“A lot of people gripe about thankless jobs,” says Juan Chapa, Knight of the Month for July. “When you‘re in the Knights, you can work your butt off but you don‘t feel thankless.” Juan has been a council member since the mid-1990’s, about 10 years after moving his family to Duncanville. He ushered with Alfonso Hernaiz and accepted Alfonso‘s invitation to join 8157. His favorite council activity is working the Cedar Hill baseball concession stand because he likes to interact with children. Juan provides them with more than correct change and pickle pops: “I like to share experiences with them,” he says. Juan was born in Laredo, Texas and grew up in Chicago. He met his wife of 39 years, Lupita, on a blind date. He served seven years in the Army, honorably discharged in March 1979 as a Staff Sergeant (with two Commendation Medals) to spend more time with the couple‘s two children (Sergio and Rachel) soon after they started school. Juan earned an accounting degree from Laredo State in 1983 and was hired by the U.S. Treasury to work in Dallas in 1985. A former Inside Guard and Outside Guard, Juan sees council activities as a chance to give back to his parish. “I have a lot of good friends,” he says, “but with the Knights it‘s special. It‘s a little bit more personal.”
Council Meeting Schedule
