Summer is here! Officially it is June 21, but school is or is almost out (depending on where you go) and that is all that counts for most of us. With the beginning of summer, our fraternal year winds to a close. I would like to thank everyone for your support of the council during my first year as Grand Knight.
We have been through a lot as a parish and as a council in the last year. A special thanks to our shepherd for the past year, and past council chaplain, Fr. Jonathan. You have led us through a difficult year and brought healing and leadership where it was most necessary. With the Lord’s grace and everyone’s support we have come through and achieved some wonderful things:
- Held our three primary youth events: Soccer Challenge, Free-throw Contest and Essay Contest
- Donated $5000 towards the Catholic Charities Center for Hope in Flint
- Raised about $3000 for prolife activities with our Baby Bottle Drive
- Raised over $12000 for those with intellectual disabilities with our Tootsie Roll Drive
- Put on our November spaghetti dinner to benefit the Daily family, serving over 530 people and raising over $7000 for the family.
- Put on our May spaghetti dinner to benefit Bo Nowakowski and his family, serving around 300 people and raising over $2500 for them
- All of this in addition to donations to the outreach pantry, all of the other spaghetti dinners and pancake breakfasts benefiting other causes such as Scouting, and more.
None of this would have been possible without the hard work of my brother knights, so thank you to everyone who stepped up. Also, without the support of you, the parishioners of Holy Family, we would not have had such great success. A special thanks goes to the Religious Ed department and the High School Youth Group for helping at the benefit dinners. We could not have handled these events without you.
Finally, as knights we cannot do the work we do without the support of our wives and families. A special thank you to my wife Staffinea for her support during this busy year. Also, thank you to all the wives of knights who share their husbands with the council and the parish.
Vivat Jesus!
Ken Mraz
Grand Knight