The Tar Heel Knight

   
Greetings from the mountains of North Carolina.

It is a time of transition. As you all know, I have had a very unexpected and unwanted transition last month, as I adapt from life as half of a happy couple to that of life as a young widower. My faith will guide me through, and I deeply appreciate all the love I’ve felt from my brothers from all corners of the state.

 I am also preparing for the transition I knew was coming, that of our transition as a State Council. As State Officers, we are penning the last Tar Heel Knight article we will be writing in our current roles. Next month, I will be moving into the State Advocate role and talking to you about the importance of Safe Environment. I offer my congratulations to our new rookie, State Warden Elect Chris Kremer, who will be taking good care of my forms for the next two years, as I help him transition into the start of the twelve-year ride of his life.

This is also a time of transition for many of you, as you move into new roles in your councils and assemblies. For those of you stepping into the role of Grand Knight for the first time, you might be feeling a sense of apprehension and a fear of becoming overwhelmed. You need not be afraid – you have a great support system to help you. Your District Deputies have sat where you are, and they have the knowledge, experience, and training to guide you through. We on the state council are also here for you. It doesn’t matter to me what color jacket I’m wearing – I want you all to feel you can reach out to me with any questions you might have. I acknowledge all phone and email messages within 24 hours and can schedule further follow-ups. If I don’t have the answer, I will point you in the right direction to get the answer.

For your transitions, I strongly encourage you and your other council leaders (especially your Financial Secretaries) to attend one of our Council Leadership Training sessions. We have three scheduled across the state in July. Please make a point of getting to the one that is nearest your council’s home. You give us one Saturday, and we’ll give you the helpful tools you’ll need for success.

Lastly, this is a month of transition for forms as we collect the last of the 2023-24 forms in June, as well as the first of the 2024-25 forms. Please make sure you submit any and all outstanding forms that you have yet to submit for this fraternal year if you are currently missing any. We also ask you to get your SP-7 in as soon as possible. We had requested these at or before the State Convention and have received less than half of them as of my writing of this article. If there should be anything on your form that is not accepted, you want to have time to revise your form and submit your corrections prior to June 30. If you wait until June 30 to submit this form and something is filled out incorrectly, you have just cheated your council out of an award they earned…so, please don’t risk it. If you haven’t submitted this form yet, please get it in as soon as possible after you finish reading this newsletter.

I mentioned 2024-25 forms, and there are two of those that are due by June 30 – the Form 185 for the Council Officers that were elected for next year and the Form 365 for Council Program Directors and Chairmen. It is extremely important to get these forms in on time, as this is the only way Supreme will know who to send the Safe Environment training invitations. Even if there are some roles that are vacant, as I understand happens with many councils, go ahead and submit these forms based on your officers and directors as is. Once you fill these roles, you can submit an updated form. Also, please make a point of submitting these important forms using Member Management. The reason we emphasize this is because the PDF Form 185’s that are out on the
website do not include a space for your Financial Secretary. Both Supreme and State need to send timely correspondence to your Financial Secretary, so it is vitally important that you submit these forms via Member Management. If you are unsure how to do this, please contact us. I am sure our FPT James Davisson and his team will have training available if you have any difficulty.

With all forms you submit to Supreme, please make sure you send a copy to forms@kofcnc.org. This helps us track what has been submitted, and if for some reason, Supreme shows a form as missing which you submitted, we can go ahead and resubmit it on your behalf. Just two days before typing this article, I submitted thirteen such forms because I had received a copy at that email address without having to bother the councils. It helps us to help you.

Thank you for everything you do as the boots on the ground in your parishes and communities every day. You are bringing Christ’s light to the people and places that need Him most. I look forward to working with you this upcoming year as we all assume our new roles.

“It is the Lord who goes before you; he will be with you and will never fail you or forsake you. So do not fear or be dismayed.” – Deuteronomy 31:8

Vivat Jesus!
Tim Kelley
State Warden