christian is very knowledgeable as he sits on the Tribunal for the Diocese of Dallas. There will be two sessions.
Monday, October 6th and Monday, October 13th:
Community Center -led by Fr. Christian Casado
7 p.m. until 8 p.m.
Other Items:
Financial Secretary’s Report – Worthy Financial Secretary by Sir Knight Peter Perta :
Treasurer’s Report – SK James Smith
James advised the Council of last month’s ending balance, the overall deposits made this month, the overall expenditures for this month and the resulting ending balance.
4th Degree – SK James Smith – we have several exemplification ceremonies coming up; if you are interested in becoming a Knight of the 4th Degree, contact James Smith or Jim Russell.
James Smith announced the Food Pantry truck will be here at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday 09/03/2025. Volunteers are needed to unload and pass out the donation items. Please arrive around 8:30 a.m.
Italian Sister Parish -We will be providing breakfast to a group of visitors from our sister parish in Italy. We expect about 40 people. They will attend Mass at 9 a.m. and help is needed for the breakfast.
Knight Hands and Baseball Concessions -by SK Allen Reitmeier
The last tree (the pecan tree) was trimmed on the parish grounds. Thanks to Eduardo Torres, John Owen, and Jack Ramsden. A table for Linda Medrano was repaired by Linda Reitmeier. A retaining wall was repaired. Thank you , Peter Perta, Miguel Hernandez (first time helping with Knight Hands), Jesse Aguirre, Efrain Ochoa, and John Espree. Jorge Ruiz repaired a flat tire for the Liska family. Thank you, Jorge! John Owen was able to find a 4 wheeled walker needed by a parishioner. Property Improvement Program (PIP) is coming this September. Allen will be attending an upcoming meeting and will decide if we take on any PIP projects.
Baseball begins this Saturday. September 6th at 9 a.m. (5 games) and will go on for 5 consecutive Saturdays. We may have a Rosemary Stamp Out Cancer tournament in late September.
Our Website -The Awareness Committee has a simple mission: to let our K of C Council know was has taken place and what will be coming up in the future. We are happy to announce that Jesse Aguirre will be keeping our event calendar current. If there are IT issues with the website, we have Jorge Ruiz to help us out. Please check our calendar for our upcoming events like Special Olympics, meetings and other Knight activities. Our website takes a group of people to make it run. Robby Zablan writes the stories for our Knight of the Month and Family of the Month. The Retention Committee helps write the stories on our new members; this includes Efrain Ochoa, Joel Lopez, Paul Ryan, Adan Luna, Allen Reitmeier, and Jorge Ruiz. The website is www.kofc8157.org
Jorge Ruiz reported that our website is the featured website on the new platform for the KofC website. Many people who have visited the website have been very impressed with the quality and scope of our website. A big thanks to all the Knights who help make it a grand success!
Exemplification Ceremony -We are planning to have our next exemplification ceremony on Sunday, September 7, 2025 in English after the 1 p.m. Mass.
Church Activities -Vacant
David is looking to train someone to over the position of Director for Church Activities.
Sister Parish from Italy -There will be a group of visitors from our sister parish in Italy. We expect about 40 people in attendance. This will take place on Sunday, October 19th, after the 9 a.m. Mass. More details to come.
Bible Study – Marc Evans -The Men’s Bible study group meets every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month at 6 AM. The sessions focus on the Holy Spirit, and we will finish the program called “The Wild Goose” this month. The next month, we will focus on the K of C program “Into the Breach” Program. This will start in October and go for 7 sessions. The meeting wraps up around 7:30 AM.
Program & Committee Reports
Programs
We prayed 3 Hail Marys to end abortion.
Admissions Committee – S/K Russell Gully
Russell reports the committee met with 2 prospect candidates. One candidate, Juan Espinoza, is single and lives in Dallas. He works for Deloitte. His sponsor is Marc Evans. The second candidate is Daniel Banderos. He lives in Waxahachie and has been attending St. Elizabeth parish. He is single and works for the EPA. His sponsor is Drew Carlson. The Admissions Committee has recommended these two men for membership. A motion was made, it was seconded, and the motion passed. An exemplification ceremony will take place in English on Sunday, September 7th at 2: 30 p.m.
Marc Evans mentioned that when Juan Espinoza asked him about the Knights, Marc was able pull out an official K of C card to get him to to sign up! The QR card will take him to the Form 100 and they can sign up electronically. The card is in English and in Spanish. Make sure to write “8157” on the card along with your name and phone number.
Awareness Committee – Allen Reitmeier -mentioned earlier in the meeting
Council Activities – Vacant
Health Director – Dr. Robert Nieto – We are planning a blood drive later this year. Perhaps in early November. More details to come.
Recruitment –SK Jim Kowalski
Jim states that we currently have 4 members signed up. Our goal for the year is 13. However, Jim stated that if we continue to recruit 2 members per month, we can make Double Star designation. Jim said we achieved this 2 years ago, and he has faith we can do it again.
Retention – SK Paul Ryan -no report
Safe Environment – SK Russell Leroy
Russell reports our Safe Environment program is going well. However, ATT deactivated Russell’s e-mail, and he will now need to create a new e-mail. His new e-mail is leroy.rus@icloud .com. The Bishop has stated that everyone needs to be safe Environment trained. Period. New Knights are being trained as they come in.
Diocese of Dallas Chapter/Knights of Columbus National Convention – by Jorge Ruiz
Jorge was able to attend the International Convention of the Knights of Columbus in Washington, D.C. He represented the Dallas Chapter and was part of the group of delegates representing Texas. This was made possible as Marc Evans nominated Jorge at the K of C State Convention in Corus Christi. Jorge said it was a wonderful experience, and the Supreme Knight gives his annual report. Nine countries were represented, and there were over 2,500 people in attendance. The Texas delegation consisted of 10 members. We had a hospitality suite and served chili to those who came by. Total membership of the Knights of Columbus stands at 2.1 million members worldwide. There are over 16,700 Councils all throughout the world. We are phasing out the paper Form 100 forms. Total charitable donations: 197 million dollars! Special Olympics received 5 million dollars. Blood donations: 265,000 units of blood donated; Over 48 million volunteer hours. We have donated 19,000 wheelchairs; over 8.5 million dollars in scholarships donated by the Councils; At the banquet, someone is singing the state song, and the song for each country. Jorge said the delegate’s expenses are covered entirely. Archbishop Lori states we should all have an “elevator pitch” ready to go. The following is the one he created:
“The Knights are 2.1 million Catholic men. It was founded many years ago by a holy priest, named Blessed Fr. Michael McGivney. They take their faith seriously, and support one another in living the faith and strive together to be good husbands and fathers. They band together to put their faith into action by spreading the faith and helping those that are in need. The Knights are in 9 countries and our membership is growing. Want to join us?”
We are a very active and an amazing organization!
Unfinished Business
None
New Business
None
Field Agent –Eben Fernandez -absent
Good of the Order by Efrain Ochoa
Knight of the Month: Zachary Cazares (August)
Knight of the Month: John Owen (September)
Family of the Month: Kyle and Kelsey Gillespy -presented earlier in the meeting
Prayer Requests – Steve Zehnder, Therese Leroy, the soul of Michael Higgins, son of SK Mike Higgins, the soul of Eudelia Serna, mother-in-law of SK Gonzalo Aillon, and many others
Closing Prayer by Marc Evans -He prayed a special prayer for the canonization of Blessed Fr. McGivney
Closing Ode
50/50 Meeting Drawing 5777 Hector Rubio
50/50 Membership Drawing – Pat Stepniewski (not present)
Meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m.
