George & Laurie have contributed so much to our Council, parish, and community. In
August, George & Laurie served on the planning committee, led our promotional efforts,
and worked at the “bar ticket” table for the Elvis event. They are currently working on the
Vocations Dinner planning committee and developed the branding for this event. George
serves as our Deputy Grand Knight, is a leader on our Refreshments team, co-leads our
Assembly’s annual Blue Mass, and is working to get all volunteers compliant with the
Protecting God’s Children requirements. Since Hurricane Ian hit, George & Laurie have
been integral to our Council’s Ian support efforts. They have also begun planning our
annual Christmas Toy Drive with North Naples Fire & Rescue. And they help to place
hundreds of flags across our campus during all patriotic weekends and are a welcoming
presence as ushers at the 3:00 pm Saturday afternoon Masses. George & Laurie, thanks for
everything you do. Congratulations to our Family of the Month!

One of the trademark Knights of Columbus mottos is “In Service to One. In Service to
All”. When I reflected on service, humility, and dedication, I immediately thought of Clay
and Kathy Bailie. Clay serves at so many Council events, and it seems like he is usually
the first to come and the last to leave – whether setting up, washing dishes, cleaning up, or
putting away supplies. When I became Grand Knight, Clay quickly volunteered to bring
refreshments to the first Membership meeting, as he has done so often. Even though he is
no longer our Warden, he is always willing to help with meeting set up and organization.
Kathy manages our parish Altar Servers and serves as a Sacristan. During the month of
August, she coordinated and partnered with us on the Altar Server Appreciation event.
Kathy was the Sacristan for our Council and Assembly Officer Installation Mass, while
Clay served at the Ceremony and reception. Clay and Kathy, thanks for all that you do and
congratulations on being named Family of the Month!

Where there’s a need; there’s a Knight. When Hurricane Ian hit our community, Donnie
Bishop lost his home and three vans that he used in his transportation business. Despite his
personal losses, Donnie reached out to serve others. Volunteering for our Council’s
Emergency Response Team, he helped with salvage and clean-up efforts at several homes.
He also assisted with SJECC’s collection and distribution of supplies. Donnie has also
been very committed to our upcoming Vocations Dinner event. He donated his
transportation service for two compelling auction items, and he helped to sell tickets at
weekend Masses. In addition, Donnie serves at our biggest fundraiser, the Fish Fest.
Donnie, thanks for everything that you do, and congratulations on being named our Knight
of the Month!

John does so much for the Council as our Financial Secretary, capably handling many of
the organizational and backroom duties that are crucial to our success. John is proactive,
quick to respond, and always willing to help. He administers the daunting member billing
process, and issues us our membership cards. He oversees our bank accounts, and partners
with the Treasurer to manage the budget and handle all of our financial transactions. John
keeps our records up to date with the Supreme and State Councils, he files numerous
reports – including our 990 tax return and our semi-annual audit, and he manages our
Vocations, Culture of Life and Food for Families rebate programs. In his spare time, John
helps with Collier Harvest food deliveries, our Blood Drives, the Tootsie Roll Campaign,
our Christmas Toy Drive, the Lenten Fish Fry, and more. John, thanks for everything that
you do. Congratulations to our Knight of the Month!!

Jack is not only a fixture at many of our events, but he also does so much “behind the scenes” to make our Council successful. Jack was instrumental in helping the Council and Assembly transition to Flocknote, he manages our Square credit card library of products and activities, and he has been the head bartender for several of our events. Most recently, Jack co-planned and organized the funeral reception for Vicki Brenner (Dn. Hal’s wife), he serves on the planning committee for the Elvis concert and our Officer Installation event, and he has helped with the backpack drive. In addition, Jack has been a leader in our parish adult faith formation program, is a frequent lector at Sunday Masses, serves as Purser for Assembly 3308 and is a member of the Color Corps. Thank you, Jack, for all that you do. Congratulations to our Knight of the month!

Since joining St. John the Evangelist parish and Council 11281 in August of 2021, Fr. Mark has been an extremely active and valuable Brother Knight. In addition to all his responsibilities as a priest and his work with numerous other parish ministries, he has devoted so much time and energy to Council 11281. Fr. Mark has helped to plan and execute the Country Life Fest, the St. Joseph Feast, and our Spring Journey tribute concert. He helped with the Students for Life banquet and supported the Pro-Life movie, The Matter of Life. He partnered with the Council to drive the Altar Server Appreciation event and is working with us to develop the new Parish Resource Center. Fr. Mark, you have made an immediate impact on our Council, and we congratulate you on being named Knight of the month for July.

The four Knights of Columbus Faith-in-Action categories are Family, Faith, Community and Life. Jeff and Carol Chorba are terrific role models in each of these areas – with their devout and active witness to their faith truly standing out. As our Lecturer and Spiritual Advisor, Jeff provides insightful and challenging spiritual reflections at each Membership meeting. He leads and facilitates the Into the Breach program, helping us to grow closer to God and learn from each other. He also chairs our St. Faustina / Divine Mercy program and helped with the recent backpack drive. Carol is the parish Faith Formation assistant, helping to build a strong spiritual foundation for the youth of our parish. Jeff and Carol truly walk their faith journey together. They participate together in so many parish events and activities – from daily Mass to adult faith formation classes to Encounter on the Mountain to Family Prayer Nights to events such as the French Boys Choir. Jeff and Carol, thanks for all that you do and congratulations on being named Family of the Month!

When you think of the Knights of Columbus and Council 11281, Dom and Sandi instantly come to mind. As Grand Knight for the past two years, Dom’s leadership earned us the Star Council award for both years, while making our Council invaluable to St. John the Evangelist parish and our community. As the “First Lady” of our Council, Sandi has worked closely with Dom on so many events and activities. Dom is currently chairing the Elvis Tribute Summer Dance event, and Sandi is an integral member of the planning committee. Dom leads our Fish Fest and has made tremendous improvements to this marquis program. Dom has done a tremendous job in developing and organizing our “Good Works portfolio” of programs, events, and activities…and he has been so selfless in helping me to transition into the Grand Knight position. As Family Director this year, Dom has already positioned our Council for success with his work on several events. Dom and Sandi are also very involved in other parish ministries. They are a truly special family for our Church and our Council. Thanks for everything! Congratulations to our Family of the Month!

Vince and Kathryn were both heavily involved with the annual Feast of St. Joseph. They were co-chairs responsible for the Narthex Altar table and Ballroom Trinity tables along with decorations for the Ballroom. During these past 2 months they have spent nearly 30 combined hours per week supporting our “7” week Lenten Fish Fest. As Lead cook, Vince’s week involves helping with the weekly deliveries on Tuesday, prepping the baked fish on Thursday, and prepping the various vegetables and side dishes along with the baked fish. Kathryn oversees the Take-Out prep and food service. Every Friday takes about 12 hours of effort for the prep, cooking, cleanup and support for the ordering process for the following week. In their spare time, Vince and Kathryn are involved with the Immokalee soup kitchen serving lunch or collecting clothing and household goods for monthly deliveries to the needy of our area. You’ll also see them supporting our church as Eucharist ministers. Thank you both for all you do for our Council, our Church and our community.

Congratulations to our Family of the Month!!

This year’s Disability Campaign has again been well orchestrated by Joe Bucherer.  In an effort to maximize the Campaign’s charitable contributions, Joe worked the internet to purchase smaller tootsie rolls, bite sized chewable candy, and lollipops much to the delight of the donors. Joe worked with Publix management to work out a plan to use 3 sites (Bonita Beach Road, the Strand and Riverchase) from Feb 18^th through March 19^th.  With help from Jim Zizzi, they scheduled volunteers for 2 hour shifts for 2 days at each site. Then in late March, he scheduled every weekend mass at St. Leo’s where they generously donated over $6,500. With one weekend to go, Palm Sunday at St John’s, the Campaign has already collected nearly $10,000. A great effort which once again will support 4 Disability organizations. Thank you, Joe, for all your efforts and support for our Council and this very important program.

Congratulations to our Knight of the Month!!

Since his big breakout as Santa Claus at our Christmas party with StarAbility, Bernie has been busy
getting gifts or actually “gift certificates” for gift basket raffles which has helped raise additional funds
for our events. Throughout the year, Bernie has also been a fixture at Wednesday night’s Faith
Formation traffic management which protects our children and supports our teachers. Since January,
however, Bernie has been busy working with NCH as the Council’s Blood Drive chairman. On February
21st, he had signed up nearly 60 donors who donated over 50 pints of blood, which to date is our largest
effort. He has already lined up our 4th Blood Drive for August 24th. As with many of our members, he
has embraced the Fish Fest and has become a key addition to our Take-Out process. Sir Knight Bernie recently became a 4th Degree Knight on January 29th and is an Usher at the Saturday 3:00pm mass.
Thank you, Bernie for all your efforts and support for our Council.
Congratulations to our Knight of the Month!!

When you think of the Knights of Columbus, you think of the Tootsie Roll drive, perhaps the Color Corp, and
all our Service activities. But what would our charities do without our dinner dances? Jim has been our
Refreshments Chairman for all of our events this past year which entails much more effort than you think.
Jim constantly reviews the inventory, purchases most of the beverages or works with other volunteers, sits on
every event committee to assure the beverage venue is properly planned out, helps solicit volunteers to
bartend, and then spends significant time setting it all up and then breaking it all down. Having spent many
hours preparing for various events, I am amazed at the time and effort Jim gives to the Council for our many
events. The Fish Fest has just begun and Jim and Bonnie are selling tickets and providing the “nectar of the
gods” to our faithful guests. When Jim isn’t busy with the Council you can find him at many daily masses
and often one of the eucharistic ministers. Jim and Bonnie continue to provide strong support for our Council
and we Thank You both for your efforts.
Congratulations to our Family of the Month!!

As mentioned in the January newsletter, January was
the month for Life. As Life Director, Paul and Lady
Nancy Curti continue to lead our Council and parish in
promoting Right to Life or Culture for Life initiatives.
As in past years, they continue to incorporate activities
for Respect Life masses, attending the 40 Days of Life
Campaigns, and adding monthly Novena Masses for
Life. In November they supported the “Students for
Life” banquet, adding guidance in logistics for running
this event in the Ballroom. Paul co-chaired the
“Country Culture of Life Fest” securing sponsors and
incorporating Pro-Life organizations in the event.
They also worked the event from setup, to ticket sales
to cleanup. As you would expect, they also brought
awareness of the Dobbs versus Jackson case which
could overturn the erroneous 1973 Roe versus Wade
Decision. Paul and Nancy continue to be a model
couple providing us with compassion and direction for
Respecting Life.
Congratulations to our Family of the Month!!

In the past 2 months, our Faith Director, Michael
Mick, has led two Family Prayer services providing us
with an opportunity to pray together while discussing
our faith. Michael has also “volunteered” to chair the
annual Valentine’s dinner dance, a daunting task, and
has successfully led a small committee in preparing
for the February 10th event. On March 5th, Michael is
preparing our annual Lenten Day of Reconciliation
retreat with our Council chaplain, Father Arun Paul.
Michael has been a strong sponsor for a variety of
events this year and as one of our Council Trustees is
currently finalizing the semi-annual Council Audit
report. Thank you, Michael for all your efforts and
support for our Council.
Congratulations to our Knight of the Month!!

Back in November, the initial committee meeting for the January Country Life Fest event was held. The team wanted to bring a new and more family-oriented approach to this year’s event.  Troy and others have worked diligently the past few months and have created a venue like no other to entertain our families while hopefully generating funds for our Pro-Life charities. Troy has been active securing a portable stage for the Back Country Boys, designed the flyer to promote the event, helped work out the physical logistics and signage for the night and has provided strong leadership throughout.  Lena is the Director of Development & Alumni Relations at Saint John Neuman Catholic High School.  Troy and Lena are also part of Father Arun Paul’s “Witness to Love” SJECC couple’s mentoring program for newly engaged couples. They continue to support church and community and are a deserving family for this award.

Congratulations to our Family of the Month!!

The Council’s Program Director is one of the most important roles in an active council and a critical asset if you want to be successful. Bill continues to drive our committees in planning and executing our programs while helping to develop a template for future use. He has been diligent in getting monthly updates or helping to resolve issues. He is also the poster child for “Leave No Neighbor Behind” as he constantly checks up on his fellow brothers in need. In his spare time, he has been supporting the Church in a Lead role for the CAO to allow additional activities to be implemented in SJE facilities. He has provided his time to help schedule, implement and find manpower to support them. Whether he is pestering us for statuses, working through project timelines, thinking of new ideas to support our Council or perhaps explaining what it means to be a Knight, you can always count on Bill to support us. Thank you, Bill, for all you do and for what you mean to our Council.

Congratulations to our Knight of the Month!!

Back in February, George & Laurie earned their first Family of the Month award. As you recall we noted that they provided a warm welcome and assurance that precautions were in place at the 3:00pm / 3:15pm Saturday masses as our parishioners slowly came back from the pandemic. This past weekend they spearheaded the annual Christmas Toy Drive with North Naples Fire & Rescue to support Angela’s Angels. The effort again proved just as fruitful as last year and will provide many needy families a little joy during the holidays. George and Laurie are still the first to greet you at the 3:00 mass and then graciously collect the offerings at the end of mass.  During our annual Vocations diner dance, George participated on the committee to prepare the event and both sold beverage tickets and helped out throughout the evening. This caring couple is always willing to help out and support both the church and the Knights. I look forward to their support on future events. Thank you for all you do.

Congratulations to our Family of the Month!!

For many months, this duo has been instrumental in our membership growth. They continue to work with all new or transferred members via phone calls, emails and even “onboarding sessions”. They are instrumental in helping many of our new members complete their exemplifications with support and constant reminders. They successfully led two recruitment campaigns in the past year helping to earn us Star Council and, more importantly, finding great candidates to help support our Council. I am also thankful for all their efforts to help honor the Divine Mercy and Saint Faustina, and any opportunities to promote spiritual events. Both Tom and Jim have helped with committee and setup work for the Rat Pack and the Vocation dinner dances and help out on other activities, such as, traffic support for Faith Formation or the Toy Drive. Tom, as Chancellor, has also done a great job with Healing and Memorial cards. Jim, as Inside Guard and Membership Director, has done a great job in both areas. I am very grateful to both of them and feel it only fitting that they should be honored together as they form a dynamic duo for the Council. Thank you, Tom and Jim, for all your support and for making the extra effort.

Congratulations to our Knight(s) of the Month!!

Scott and Joy Jannasch
Although Scott has only been a Knight for less than 6
months, he has shown his desire to get involved with
many of our programs. By the end of his first Council
meeting, he was signed up to help with the “Rat Pack
Now!!” dinner dance. He was a committee member
helping with the planning and the Ballroom setup and
cleanup. He is currently involved with our annual
Vocations dinner dance to honor our Religious and his
efforts are greatly appreciated. In choosing Scott and
his wife Joy as Family of the Month, I looked no
farther than Wednesday night’s Faith Formation
classes. Every Wednesday, Scott has helped with our
traffic and safety chores while Joy teaches a Faith
Formation class. I look forward to working with both
Scott and Joy during the Lenten Fish Fest. A
dedicated couple who supports both the Knights and
our Church. Thank you for all you do.
Congratulations to our Family of the Month!!

John Moore Sr.
John is a Past Grand Knight and has supported many
of our events over the years. For a number of our
Knights, we seem to find our “key interest” in a
particular event. John’s passion for the past “2” years
has been traffic management and security for our K-8
Faith Formation students. Every Wednesday from
September through April, John is always there for 2-3
hours to insure we have appropriate coverage for this
service. John is our “main guy” during drop-off time
as he greets each car, opens / closes the car door, and
checks to see if the students have their mask. During
pick-up time, he helps direct the traffic flow to prevent
accidents in the backlot. I’ve often heard the other
volunteers jokingly say “As long as John is here, we
really don’t have to do anything”. John’s efforts
provide the safety and security that gives the students,
parents and teachers a lot of comfort. I would like to
thank John for making the extra effort.
Congratulations to our Knight of the Month!!

Joe and Keri Hemrick
Joe and Keri have been the face of our “Family programs” for the past 3 years. As Grand Knight, Joe’s
leadership earned us Star Council in 2020. When you think of the annual Christmas party with
StarAbility, the Annual Easter Egg Hunt, the Acolyte & First Communion awards night, and the
Disability campaign (Tootsie Roll Drive) the Hemricks always come to mind. Let us not forget the
huge success of the Chili Fest when we featured the “Ben Allen Band” and brought in Food Trucks!!
As Grand Knight, Joe was instrumental in keeping the Council a strong support force for the Church
and Community as he helped drive the IRMA relief project and the COVID weekly food delivery to
Immokalee. As Deputy Grand Knight and then a 2-term Grand Knight, their combined dedication and
sacrifice to the Knights has been well appreciated. A truly special family for our Church and our
Council. Thank you for all the support you have provided us.

Congratulations to our Family of the Month!!

John Gerdes
John has been a fixture at many Council events and can be seen selling Christmas Cards or dinner
dance tickets in front of the church before and after masses. When the Knights needed volunteers for
the Christmas Toy Drive, or the Disability Campaign (Tootsie Roll Drive), or the Blood Drives, or the
Collier Harvest food delivery, John can always be counted on to help out. If you happen to sneak into
the kitchen during the Lenten Fish Fry, John can be seen washing pots and pans or helping with the
Ballroom cleanup. Over the past 15 months, John has served as the Treasurer for our Council, working
hand-in-hand with the Financial Secretary and the Grand Knight to keep the checkbook balanced and
the budget aligned with our bank account. In the September timeframe, John will become our
Financial Secretary, filling one of our most critical positions. John is a real asset to our Council and a
dedicated Knight. I would like to thank John for all he does for us.

Congratulations to our Knight of the Month!!

John and Marilyn are devout Catholics with strong Parish involvement. Their continued support for all our programs and events is very appreciated as they continue to attend our dinner dances, fish fry dinners or remembrance masses. Their dedication to the Knights is also felt as they have provided monetary support for many of our programs which helps our Seminarians, our Food banks or the needy of our community. A truly special family for our Church and our Council. Thank you for all the support you have and will continue to provide for us.

Congratulations to our Family of the Month!!

Over the past year, it was obvious how important Jerry is to both our Council and Assembly. As we worked through the new Exemplification process or tracked all the new members so we could get them shirts, Bibles and Name tags, Jerry was there to help spearhead the process or lend a helping hand. He has been instrumental in helping to bring new members into the Council for a number of years and is always there to help “welcome them”. At Fish Fries, he’s one of the “Go To” guys and as he tries to wind down a little, he still goes out and brings guests to our events or helps wherever he can to make sure the Council and Assembly continue to be strong. A real mentor, friend and dedicated Knight, I would like to Thank Jerry for all he does for us.

Congratulations to our Knight of the Month!!