In August 2015 we started as a Knights of Columbus Roundtable affined from St Johns River Council 10850. The Roundtable’s basic function is: “To actively engage Knights of Columbus members in order to aid the parish and sustain visible Catholic action through works of charity in every parish and mission throughout the Order, and in sustainable parishes to form the Roundtable into a fully functioning council.” Steve Wilson, our 1st Grand Knight, along with Fr. Ed Shaner, began promoting membership with the KofC and recruiting of new and current Knights from the church. Roundtable activities continued until we had reached at least 30 Brother Knights, which is required to submit an application to be Chartered as a KofC Council. While we were transitioning from a Roundtable to a Council, the brother Knights were instrumental in supporting the mission church. We served as Ushers, helped with Potlucks and Dinners put on by the Hospitality Committee, sponsored Fish Fry’s, and provided much help as needed.
Once we achieved the requirements to form a council, we submitted our application with 36 Charter Members and St John Paull II Council 16492 was established June 5th, 2016. Since that time, the Knights stepped up in a big way and volunteered many hours in support of our Pastor, the church, and the community. We received and setup hundreds of chairs for the Masses and assisted with other projects such as tent setups/takedown, loft construction, and setups/cleanup for church functions and events. Our Knights are Ushers, Eucharistic Ministers, Lectors, Building and grounds maintenance, and much more. Even our Pastor and Deacon are Knights.
The good works we do are based on our Four Core Principles: Charity, Unity, Fraternity, Patriotism. Under the program “Faith In Action”, many activities are completed each fraternal year including; Men’s Morning of Reflection, The Rosary Program, Seminarian support, Food for Families, Family Fully Alive, Keep Christ in Christmas, Consecration of the Holy Family, Global Wheelchair Mission, Disaster Preparedness Planning, Fish Fry’s for Parish Community, Citizens with Disabilities Campaign, Coats for Kids, Habitat for Humanity, March for Life, Novena for Life, Ultrasound Program Support, Special Olympics, and more. We never have any problem with brother Knights stepping up to help with events, in fact many of the signups close within the 1st 24 hours!
Our business meetings are very well attended, and all brothers are engaged and ready to help wherever there is a need. Officer positions are easy to fill each year because of the dedication and experience our Knights have. We are a Star Council that has received the recognition for outstanding achievement in membership, insurance, programming, and overall operations.
By September 2020, our council had grown considerably and increased the membership to 164.
Past Grand Knights:
Steve Wilson 2016
Bob Conlon 2017
Paul Coronato 2018
Clyde Slick 2019, 2020
