New Grand Knight Eager To Start Tenure

Grand Knights Column
By Dan Breneman

Brother Knights,
First of all I would like to thank each and every one of you for expressing your faith in me by electing me as the Grand Knight of y(our) council. No that wasn’t a typographical error your council is our council and vice versa. I am damn proud to be sitting here typing this first of many newsletter articles for your informative entertainment.

As my first message to you I want you to think of this as an open invitation from here on out that I want you to get involved. I am not just talking about work. I am talking about the fun as well. We are constantly looking for more ways to get y(our) council together for the purpose of having fun. Come out to our director’s meeting (everyone in the council is welcome to attend and give input).

Sometimes it just takes a fresh face and a new idea and we are off and running with it. Director’s meetings are held the first Monday of every month. Unless otherwise given ample notice the meetings are held at the Cottleville Hall at 7:30 p.m. Come out and join us.

Tom Mattingly, our Worthy District Deputy, has planned an evening at the St. Charles Council hall for the installation of officers in our district. Unfortunately I am unable to attend but would encourage anyone who would like to attend this evening of dinner and dancing with their spouse or significant other to please contact me as soon as possible so that I may provide you information on how to get tickets for this event. Harvester will plan a small ceremony of the installation of officers soon and will announce the particulars as they further develop.

Summer is a slow time for us as a council but a busy time for your families. I would like to close this letter to you by saying we do still have Riverport (UMB Pavilion) events and select Family Arena Events. If you get an email from either Dave Meglio or John Breneman they would greatly appreciate a response (yes or no) so that they can have more time themselves to spend with their families.

Have a wonderful Summer and see you at y(our) meetings.

Daniel E. Breneman
bookem99@yahoo.com

Breneman Honored as Knight of the Year

The June council meeting was packed with major events. In addition to it being the final meeting for Grand Knight Meglio, (members of the council showed their gratitude for Dave by showing up with their sweater vests on, some custom made that night), but it was also a perfect time to honor longtime KofC member John Breneman as the Harvester KofC Knight of the Year.

JB was presented with a statue of order founder Fr. McGivney and kind words, and some ribbing, were said about JB from Meglio, Deputy Grand Knight Dan Breneman and Chancellor Kevin Smith.

The award was well deserved for one of the council's most active and unsung members. Congrats John and we are all grateful to have you as part of our council.

June Meeting Minutes Posted

The June meeting minutes have been posted on the council's site.
Click on the "Members" link near the top of the page to access the password-protected section of the site.
Remember, to help speed up the meetings, the minutes will be approved "as posted on the council web site," so make sure you read them over so they can be approved. And of course, if you were unable to make the June meeting check out the minutes to see what you missed.
Click on the headline above for a link to the council's site.

UMB Needs for Upcoming Week

Brothers:

UMB staffing needs for next week include Thursday, July 21st for Averil Lavigne.
We need a lead at 5:00pm and 3 additional volunteers at 5:45.
We also are looking for help on Saturday, July 23rd for the Journey concert.
We need 3-4 volunteers at 6:15pm. We currently have the lead (Kevin Gahagen-5:30) and Bill Struckmann scheduled.
Please email jb at john@brenemangomez.com or call him at (636)978-0234.
Thanks!

July UMB Update

By John Breneman

We have five events in late July and early August which will need staffing.

Thursday, July 21st is Avril Lavigne, Saturday, July 26th is Journey, Sunday, July 31st is Sugar Water Festival????, Saturday, August 6th is Three Doors Down and Tuesday, August 9th is Motley Crue.

To date we have earned over $3,000 working 10 concerts. I am pleased that 43 different people have worked at least one shift. Special thanks to the Steinlage’s. John & Sheila have worked 6 shifts between them! THANK YOU!

Now let’s give them a break by checking your schedules and calling John Breneman at 636-978-0234 or 314-422-1691 or email at the address of john@brenemangomez.com to volunteer for these events.

Remember, you must wear black shorts or slacks, NO jeans & No open toed shoes. Thanks in advance for your help!

2005 State Softball Tourney Fun Time Again

Once again the Harvester Knights participated in the State KofC Softball tourney, held the last weekend in June at the Rainbow softball complex in Columbia, MO.
This year the council had two teams participate, one in the over-35 qualifier division and one in the Open Non-Qualifier Division. Both teams went 1-1 on the Saturday of the tournament but were unable to continue their ride in the tournament with Sunday loses.
The only thing that came close to matching the play on the field was the fun and good times had by the players and their family and friends off the field. The council might be looking for a new hotel for the 2006 tournament though after some run ins with hotel management.
The council was unsuccessful in its bid to host the 2006 tournament in O'Fallon at the Ozzie Smith Sports Complex after a surprise bid was put in by the Columbia Council to once again host the tournament. The Harvester Council only put the bid in for the tournament because they had been informed by many state-level leaders that no one wanted to host the tournament in 2006.
To see a slide show of pictures from the tournament, click on the headline above.

Scholarship Winners Announced

We awarded two $500 dollar scholarships on Friday May 27th at the J and A 8th grade graduation.
The winners were Shannon Lampkin and Danny Hunkins. The teachers and the principal assisted again this year to help make the selection of deserving students.

Meglio Thankful for Support from Fellow Knights

Grand Knight's Column
By Dave Meglio

Brothers,

Two years ago next month I took the job as Grand Knight of the Harvester Council. I stepped into the shoes of a lot of great guys that I respected and admired. I was a nervous wreck the 1st time I ran a meeting, trying to make sure that I provided you something meaningful each time we got together was hard work. I tried to draw upon all the things that I had learned from the Grand Knights of the past. I remember Bob Gragnani who was the GK when I first joined the Knights and how he was so inspirational to me when it came helping the Care Service or the No-Hunger Holiday. Guys like him set a standard for the way a council should be run. I remember how calm cool and collected Tom Shadrach always was whenever we would run into a bump in the road and how he would always say, "everything will work out, you’ll see" and it always did. How darn organized Eric Smith was and as my predecessor, he got me off on the right foot and was always there to answer any question that I had. These guys did an unbelievable job as GK, and I want to use this moment to let them know how much I appreciate their leadership.


I also want to thank a number of other guys. 1st I would like to thank all of the directors who worked with me for the past two years. For putting up with all of my hair brained ideas and who were patient enough to listen to them no matter how off the wall they were. I would like to thank Kevin Smith and Dan Breneman for their support and friendship. You guys are the best and I will be there to support you as you begin your terms as GK and DGK. I want to thank Gene Stark for doing a fantastic job as Financial Secretary. He quietly gets the job done and never looks for recognition. I would like to thank Craig Lalumandier for having the hardest last name to spell and for doing and impeccable job as secretary. Thanks goes to Virgil Beer and Kenny Boone for always having something tasty to eat at the meetings. Their job has a special place in my heart because it was the first job that I did when I joined the Knights. I would like to extend thanks to all the guys who are involved in the degree teams and because of your efforts; you make the Knights a unique and special organization. To the guys who are the membership directors, Tom O’leary and Jim Radi, these men understand that new members are the lifeblood of an organization like the Knights. Special thanks goes to Kevin Smith & Mark Laux for helping us take our council into the electronic era with the Web Site and the Blog (Web Log).

To the guys who make the council work, they do the Family Arenas, the UMB Pavilions, the No-Hunger Holidays, Adapt a Family, Tootsie Roll, and all the other events that we do over a year’s time.


Rich Antrobus
Dan Biondo
Melvin Bishop
Barth Breneman
Woody Borgschulte
John Chaffee
George Crawford
Denny Corr
Tony Dickherber
Earl Dirie
Bernie Donnelly
Dale Dunnerman
Craig Entwistle
Tom Fan
Bob Fletcher
Bob Fusinatto
Bob Brewer
Randy Henry
Nick Gavura
Jack Gillette
Craig Good
Bob Gragnani
Bill Hassall
Gene Heist
Doug Helfrich
Jack Hitt
Craig Lappe
Tom Lyons
Mike Narkawicz
Sean O’Donnell
Mark Parker
Dave Poss
Doug Rada
Joe Radi
John Reavey
Bo Riccardi
Tom Rothermich
Mike Sage
Bob Sage
Pat Stack
Tom Stefaniak
Bob Stravalli
Mike Tobin
Mike Witte
Steve Yallaly
Barry Young
Tom Oleary

Specail thanks goes to the following guys for doing way more than their share:

Rich Schindler
Deaton Ellis
Bob Silvestri
John Hoelscher
Mike Martchink
Glenn Korando
Mike Thomas
Pierce Conley
John Steinlage

Lastly, I would like to thank John Breneman who I bet would have never guessed 25 years ago that when he first saw this snot nosed kid at McDonalds that we would still be working with him today. You are the backbone of the Harvester Knights; I cannot say in words properly how much I appreciate the time and commitment that you have put into this Council. I value your friendship and I measure myself by your example.


I would like to thank you all for your time and if I missed any one, I’m sorry it was not intentional.

Dave Meglio
Harvester Knights

Family Camp Outing Approaching

By Glenn Korando
The weekend of June 3rd, 4th and 5th will be upon us soon. The weather has been great! Warm days and cool nights make for fantastic camping. I hope everyone can attend this year's event. Its sure to be as much fun as last years. Remember to pass the word to all Knights and or family members. Attached are the directions to the farm. Hope to see you all real soon.

What: 2nd annual Family Camp-out Sponsored by Harvester Council # 9625
When: June 3rd, 4th, and 5th
Where: The Korando Family Farm

If you missed last year’s event, you surely don’t want to miss this one!
There is more than enough space for any kind of camper, RV, and or tent set-up.
As last year, all those interested in joining this year’s festivities are urged to R.S.V.P., the reason for this is to make arrangements for porta potties and for Saturday’s joint meal meat purchase. This is not a requirement!! just a recommendation. We want to have enough for everyone.

For Saturday’s group meal we are asking everyone who attends to bring a favorite dish to share. It can be a warm dish, cool dish, dessert, or appetizer. We have the facilities to warm or keep cool anything you bring. Remember, there is a full kitchen, microwave, coffee maker, stove/oven, freezer and 2 refrigerators. There are 6 beds, a fold out couch and plenty of floor space for those who don’t have camping gear or for the ones who need a little more comfort! Just bring your favorite blanket and pillow!

There is 1 modern bathroom facility available for the ladies and as last year, porta potties and outside shower for the men.

To get there:
Take Hwy 44 West to exit 159 (Waynesville), go right, in approx. 3 miles you will hit a stop light which is Hwy 17, make a right and go approx. 11 miles until you are in the town of Crocker. Pass through town until you get to JCT. “U”, turn left on to “U” go approx.
1000 ft. to the first road on right which is Bluejay. Turn right on Bluejay and travel approx. 2 miles to entrance of the farm. Look for signs marked “KofC” entrance is on the left.

Contact Glenn at 636-928-9144, 314-570-8170
korando@concentric.net

Care Service Dedicates New Senior Center

A contingent of members from the Harvester Knights of Columbus was among those in attendance in Warrenton on Tuesday May 24 for the dedication of the new Senior Village which was built and funded through the efforts of the Sts. J&A Care Service.

The project is a joint effort between the Care Service, Catholic Charities of St. Louis, the Cardinal Ritter Institute and the St. Louis regional HUD office.

To view a slide show from the event, click on the headline above.

Purschke Wins Poker Tourney

A fellow Knight, from the Union Missouri council, took home top honors at the innagural Harvester Knights Poker Knight Texas Hold 'Em tourney on Saturday at the Harvester Lion's Hall.
Joe beat out 56 other players to take home top honors and the prize of $345. Of the 8 players who advanvced to the final table, the Harverst Knights had 5 members in it.
Thanks to all who showed up and we will be doing the event again, maybe next time we can get over 100 players to play?
To view phots from the event, click here: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/harvesterknights/album?.dir=/8815&.src=ph

May Meeting Minutes Posted

The May meeting minutes have been posted on the council's Web site, click on the headline above for the direct link to the members area where you can download and view the minutes prior to the June meeting.

Hotel Rooms Blocked for Columbia

If you are planning on attending the KofC State Softball tournament on June 24-26, the council has a block of rooms at the Quality Inn (formerly Columbia Dome, formerly
Holidome...)
Due to budget issues the council will not be subsidizing hotel costs this year in Columbia but we have arranged a very attractive rate for players and their families who will be attending. Call the hotel to book your room, there is a chance the hotel will fill up with it being a high demand weekend for local hotels.

Quality Inn Columbia
1612 Providence Rd.
(573) 449-2491
$79.00 for a king room
$89.00 for a double room

UMB Bank Pavilion (Riverport) Season Begins

By John Breneman
We have begun! Our first concert of the 2005 year was Sunday May 1st. Thanks to Kevin Gahagen, George Moloney, Rhonda Gittemeier, Danielle Williams & Mandee Adams for working the booth with me. Our compensation structure has been changed to approximate 6.57% of all sales which should yield us better revenues than we have earned in the past.

We have three events in May which will need staffing. May 14th, Sammy Hagar; May 15th, Pointfest & May 27th Reba McEntire. PLEASE check your schedules and call me at 636-978-0234 or 314-422-1691 or email me at the address of john@brenemangomez.com to volunteer for these events. Note that the 14th is also our poker tournament night so we may have difficulty staffing that event, and the 15th will require two shifts for the all day concert. As in the past, you must wear black shorts or slacks, NO jeans & No open towed shoes. I look forward to a fun UMB season and your early sign ups are very much appreciated!

Minutes to April Meeting Posted

The minutes to the April meeting have been posted on the council Web site.
Click here to view the minutes: http://www.harvesterkofc.com/roster/members.html

Remember, this is a "password-protected" section of our council's site that can only be viewed by members. If you need to get a username and password, e-mail the council's Webmaster, Mark Laux at either of the addresses below:

webmaster@harvesterkofc.com
Mark.Laux@courts.mo.gov

Pope Benedict Elected By Cardinals

On only the second day of their enclave, Cardinals have elected a new Pope for the Catholic Church.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany becomes the 265th pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is a longtime guardian of doctrinal orthodoxy has chosen the name Pope Benedict XVI.
God Bless the new Pope and we give thanks to the Lord for blessing us with John Paul II.

To read an in-depth package on Pope Benedict, click here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7523254/

Slate of Officers Introduced at April Meeting

The slate of officers for the upcoming fraternal year was introduced to the membership at the April meeting for a first reading. Nominations for all positions remain open until the May meeting, when the election of new officers will be conducted.
The current Directors and Officers have recommended to the council passage of the entire slate of officers for the 2005-06 year (which begins on June 1). Elections will take place at the May meeting with the new officers installed in June.
The slate of recommended officers is:

Grand Knight: Dan Breneman

Deputy Grand Knight: Kevin Smith

Chancellor: Pierce Conley

Treasurer: John Breneman

Recording Secretary: Craig Lalumandier

Inside Guard: Bo Riccardi

Outside Guard: Barry Young

Trustee 1st Year: Dave Meglio

Trustee 2nd Year: Glenn Korando

Trustee 3rd Year: Michael Tobin

Warden: Rich Antrobus

Pope's Death Presents Good Time To Renew Yourself to Family and Council

______________________
Grand Knight's Column
By Dave Meglio

Brothers,
It's springtime! A time of new birth and renewal. It's not a coincidence that the Church chose this time of the year as the time to celebrate Jesus Christ's rising from the dead.

As we celebrate the life and mourn the death of Pope John Paul II, we are reminded about the Holy Father's constant preaching about spiritual renewal. So in the spirit of renewal I would like to ask each of you to renew you commitment to your family and the Knights.

After you make that new commitment maybe you might like to have some place to focus your efforts. Well, I've got a number of committees that can use additional help from our brother Knights.

A while back we talked about how we wanted to have our membership involved in assisting various committees to help accomplish various projects. When I discussed this in a previous article a number of Knights e-mailed me back asking about our committees and there functions, so here they are:

1. Membership: Jim Radi (Director)
New members is life blood of any organization, we must all assist in this function, even the best organizations have members that move, get transferred or worse yet pass away.
The Committee consists of 3 areas:
A. Recruiting New members
B. The 1st Degree Team
C. Retention

2. Council: Tom O'Leary (Director)
-- MR (Mental Retardation) "Tootsie Roll" drive. (Mike Sage and Bob Sage)
This is our annual commitment to Mental Retardation research and treatment and also the Special Olympics.
-- Blood Drives: (Gene Heist)
We currently work with the American Red Cross and Community Blood Services and we have 4 blood drives per year.

3. Family: Glenn Korando (Director)--Organizing the Family Christmas party the Easter Carnival and the Family Camp out.

4. Community: Bob Fusinatto (Director)
--Service and out reach to the community
--Care Service: Mike Tobin (Director) (Special Projects)
--Road Cleanup: Maintain a stretch of Mexico road in St. Peters
--Adopt-A-Family: Mike Tobin (Director) Care Service Christmas outreach.

5. Youth: Melvin Bishop (Director)
--Free Throw Contest
--Essay Contest
--Scholarships

6. Major Fund Raising Efforts:
--Trivia Knight: Kevin Smith
--Poker Knight: Kevin Smith
--Crazy Bowl: Tom Lyons
--Family Arena: Dave Meglio
--UMB Pavilion: John Breneman

7. No-Hunger Holiday: Frank Conard (Director)
Community outreach at Thanksgiving designed to give every needy family in St. Charles County an chance to have a full Thanksgiving dinner that they can enjoy at home with there family.

8. Church: Denny Corr (Director)
--Family Masses
--Roses for Life

9. Athletics: Tony Dickherber (Director)
--Softball, Darts, Horseshoes

10. Building: Pierce Conley (Director)
--Overseeing and conducting functions that will eventually allow us to purchase our own council hall.

11. Social: Jeff Smith (Director)
--Planning special social outings for Knights and there significant others

12. Communications: Kevin Smith (Director)
--E-Newsletter
--Website: Mark Laux (Director)

We would like every member to advise us about there interest in helping on one or more of these committees.

Thank you for your time,

Dave Meglio
314-610-7139

Poker Tourney Set for May 14

Details are in place for the inaugural Harvester Knights of Columbus Texas Hold 'Em Poker Knight.
The event will take place on May 14 at the Harvester Lion's Club on Central School Road (near the intersection of Hwy. N and Mid Rivers Mall Drive behind the Home Depot).
Buy in for the main event will be $35 and players will be able to have one re-buy back into the main event. There will be a prize pool of $1,000 for the main event. There will also be $20 consolation tables with the winner taking $100 in prize money away.
In addition to plenty of card playing, there will be a 50-50 drawing, door prizes, raffles and possible a "barrel of booze" (can you help in getting a wheel barrel and bottles of liquor donated?
We are hosting the event at the Harvester Lion's Club and are allowed to provide the beer for the participants, if you have the ability and connections to get beer donated from bar owners or others, or would like to donate some beer yourself, as much beer as we can get donated for free will help offset our costs and make this as big a money maker as possible.
We are hoping to sell out the event and the hall can accommodate 200 comfortably and 240 with a tight fit. Do your part to help promote the event. Make sure to sign up early to reserve your spot, or if you aren't much of a Hold 'Em player contact Kevin Smith about working that night.
For more information contact Kevin (smittyk@charter.net).
Also, help publicize the event by printing off a flyer and distributing it in your office and among your friends and family who aren't Knights.
To download the flyer about the Poker Knight, click here:

http://www.harvesterkofc.com/PromotionalFlyer.pdf>

Knights Celebrate Life of Pope John Paul II

It is with great sadness Catholics all around the world morn the loss of Pope John Paul II, but it is also with great joy we celebrate his life and the blessing he bestowed upon all of us.

The Knights of Columbus were one of the strongest advocates and partners of the Pope and the members of the Harvester council join in with all of our fraternal order in celebrating the life and mission of arguably one of the greatest Popes of all-time and without question one of the greatest champions of peace and human dignity of the last century.

To read about the extensive work between the Knights of Columbus and the Holy Father, click here:
http://www.kofc.org/news/releases/detail.cfm?id=4500">