Virginia Knights of Columbus Charities, Inc
2013 Annual Meeting
October 5, 2013
Anthony D. Fortunato, SD:
As Chairman of the Board, I call to order the Annual meeting of the Virginia Knights of
Columbus Charities, Inc., on this, the fifth day of October, 2013 and call forward PSD
Michael J. Lazzuri, President of VKCCI.
President of VKCCI:
Reverend Fathers, Worthy State Deputy Anthony Fortunato, Worthy Supreme
Representative, State Officers, Former Supreme Director John Barrett, Past State
Deputies and Brothers all.
I call to order the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Virginia Knights of Columbus, Inc. Will
the Board members in attendance please come to the dais.
We begin as always as we pray: Hail Mary full of grace the Lord is with thee. Blessed art
thou amongst women and Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary Mother of
God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Mary Queen of the
Knights, pray for us.
I hereby appoint Stephen Raschke, Sr., State Advocate as parliamentarian for this annual
meeting.
I call for the reading of the minutes of the VKCCI 2012 Annual Meeting which has been
previously emailed to all Delegates to this meeting. Do I hear a motion to dispense with
the reading of the minutes?
The current Officers and members of the Board of Directors of the Virginia Knights of
Columbus Charities are:
President
Vice President – Grants
Vice President – Fund Raising
Treasurer
Secretary
Michael J. Lazzuri, PSD
Parker Northrup, FDD
Richard G. Head Sr., PSD, VSM
Kelly J. Mortensen, PSD
Isaias “CY” Alba, PSD, DM
Directors
Richard S. Aleksy, PSD, FM
Arnie Bohanan, DD
Richard LaRoche, FDD, PFN
John F. “Jack” Michalski, PSD
James Swanick, FDD
Louis W. Valcourt, FDD
Darrel J. Vidrine, FDD, PFN
I appoint the following members of the VKCCI Board to the Tellers Committee
•
•
•
Loui W. Valcourt, FDD
Darell Vidrine, FDD
Richard S. Aleksy, PSD
Virginia Knights of Columbus Charities, Inc. was founded in 1994 for the purpose of
carrying out the dreams of the Venerable Fr. Michael J. McGivney and the first principle
of our Order, Charity, which is our greatest virtue. VKCCI awards grants to individuals
and families in Virginia who are in financial distress. These grants provide some of the
necessities of life for these individuals when they are in the greatest need for our
assistance. The Grants Committee reviews applications for grant assistance sent to us
from the councils in Virginia after the Grand Knight has reviewed the family situation.
Our Grants Committee reviews the grant and votes on the grant and amount to be given.
As of June 30, 2012 we have awarded a total of 750 grants with a total dollar amount of
$1,137,430. Of those 750 grant awards, 61 grants were awarded during the 2012-13
fraternal year amounting to $97,338 or an average grant of $1,596 per recipient. As long
as there are individuals who have been brought to the attention of our councils or
assemblies, we will continue to provide grant assistance to those in need with your
continued financial support and prayers for us to continue the dreams of the Venerable
Fr. McGivney to provide for those in need. The grants awarded during the 2012-2013
fraternal year are posted or will be posted on the VKCCI website.
We get our funding from 6 sources: 1) the board of KOVAR donates funds to VKCCI
whereby we can award individual grants to those who have intellectual disabilities and
are in need of assistance, since KOVAR cannot make grants to individuals. KOVAR has
also assisted VKCCI by participating in the Supreme Council Christopher Fund from
which we have shared income over the years. We received $8,283 from the Christopher
fund at the 2013 Virginia State Council Annual Meeting. I do not want to forget our
partnership with KOVAR in continuing the dreams of our founder.
2) Our Label Program generates the major source of our funding for the year. This
program continues to do well and we thank you for your generosity. When you get your
address labels, please consider making a donation to continue Fr. McGivney’s dream and
use your return labels to spread the name of the Knights of Columbus. Also, please
remember that you can make your contribution for your labels via credit card by going to
the VKCCI website.
3) We also derive funds from donations by the councils of Virginia from the Council
Contribution Program which we receive throughout the year but especially at the Virginia
State Council Annual Meeting. In addition to the Council Contribution Program, we are
fortunate to get gift donations from the Ladies of Virginia both on the State and local
levels. Please tell your ladies we are very thankful for those donations. The honoree for
the past year was Ladies of Virginia. The donations for the 2012-13 fraternal year from
the councils, assemblies, and Ladies of Virginia amounted to $21,162.
Will the Grand Knight and the Past Grand Knight of Mother Teresa of Calcutta Council
12117 please stand? The Board of VKCCI would like to recognize the Council with the
highest per capita contribution for the 2012-2013 Fraternal year. Based upon its
membership as of July 1, 2012 this Council donated $10.27 per member.
4) Some Councils choose to contribute to VKCCI through another source of income the
Robert D. Neary Award Program in addition to or rather than the Council Contribution
Program. This program is available to any council or assembly wishing to recognize a
member or anyone who has made a contribution in service to or in behalf of the Knights
of Columbus. It is an excellent way for a council to recognize those fostering the work of
the Knights and that recipient’s name remains on a perpetual list of award winners. We
generated $2,000 from the Neary Award Program this past year which was down from
$7,000 last year.
5) The fifth source of income consists of those donations made in memory of a loved one
or a friend. What better tribute to someone you love than to help others with a final gift
in their name? Remember you can make your contributions via the credit card of your
choice.
6) This year, we also benefited from a significant amount of individual and corporate
donations. We benefited from several individual donations which were matched by their
employers or by participation in retiree matching programs. Please check with your
employer or retirement office to see if they have a matching program for charitable
donations. These donations combined with the memorial donations amounted to $11,552.
A copy of the end of the year financial report will emailed to the State Officers, Grand
Knights, and Past State Deputies when our Annual Audit is completed by an independent
CPA. In general, VKCCI had total income including all programs, fund raisers,
donations, and interest of $159,599. Total operating expenses for VKCCI were $52,952
which included the cost of the label program ($48,776), business fees, audit fees, State
fees, and fund raising expenses. In addition there was a total of grant funds issued of
$93,278. The income less all expenses and grants amounted to a net income of $13,368.
We are updating our website which now includes a form that councils and assemblies can
use when presented with a need to request a VKCCI grant. We did this in the hope that
you will be able to address more easily the charitable needs brought to your attention.
The Board Members wish to remind you that we are available to come to your district
and/or your council meetings to answer question about VKCCI and explain the role of
VKCCI in carrying out the dreams of the venerable Fr. Michael J. McGivney. In
addition, today each of your council folders contains a VKCCI envelop we hope will be
beneficial to you in accessing us for financial assistance.
This concludes the activity and financial report for the 2012- 2013 fraternal year.
Is there any old business to come before this assembly?
Hearing no old business; at this time I call for the election of officers as the first item of
new business. Those elected will serve a three year term beginning January 1, 2013 and
will fill the seats on the Board of Directors for members who terms come to an end as of
December 31, 2012.
The following members’ terms expire as of that date: Isaias “Cy” Alba, Richard R.
LaRoche, Kelly J. Mortensen, and Parker W. Northrup, Jr. Parker has informed the Board
that he is not seeking re-election to the Board.
The other three members have requested to stand for re-election. I will now accept
nominations from the floor for the election of four members to the Board of Directors.
Are there any nominations from the floor? PSD Bill McCarthy was nominated from the
floor and seconded. Are there any other nominations from the floor? Are there any
other nominations from the floor? (Pause) The nominations are closed.
A unanimous ballot was cast for Isias “Cy” Alba, Richard LaRoache, Kelly J. Mortensen,
and William McCarthy.
The second item of new business is to announce the honoree for the Council Donation
Program for 2012-2013. VKCCI was founded in 1994 at the request of then Bishop
Walter S. Sullivan who met with leaders of the Knights of Columbus. Because of his
unending support of the Virginia Knights of Columbus and of VKCCI, the honoree
selected by the Board of Directors is: The Most Reverend Walter S. Sullivan, Bishop
Emeritus of the Diocese of Richmond who pasted away during the past fraternal year.
Is there any other new business to be brought before this assembly?
In closing, VKCCI wishes to thank the state officers and the councils of Virginia for your
support through the years. But most of all we wish to thank you the members of the
Order who believe in and work to carry out the dreams of the Venerable Fr. Michael J.
McGivney when he founded the Knights of Columbus.
Worthy State Deputy that concludes the 2013 Annual Report on Virginia Knights of
Columbus, Inc. The 2013 Annual Meeting of VKCCI is closed Sine Di.
Submitted,
Michael J, Lazzuri, PSD
President VKCCI
Isaias “Cy” Alba, PSD, Master
Secretary VKCCI