Author: Tim Kelley
Greetings from the mountains of western North Carolina.
As September starts, we get ready for the beginning of fall – and, for those of us in the mountains, a big leaf season that boosts our tourist industry. (Come visit us out here!)
There is something else coming up at the beginning of this month. As our insurance provider, Lockton Affinity, has changed our policy renewal date to October 1, you will all be receiving insurance bills from me at the beginning of the month, once the state receives its bill from Lockton. For those of you who are not aware, your councils’ insurance is what the state considers pass-through income. We only charge you what the company charges us. The state must pay this bill by October 1, so we appreciate your timely payments.
Also, I have some good news for you. During this past month, I was advised by Lockton that they had overcharged us for the February 1-October 1, 2026, period, and they sent us a refund check for that overcharge. The overcharge was 40 cents per billable Brother Knight. I have pulled out the spreadsheet, indicating the number of brothers each of your councils was billed for eight months ago, and you will see a credit in the amount of 40 cents times that number applied to the bills you will be receiving at the beginning of September, so the bottom-line amount due on this invoice will be lower than normal.
Fall also means back to school – and back to faith formation classes. This is an excellent opportunity for your councils to make yourselves seen and plant seeds with these young people through your service and example, so that they will one day want to be Knights and faithful stewards in your parishes. Are you taking advantage of family programs such as the soccer challenge, the Faithful Citizenship essay contest, or the Keeping Christ in Christmas poster contest? All of these happen in the fall. And, most importantly, is your council safe environment compliant?
For those of you who have the good fortune of being dads, join a Cor group with other fathers where you can help each other to be better Catholic fathers through prayer, formation, and fraternity. As you’ve seen by this year’s shift in requirements for the Columbian Award, Cor is something we should all be doing, strengthening each other as Brother Knights. And I would be remiss to pass up an opportunity to once again mention our weekly virtual rosary, where brothers from all across the state gather together to pray the rosary and pray for each other’s intentions. Here’s the link – we’re there every Sunday at 8:00 PM. Just like the Grand Ole Opry for you music fans, we never take a week off: Sunday 8:00 PM virtual rosary (Zoom).
As always, I am here to serve you, so please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything. I am looking forward to a vibrant autumn renewal throughout our Order.
“Undeniably great is the mystery of devotion.” – 1 Timothy 3:16a
Vivat Jesus!