Brothers, Easter, the holiest of all Christian holydays is past and I pray that you spent a blessed and happy day surrounded by your loved ones. As we look forward to the Spring of 2008, it is so important to us as Catholic gentlemen that we allow the Easter spirit to guide our lives everyday. I urge you to allow our Savior, Jesus Christ, to be a part of your life with each passing day, sharing His message with all of those around you.

As a council, we do so much for so many. And, if we are to continue to practice our Order's foremost principle of Charity, it behooves each of us to support our Council's efforts. The main effort we currently have to raise funds for our charitable works is the upcoming Golf Classic to be held at Birkdale on April 23. The income we realize from this event will help us to continue helping the various charities we support throughout the year.

Vince Greco has put together a great team in planning and implementing this first of what we hope will be an annual event. Now, it's up to each of us to help Vince by supporting the Golf Classic by playing in the tournament or by becoming a supporter through a cash donation or gifts that can be used as door prizes.

If you're a member of our professional or business community, call Vince, or one of his team members noted later on in this issue of Knightline, and let them know what you can contribute to the success of the tournament. You can contribute a cash gift, merchandise or a company service. If you're a golfer, plan on playing in the tournament. Better yet, get some of your friends together, form a foursome and let the program people know you'll be teeing off with them on the 23rd.

If you'd like to talk personally to Vince or his team members, you can do so on April 14th, when we'll be holding a First Degree Exemplification, welcoming new members into our brotherhood. Plan on attending the initiation, and afterwards meet your new Brother Knights, socialize with other Knights and let the golf committee know what you can do to make this effort a success.

Brother in Christ,
Gary Tadvick

Brother Vince Greco reported that our Council's first annual golf classic continues to gain strength. On board are 12 foursomes, nine sponsors and four benefactors. Vince noted that we still have a long way to go to make this a successful money-raising event that will help fund our charity programs. Primary sponsor is Pedulla Excavating and Paving. Brother Mick Pedulla is a member of our Council and Brother Greco expressed his thanks to Mike and his company for the support. It's hoped that other business owners and professionals who are members of the Council will step forward and offer their financial support to our first golf classic.

A First Degree exemplification will be held during the social meeting on April 14. It's requested that all form 100s be sent to Sir Matt Reilly (704/663-4011) as soon as possible so those new brothers can be welcomed into the Knights on that date. If you have anyone interested in joining our Council, make sure they have a form 100 completed. The form 100 is necessary for all those who are transferring from other Councils as well as those who will become Knights for the first time.

In a vote taken by the members present during the March 24 meeting, it was decided to donate $200 to Right to Life. This continues our Council's support of this state and national organization issues of which include abortion, euthanasia and infanticide.

A thank you letter to the Council was received from the American Red Cross noting that the recent blood drive was a tremendous success. Over the years, our Council and St. Therese parishioners have responded to the ARC's request for blood donations. Once again, those who call St. Therese "home" answered the call and our donations were appreciated by the ARC.

The 2008 Lenten Fish Frys are now history, but the Friday evening events left many a pleasant memory in the minds of many parishioners and local residents. Adding to our success was the presence of a number of Faith Formation students who worked alongside us in cooking and cleaning. Couldn't have done it without them - the "fry team" thanks them for their help.

After the initial "fry" on May 8, the decision was made to upgrade the fish quality and the results were predictable. Attendance increased and was maintained throughout Lent. In addition to the improving on the fried fish (from cod to flounder), we had baked fish, baked potatoes and vegetables. Add that to french fried potatoes, hushpuppies, desserts and drinks, and it's no wonder that our cooking and serving teams received so many plaudits from those who joined us each Friday night.

Our biggest night by far was when almost 400 people joined us in an early celebration of St. Patrick's Day. We combined with the Faith Formation group serve full dinners and free desserts.

Our chaplain, Fr. Joe, brought up the necessity of doing a better job of scheduling our future events, especially those that will demand the use of the church facilities. Although no major problems have occurred to date, Fr. Joe noted that with more and more parish organizations making use of the Family Life Center and its kitchen, there could be some scheduling problems in the future. His suggestion was that we make sure that the facilities we need for an event will be available, and then enter that event on the facility calendar with the Parish office. This will assure our use of the needed areas and help alleviate any conflict problems in the future.