Emblem of the Order
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
Knights of Columbus Council 14754
Charity, Unity and Fraternity
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church
  

Council 14754 Organization

Here is a list of the current officers and directors of our council along with a description of their duties and functions. There are also brief descriptions of the Knights nonprofit status and a link to our local Knights insurance agent.
 
Chaplain - Msgr., Perry Kavookjian
 
Grand Knight, (GK) Bill Jeffries
 
Deputy Grand Knight, (DGK) Louis Rodriguez
 
Chancellor, Joseph Puncer
 
Financial Secretary, (FS) Chris Ziemer
 
Treasurer, Ed Besenfelder
 
Recorder, David Lopez
 
Advocate, Kevin Palla
 
Warden, Ron Carr
 
Inside Guard, Brandon Whitehead
 
Outside Guard, Armando Martinez
 
1st Year Trustee, Donovan White
 
2nd Year Trustee, Michael Dhanens
3rd Year Trustee, Dennis Shaw
 
Lecturer, John Rozo
 
Current Directors
Membership, Craig Holliday
 
Programs, Louis Rodriguez
 
Faith Programs, John Rozo
 
Family Programs, Dennis Shaw
 
Community Programs, Andy Silvestro
 
Life Programs, Michael Dhanens
DESCRIPTIONS OF OFFICER AND DIRECTOR POSITIONS
It is important for existing and prospective members to understand the duties and functions of council officers and directors so here is a brief explanation of each of them.

OFFICER POSITIONS ELECTED ANNUALY EACH FRATERNAL YEAR:
The Grand Knight (GK) is the chief executive officer of the Council and responsible for all aspects of Council operations. He presides over Council meetings and is an ex-officio member of all committees. The GK and FS are the only council members with sign-in access to the Member Management database on the supreme web site. The GK can establish committees in addition those prescribed by the Order to meet specific council needs. In our council the GK has a communications team to handle our newsletter, Flocknote system, social media and printed materials.

The Deputy Grand Knight (DGK) acts on behalf of the GK in his absence and is usually appointed as the Program Director.
The Chancellor is the third ranking Council officer. He oversees Council record retention and the inventory of Council equipment.

The Recorder keeps the minutes of Council meetings, conducts correspondence as directed by the GK, and keeps historic documents of the Council. In the absence of the GK or DGK, he presides at Council meetings.
The Treasurer keeps all funds, maintains the Council checkbook and makes disbursements upon receipt of a payment orders from the Financial Secretary (FS).

The Advocate is the equitant of a Corporate Counsel in the business world. Thus, he must resolve procedural matters, acts as Council parliamentarian, and be well versed in the supreme Laws of the Order, and the bylaws of the local council.

The Warden assures that all members at meetings possess a current membership card. He is custodian of all Council property, except funds, and oversees properly setting up the Council meeting space. He directs the activities of the two council guards.

The Inside and Outside guards are charged with the security of Council meetings and assist the Warden in his duties.

The three TRUSTEES along with the GK constitute the board of directors of the Council. Unlike the other officers who are elected annually, trustees serve staggering elected three-year terms. They are all co-chairs of both the admission and retention committees, and, along with the GK, conduct the semiannual council audits which are forwarded to the supreme council. The Council semiannual audit reports and accounting records are available for inspection by any member upon request.

APPOINTED COUNCIL POSITIONS:
The Chaplain provides spiritual guidance to the Council. The Chaplain appointment of the priest of deacon must be approved by the bishop of the local diocese. Typically, the parish pastor is the Council Chaplain, which is the case for our Council.

The Financial Secretary (FS) is appointed to a three-year term directly by the Supreme Knight upon recommendation of the GK and Trustees. He maintains the Council tax and accounting records, issues and collects dues and other bills for the Council, issues membership cards, and submits all funds collected to the Treasurer for deposit and authorizes all disbursements made by the Treasurer. He is responsible for maintaining the supreme online membership roster and dues billing system on the supreme web site. He is also responsible for making sure the Council promptly files all tax forms as well as reports required by both the state and supreme councils.

The Lecturer is appointed by the GK and is responsible for providing hospitality and enriching or entertaining presentations at Council meetings.

Director and chairmanship positions
All directors and committee chair positions are appointed by the council Grand Knight.

The Membership Director reports directly to the grand knight. He oversees the admission process for prospective members, efforts to retain inactive members, and promotion of the Knight insurance programs.

The Programs Director reports directly to the grand knight and is responsible for the coordination of each of the four Service Program Directors who report to him. The deputy grand knight is usually appointed as the program chair, but any member can fill this position.

These are the four service programs and examples of three programs suggested for each area by the supreme office of the Knights of Columbus. All the KofC supreme areas are covered in detail on the Knights of Columbus supreme website (see details at www.kofc.org). Individual councils are free to create their own unique programs within each of the four service areas. For example, our council operates our Lent Friday Dinners, and our Advent Wreath Event under the Family Director, and our quarterly Adopt-A-Road clean up under the Community Director.
1. Example Faith Director programs
a. Spiritual development
b. Vocation support
c. Rosary programs
2. Example Family Director programs
a. Food For Families
b. Keep Christ in Christmas
c. Family of the month/year
3. Example Community Director programs
a. Coats 4 Kids
b. Habitat for Humanity
c. Wheelchair Mission
4. Example Life Director programs
a. March for Life
b. Special Olympics
c. Ultrasound program
 
 

DESCRIPTION OF THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS (K of C) TAX STATUS

Each K of C council, like ours, are subsidiary units under the umbrella of the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council in New Haven, CT., which is our parent organization. The Knights of Columbus Supreme Council is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization classified by the IRS as a 501(c) (8) organization which, if you look it up in the Internal Revenue Code, is a fraternal benefit organization. Therefore, although we are a nonprofit organization, we are NOT a qualified charitable organization that can receive tax deductible charitable contributions. (Only organizations with a 501(c) (3) IRS classification are qualified charitable organizations.) The supreme council has set up the Columbian Foundation as a 501(c) (3) organization which the Councils can use as a conduit for receiving charitable contributions.

Every subsidiary council, like ours, is required to have a tax identification number at both the federal and state level and must file both federal and state nonprofit tax returns. Council’s must file 1099-MISC’s and W-2’s if applicable, and any related employer federal and state forms.

Our fraternal books are maintained on a fiscal year ending June 30. For tax reporting we are on a calendar year (12/31) basis.

NOTES ON KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS INSURANCE PROGRAMS

             The primary reason the K of C is a fraternal benefit organization is because of its member insurance program. Our new supreme knight, Patrick Kelly, reported in 2021 at the 139th annual Knights Convention that the Knights have over 100 billion in life insurance policies in force, and continues to be recognized as one of the largest and best managed insurance companies in North America. According to the 139th convention report almost 550,000 Knights have Knight insurance policies which is almost 30% of all members. 

You can find out about Knights insurance at the K of C.org website and locate your nearest Knight insurance agent. Below is the digital card for our local K of C insurance agent  . Uriel, is a local agent who attends St. Francis Parish and Is well known in ministry work as well as K of C work.

 

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