Michigan State Council - Convention 2007

The convention opened on Thursday May 24^th with the 4:00 p.m. Mass held in the Grand Hotel Theater. For me, it is one of the high points of the convention as the Fourth Degree Color Guard processes in followed by the State Officers, (46) priests, seven bishops, and Adam Cardinal Maida. It is one of the few Masses I have attended where I cannot hear myself sing, as there are over 1,200 Brother Knights and their families in attendance and all are participating in song. Immediately after Mass everyone broke for dinner, as the official business meeting commenced at 8:00 p.m.

The role call of officers, (43) directors, (86) DDs and (400) councils is the first order of business and it took over forty minutes to complete. A video address by Supreme Deputy Carl Anderson was viewed. In 2006 the Knights donated over $139 million and in excess of 64 million hours of service. The K.of C. insurance has received the top rating once again and is one of four insurance businesses to have achieved this ranking. Following the video our State Deputy Tom Wegener gave us a report on the Sacred Heart Major Seminary (SHMS). There are currently (93) seminarians at SHMS discerning their vocations for Michigan dioceses and other locales around the country. The Michigan jurisdiction donated over $200,000 for seminarians through the RSVP program which places the Michigan State Council as #1 in the Order for vocations. We continue to grow support for the McGivney Chair of Life Ethics at SHMS, which was adopted by the State Council a few years ago to train those attending the seminary on Life Issues. Each Knight is asked to donate $1 per month for 10 years on a voluntary basis toward this chair. The MI Drive Director informed us that donations were a little above last year’s at over $1 million. However, that number will most likely be higher, as over (90) councils have not yet reported, much to the dissatisfaction of our worthy State Deputy. This session concluded at a little after 10:00 p.m.

Friday Mass was at 7:30 a.m. with Bishop Alex Sample of Marquette presiding, followed by the 9:30 session of the meeting. All members and their families are invited to this session, as the council awards are presented at this time. Council No. 3615 was not in line for any special recognition, so neither of your council delegates attended this session. The Living Rosary in honor of those that died in the past year; such as: Past Council Chaplains, PGKs/PFNs, FDDs, was presented at 11:40 a.m. out on the front lawn of the Grand Hotel. It was a beautiful day with temps in the mid 60’s and a bright blue sky. If you have never experienced the Living Rosary, you should consider sometime in the future of attending the Friday session to witness it first hand. It is truly a moving experience. Our recently departed brother knight PGK Joseph Sucheck was remembered during this Living Rosary.

Friday afternoon was given to diocesan caucuses and committee meetings. At the caucus meeting we were asked to consider a proposal that would be brought forward at the Saturday session regarding an increase of a per capita fee of $2.00 for each member. The current fee is $8.00 per man. The Michigan State Council has been requesting this increase for the past couple of years. Also mentioned to the Detroit Diocese Caucus by Brother Boylan was to consider the possibility of supporting a school for Mentally Impaired children, which is experiencing financial difficulties, and most likely will close. This was only brought forward for discussion at this time and no action will take place until further investigation is done by the State Council Office. There was a $10,000 check presented to the Diocesan Chaplain Rev. Fr. Todd Lajiness to give to Adam Cardinal Maida for MI programs in the diocese. Your GK was assigned to a committee meeting on Public Relations and the Press following the diocesan meeting. In this meeting were several GKs and DDs sharing ideas on how to publicize the Order more effectively and create interest for prospective members. The State Deputy’s Dinner Banquet followed these meetings and lasted well into the night.

Saturday began with 7:30 Mass and Bishop Patrick Cooney of Gaylord presiding and after a hurried breakfast the final session of the convention began at 9:30 a.m. This session is where the State Officers are re-elected for another year, and all the resolutions that have been brought before the State Council from subordinate councils are acted upon. The officers were re-elected by acclamation, which went rather quickly. As to the resolutions, most were acted upon quickly, but the one pertaining to the increase of per capita fees had much discussion. It however was passed, as most delegates had to agree that we do not want to see the quality of our State programs harmed. There were three resolutions forwarded to Supreme that merited consideration, and fall under the Supreme’s jurisdiction. Seven resolutions were ruled out of order with one no action taken. In all there were (60) resolutions voted on.

A benefit of attending the convention is having the opportunity of meeting some great individuals and hearing about their successes. One in particular that makes me feel good about the long term prospects of the organization is a young man from Davison Council #4090, Matt Smith. Barbara and I were standing at the docks waiting for the boat back to Mackinac, when this young couple got in line behind us. We introduced ourselves and found he was the outgoing GK of his (600) member council. I was amazed to hear about some of their fund raisers, and how successful the council was. When they have a Texas Hold’em Tournament, their top prize is a car, and they still manage to net a profit of $12,000. And then I ask how old he is? He is only 32 years of age, and his twin brother was a PGK of this council, as well. 

In conclusion, it was a very rewarding experience and I wish to thank the council for allowing me to represent them. I hope you all will give consideration to taking a trip up to Mackinac and attending a convention either as a delegate or just to observe the proceedings. Especially, attend the Friday session for the awards presentations and the Living Rosary. Plus, you will meet some great people.

Vivat Jesus,

Richard Lambrix GK