State Award Recongition

Each year NC State Council recognizes those Councils that do an exceptional job. This is the highest honor a Council can receive from the NC State Council. It is presented at the NC State Convention every year. To qualify for the State Deputy Award a council must:

Have Council representation at these meetings: 

• District Mid-Year meeting (January)
• NC State Convention (April/May)
• State Regional Council Leaders training session (July)
• District Organizational meeting (July)

Achieve “Charity” Recognition: For more information and the guidelines, see “Council Recognition Award”.
 
Council Service Program: Submit at least four (4) programs during reporting period of January 1^st to December 31^st. For more information and the guidelines, refer to “Service Program Award” .
 
Pay Council Assessments 

• Supreme invoices (Per Capita)
• NC State invoices (Per Capita & Insurance)
• Christmas Card invoices

Submit the following Supreme Forms

• Report of Council Officers (Form 185)
• Service Program Personnel (Form 365)
• Semi-Annual Audit (Form 1295)
• Annual Survey of Fraternal activity (Form 1728)
• Semi-Annual Audit (Form 1295)

Meet or Exceed Supreme Membership Goal: This will be determined by comparison of the Supreme membership reports from January 1 through December 31.
 
Submit the following nominations to the State Council for consideration:

• Knight of the Year
• Golden Knight of the Year
• Family of the Year
• Rookie of the Year

Compliance with Safe Environments: All Council members that are required to complete the required training and/or background check must be verified.
 

Every Council runs many great programs. Each time a program is completed it needs to be reported on form 10784. the form 10784s submitted between January 1st and December 31st will be reviewed. Don't forget to include your Operation LAMB programs in either the Community or Life program areas.

It is best if you submit your program report right after the program is completed. The facts for your write-up will be fresh in your mind. A good write-up will have as many facts as possible. All completed 10784 forms must be submitted to forms@kofcnc.org to be reviewed and considered. A copy of your form 10784 must be sent to Supreme, your District Deputy, and your RDD. All form 10784s must be submitted by January 15th.

The State Program Directors will select the top 5 programs for his program area in each Division. Emphasis will be given to those programs that are innovative, original, and promote the Order’s principles. The winners in each Division for each of the program areas will be awarded at the State Convention.
 
The State Officers will then review the top winners in each program area and the best program in each program area will be the North Carolina State Program of the Year for that program area. The State will submit the winning programs in Faith, Family, Community, and Life to Supreme to be considered for the Supreme International Service Program Award.
 

The service programs performed by Councils within North Carolina are judged against a standard defined below based upon the size of the Council. Those Councils that meet the required goals are rewarded. This award is divided into three levels: 

• Charity is the highest level of performance
• Unity is the second highest level of performance
• Fraternity is the third highest level of performance

Every Council should strive to reach the Charity level. To achieve the Charity level, it will take a little planning, but is certainly achievable. Will the programs your Council conducted in the past be enough to get you to the Charity level? To be sure, get with your District Deputy at the beginning of the year and go over your program plans with him. Your District Deputy can help you put together a plan that will help you reach the Charity level.
 
Your plan must include a number of programs in each of these program areas:

• FAITH
• FAMILY
• COMMUNITY
• LIFE

We also recognize that a small Council doesn’t have enough manpower to do as many programs as a large Council. Therefore, the North Carolina State Council has divided the Councils into four divisions for the purposes of Council recognition. The divisions are based on each Council’s membership numbers on January 1 with the inactive and disabled members on the council roster removed.
 

Division	From	To	Number of Councils Reporting
I	1 Member	49 Members	32
II	50 Members	84 Members	31
III	85 Members	149 Members	38
IV	150 Members	and up	32

 
Reporting Requirements
 
Reporting for the NC Council Recognition Award is done utilizing the Form 1728 that the Council submits annually to Supreme. Working with your Council leaders, your District Deputy will help you complete this form and will bring it to the Mid-Year Meeting of District Deputies in January, and it will then be submitted to Supreme by the State Warden in bulk prior to the January 31 deadline. This form is used to determine how many programs were conducted as well as hours and monies donated in each of the four Supreme program areas. In order to ensure that your form is completed in time for the Mid-Year DD Meeting, you should complete it with your District Deputy prior to December 31. Activities planned, but not yet conducted during the reporting period may be counted (For example: The DD and GK should sit down after December 1 to complete the form and if the Council should have a family activity planned for later that month, that activity could be counted in this period.).
 
The scoring for the Council Program Awards will be as follows: 1 point for every $10 donated, 1 point for every 10 hours volunteered and 1 point for each visit or activity reported on the Form 1728 in each of the four program categories: Faith, Family, Community, Life. Remember to report your LAMB activities in either the Community or Life categories.
 
Here are the requirements to achieve the Council Program Awards:

                                                           I                        II                     III                     IV

Faith	Charity	250 and up	600 and up	1000 and up	1500 and up
	Unity	100-249	250-599	400-999	600-1499
	Fraternity	30-99	125-249	200-399	300-599

 

Family	Charity	200 and up	300 and up	600 and up	900 and up
	Unity	750-199	150-299	250-599	400-899
	Fraternity	25-74	50-149	100-249	150-399

 

Community	Charity	250 and up	600 and up	1000 and up	1500 and up
	Unity	100-249	250-599	400-999	600-1499
	Fraternity	30-99	125-249	200-399	300-599

 

Life	Charity	120 and up	200 and up	300 and up	500 and up
	Unity	50-199	100-199	150-299	200-499
	Fraternity	20-49	30-99	50-149	75-199

 

 

Membership is the key to continued success and survival of a Council. New members provide new opportunities for the financial viability of your Council as well as new innovative programs that better serve our families, our Church, and our community. For that reason, the North Carolina State Council recognizes and awards those Councils that are growing in membership.
 
Council success is determined by membership intake from January 1 through December 31. The Supreme membership reports will be used to determine the intake of the Council. 
 
Each goal is based on the Council membership quota set by Supreme on July 1. Awards will be given for the following achievements:

• 100% of Goal
• 125% of Goal
• 150% and above of Goal
• Highest % of Goal

 These awards are presented at the annual NC State Convention.
 

Each Council is encouraged to submit one (1) candidate for this award. Every Council has that man of Faith that makes an impact on the Council and the Parish. This is an excellent way to give him some special recognition.

A candidate for this award must be a Priest in good standing with his Diocesan Bishop and must have been a member of the Order for a minimum of one (1) year by January 1.
 
The Priest of the Year should be a Knight who is actively involved in the spiritual growth of the Council and their families, supporting “Faith in Action” initiative, and the vision of our founder, Fr. Michael J. McGivney, while also preforming other works within the community.
 
When submitting your Priest of the Year’s resume, consider the following questions:

1) Does the priest candidate exercise a "Pastor's heart" when ministering to his people? 
In Pope Francis' own words, "mercy must be the cornerstone and bedrock foundation of everything we do in Evangelization." Provide specific examples.
 
2.) Does the priest candidate place people above ideology? In other words, is he more concerned about doing the right thing or doing things right when exercising his pastoral leadership & spiritual direction? What defines a "practical Catholic."? Is it all about those who qualify or is it more about standing with the marginalized & disenfranchised? 

3.) Does the priest candidate have the “apostolic courage” and boldness of faith to stand up and speak out on “quality of life” issues affecting and threatening Christian family values? Is he just a one-note messenger on the pro-life issues of the day: abortion, divorce, and contraception only? Is he equally prophetic about the other pro-life issues impacting the parish family: child immigration, income inequality gun violence, capital punishment, social justice, human and civil rights that are all a part of what Fr. McGivney could relate to in his concern to support struggling families? 

4.) Does the priest candidate exercise a ministry of inclusiveness? Does he practice collegiality, share ministry and collaborate with both men and women across the board? 

The accomplishments of the candidate must have taken place during this Program Year (January 1 through December 31).
 
The local Council’s nominee for the Priest of the Year award need not be the Council’s Chaplain (although this would be unusual). Prior winners of the State Priest of the Year are not eligible.
 
The State Chaplain, with the approval of the State Deputy, will select the winning candidate. The selection process will be concerned with factual information describing the candidate’s accomplishments during the period specified above. The quality of literary embellishments will not influence the decision. The winning candidate will be announced at the North Carolina State Convention and his resume will be read at the banquet.
 
Please be concise and limit the resume to two (2) typewritten, double spaced, pages. The winning entry will be included in the minutes of the convention, so please use Council letterhead for the first page and good quality, white paper, for the second. To increase the dramatic impact, try to name the candidate only in the last paragraph of the write up.
 
The candidate’s resume must be sent to the State Chaplain, no later than February 1st, to be considered. No exceptions will be considered. Any questions regarding this award will be addressed to the State Deputy.
 

Each Council is encouraged to submit one (1) candidate for this award. Every Council has that man of Faith that makes an impact on the Council and the Parish. This is an excellent way to give him some special recognition.

A candidate for this award must be a Deacon in good standing with his Diocesan Bishop and must have been a member of the Order for a minimum of one (1) year by January 1.
 
The Deacon of the Year should be a Knight who is actively involved in the spiritual growth of the Council and their families, supporting “Faith in Action” initiative, and the vision of our founder, Fr. Michael J. McGivney, while also preforming other works within the community.
 
When submitting your Deacon of the Year’s resume, consider the following questions:
 
1.) Does the deacon candidate exercise a "heart of servant" when ministering to his people? 
In Pope Francis' own words, "mercy must be the cornerstone and bedrock foundation of everything we do in Evangelization." Provide specific examples.
 
2.) Does the deacon candidate place people above ideology? In other words, is he more concerned about doing the right thing or doing things right when exercising his pastoral leadership & spiritual direction? What defines a "practical Catholic."? Is it all about those who qualify or is it more about standing with the marginalized & disenfranchised? 

3.) Does the deacon candidate exercise a ministry of inclusiveness? Does he practice collegiality, share ministry and collaborate with both men and women across the board? 

The accomplishments of the candidate must have taken place during this Program Year (January 1 through December 31).
 
The local Council’s nominee for the Deacon of the Year award need not be the Council’s Spiritual Leader (although this would be unusual). Prior winners of the State Deacon of the Year are not eligible.
 
The State Chaplain, with the approval of the State Deputy, will select the winning candidate. The selection process will be concerned with factual information describing the candidate’s accomplishments during the period specified above. The quality of literary embellishments will not influence the decision. The winning candidate will be announced at the North Carolina State Convention and his resume will be read at the banquet.
 
Please be concise and limit the resume to two (2) typewritten, double spaced, pages. The winning entry will be included in the minutes of the convention, so please use Council letterhead for the first page and good quality, white paper, for the second. To increase the dramatic impact, try to name the candidate only in the last paragraph of the write up.
 
The candidate’s resume must be sent to the State Chaplain, no later than February 1st, to be considered. No exceptions will be considered. Any questions regarding this award will be addressed to the State Deputy.
 
 

 

 

 

 
 

Each Council can submit one (1) candidate for consideration of this award. Every Council has at least one Brother Knight that stands out. This is an excellent way to give him some special recognition.
 
A candidate for this award must be a member in good standing and must have been a member of the Order for a minimum of one (1) year by January 1.
 
The Knight of the Year should be a Knight who is actively involved in the works of the Order, his Church, and his community. All of these areas should be described in detail in his submission. The following percentages will be considered for each of the areas during judging: 

• 80% – Work for the Knights of Columbus
• 10% – Work for the Church
• 10% – Work for the Community

 The accomplishments of the candidate must have taken place during this Program Year (January 1 through December 31).
 
The Council’s nominee for the State Knight of the Year award need not be the Council’s Knight of the Year, although this would be unusual. Nor is it a requirement that the Council’s nominee has received the Knight of the Month award, however, that program should provide an excellent pool of candidates.
 
Prior winners of the State Knight of the Year are not eligible.
 
Judges will be concerned with factual information describing the candidate’s accomplishments during the period specified above. The quality of literary embellishments will not influence the decision. The winning candidate will be announced at the North Carolina State Convention and his resume will be read.
 
Please be concise and limit the resume to two (2) typewritten, double spaced pages. To give enough details on what the candidate has done to deserve this award, the write up should be more than one page long. The winning entry will be included in the minutes of the convention, so please use Council letterhead for the first page and good quality, white paper for the second. To increase the dramatic impact, try to name the candidate only in the last paragraph to the write up.
 
The candidate’s resume must be sent to the State Secretary no later than February 1st in order to be considered. No exceptions will be considered. Any questions regarding this award will be addressed to the State Deputy.
 

Each Council can submit one (1) candidate for this award. Every Council has at least one Brother Knight that has stood out for many years. This is an excellent way to give him some very special recognition.
 
A candidate for this award must be a member in good standing and must have been a Knight of Columbus member for at least fifteen (15) years. The Brother Knight so honored should exemplify Columbianism in the truest sense of the word. He should be a true source of inspiration to his Brother Knights. Since one deserving of the title of “Golden Knight” should be a man involved in the works of: 

• The Order
• His Church
• His community

His resume should include his involvement and accomplishments in each of these areas.
 
Judges will be concerned with factual information describing the candidate’s accomplishments. The quality of literary embellishments will not influence the decision. The winning candidate will be announced at the North Carolina State Convention and his resume will be read.
 
Please be concise and limit the resume to two (2) typewritten, double spaced pages. To give enough details on what the candidate has done to deserve this award, the write up should be more than one page long. The winning entry will be included in the minutes of the convention, so please use Council letterhead for the first page and good quality, white paper for the second. To increase the dramatic impact, try to name the candidate only in the last paragraph to the write up.
 
The candidate’s resume must be sent to the State Secretary no later than February 1st in order to be considered. No exceptions will be considered. Any questions regarding this award will be addressed to the State Deputy.
 

 
 

Each Council can submit one (1) family for this award. Every Council has at least one family that stands out. Everyone in the family is involved in the Parish and the community. This is an excellent way to give them some real special recognition.
 
The nominated family for this award must include at least one (1) member in good standing that must have been a member of the Order for a minimum of one (1) year by January 1.

The nomination write-up must include the detailed accomplishments of the entire family. Activities involving the Order should be emphasized, but Church and community activities should also be included and will be considered.
 
The accomplishments outlined must have taken place during this Program Year (January 1 through December 31). Prior winners of the State Family of the Year award are not eligible.

Judges will be concerned with factual information describing the family’s accomplishments during the period specified above. The quality of literary embellishment will not influence the decision. The winning family will be announced at the North Carolina State Convention and their resume will be read.
 
Please be concise and limit the resume to two (2) typewritten, double spaced pages. To give enough details on what the candidate has done to deserve this award, the write up should be more than one page long. The winning entry will be included in the minutes of the convention, so please use Council letterhead for the first page and good quality, white paper for the second. To increase the dramatic impact, try to name the family only in the last paragraph to the write up.
 
The family’s resume must be sent to the State Secretary no later than February 1st in order to be considered. No exceptions will be considered. Any questions regarding this award will be addressed to the State Deputy.
 

 
 

As a Council recruits new members, often one of these new Brothers seems to get very involved as soon as they join. Each Council can submit one (1) candidate for consideration of this award. This is an excellent way to give that brother some very special recognition.
 
A candidate for this award must be a member in good standing and joined the Order no more than eighteen (18) months before January 1.
 
The Rookie of the Year should be a Knight who is actively involved in the works of the Order, his Church and his community. All of these areas should be described, in detail, in his submission. The following percentages will be considered for each of the areas during judging: 

• 80% – Work for the Knights of Columbus
• 10% – Work for the Church
• 10% – Work for the Community

 The accomplishments of the candidate must have taken place during this Program Year (January 1 through December 31).

Judges will be concerned with factual information describing the candidate’s accomplishments during the period specified above. The quality of literary embellishments will not influence the decision. The winning candidate will be announced at the North Carolina State Convention and his resume will be read.
 
Please be concise and limit the resume to two (2) typewritten, double spaced pages. To give enough details on what the candidate has done to deserve this award, the write up should be more than one page long. The winning entry will be included in the minutes of the convention, so please use Council letterhead for the first page and good quality, white paper for the second. To increase the dramatic impact, try to name the candidate only in the last paragraph to the write up.
 
The candidate’s resume must be sent to the State Secretary no later than February 1st in order to be considered. No exceptions will be considered. Any questions regarding this award will be addressed to the State Deputy.
 

OPERATION (Least Amongst My Brethren) LAMB is one of our greatest, outward displays of our Order’s Principle of Charity. The people we support through the efforts of our OPERATION LAMB program have come to rely on your generous donations of time, talent, and treasure. Donations are for assisting people who have intellectual disabilities within the state of North Carolina. In 2024, the Knights of Columbus Operation LAMB program will be celebrating 50 years.

The LAMB Foundation of NC is a public 501(c)3 not-for-profit charity dedicated solely to assisting people who have intellectual disabilities within the state of North Carolina. For more information on what Operation LAMB is go to https://www.lambnc.org/. The LAMB Foundation of NC, Inc. is responsible for distributing of all Operation LAMB funds we collect.

Therefore, the LAMB Foundation of NC, Inc. would like to recognize Councils that go “above and beyond” their assigned goals based on the Council’s per-member average (total annual collections divided by their beginning of the year membership number) compared to the statewide average of collections. 

A “Trendsetter Award” will be given to councils that may not have met their goal, but are still above the per-member average for LAMB.

An “Award of Excellence” is given to those councils that do exceed their goal.

To recognize the “best of the best” an “Outstanding Achievement Award” will be given to Councils that attain the highest per-member average in their particular Council division.
 
These awards are presented at the annual NC State Convention.
 

The Council Website Award is given to three (3) Councils that maintain the best website during the Program Year (January 1 through December 31). This is based on the website content and presentation. The State Webmaster will judge the websites with the following criteria:

Overall:

Websites to be considered must have a link to it on the North Carolina State Website. When using the Knights of Columbus logo, a customized statement should appear “The Official Website of (Council’s name and number) Knights of Columbus” in close proximity to the logo. NO advertising from insurance or financial planning companies that compete with the Knights of Columbus Field Agency should be included.

Content Guidelines / Suggestions:
 
Information should be timely, organized, easy to read and POSITIVE tone. 

• Your website should be used to comment on your Council’s progress and encourage participation in upcoming events, as well as public recognition for all awards and recent work well done.

• Family of the Month and Knight of the Month profiles should be a regular feature.

• Operation LAMB and membership progress should be reported.

• Dates of upcoming Degrees should be included.

Remember, what seems like satire to one, may be offensive to others. Choose your words like a true journalist and Knight.

All websites that have links on the North Carolina State Council Website on February 1st will be judged. To have your site linked, e-mail the necessary information to the State Webmaster info@kofcnc.org.

The Council Website Award is presented at the state convention,
 

The Duane Russell Award is given to three (3) Councils that produce the best and consistently good newsletters during the Program Year (January 1 through December 31).
 
Judging for the Duane Russell Award is based on the following criteria: 

1. The newsletter must be published at least once per quarter and should include the issue and date of the publication.
2. Must be the official publication of the council and for the council members.
3. Each issue must include LAMB activities, degree dates, membership activities, and the Family and Knights of the Month.
4. NO advertising from insurance or financial planning companies that compete with the Knights of Columbus Field Agency should be included.

 Style will be judged not on whether the appearance is pleasing to the eye, but if it appears that the newsletter editor attempted to style the publication. A copy of the newsletter must be sent to the State Deputy and the Tar Heel Knight Chairman. The subject line of the e-mail must read as such:
 
[Issue] Newsletter for [Council Number], [Council Name]
Example: “September 2018 Newsletter for #13812, Pope John Paul II”

The Duane Russell Award is presented at the state convention.,
 
If you have any questions or need help with how to put together your newsletter, please contact the THK Chairman at thkchairman@kofcnc.org.