Grand Knight’s Blog

June, 2023

Next Meeting

Date:   Tuesday, June 13, 2023
Time:   7:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . doors open at 7:00
Place:  St. Matthias Parish Hall

Activities and News Since Last Meeting

·        Welcome new members:

Rev. Anthony Didongo from Ghana has been spending 8 weeks each summer at St. Mike’s for 5 years and is well known among the Hudsonians. He is a member of the SMA Fathers (Society of African Missions).         He was educated in France and England, and missioned in the Ivory Coast for 15 years. Wecome Fr. Tony!

·        St. Michael Parish Outdoor Memorial Day Mass

On Memorial Day, Council #81 supported St. Michael Parish’s outdoor Mass at the parish cemetery:

Thanks to Brendan Butler who coordinated and helped move heavy objects, Frank Ramsbottom who picked up, delivered and set up our Coffee, Muffin and Donut donations and everybody else, including little Louis Armstrong, who helped serve.

·        So Long, Fr. Ren

Council #81 hosted a nice send-off party for Fr. Ren Tocci at St. Mike’s at the Horseshoe Pub. Fr. Ren is on his way to St. Cecelia in Ashland. We wish him a smooth transition, a productive ministry, and hope he won’t be a stranger to Hudson.

Thanks to the Knights to turned out: Deacon Chuck Rossignol, Soon-to-be-past Grand Knight Mike Tremblay, John Harrold, Brendan Butler, Frank Ramsbottom, Chris Lundberg, Kevin Armstrong, Mike Wells, and Rich Caissie.

And thanks to Mike Wells for organizing the event.

·        Andy Tivnan’s Special One Year Anniversary Party

Here are two difficult statistics to think about:

(1)         About 3,500 patients are on the list for a heart transplant in the U.S. at any given time, but only about 300 heart transplants per year are actually performed. This leaves many waiting years on the list, and many never getting to the finish line.

(2)         If a heart transplant recipient survives the first year, he or she has about a 75% chance at making it to ten years.

In the face of those statistics, you can imagine how joyous Andy and his family were to celebrate the one-year anniversary of his heart transplant with a nice commemoration at the Manor in West Boylston.

Andy’s not out of the woods yet, he is still having rejection issues, and is headed for an overnight hospitalization for a 24-hour I.V. anti-rejection course of therapy and another biopsy, but he’s made it to the first hurdle and we are all rooting for him.

And because of it, little Isabella has a grandfather to enjoy life with.

Along with their joyous merriment, Andy, Nancy and family were all heartily grateful (pun intended) to the donor of this organ, who made it all possible.

Andy and Nancy                                 Andy’s daughter
Melissa, Isabella, and Nick

Of course, Council #81 would not let this event go unpunished. We formed an ad hoc Chorus and performed a song in Andy’s honor: “You Gotta Have Heart” from the 1955 Broadway musical “Heart.”       Here’s the ensemble:

(L-R) Dale Dolesh (Soprano), Mike Bleecker (Alto), Mike Wells (Tenor) and G.K. Mike Tremblay at the keyboard. Rumors that the chorus was under the direction of Jack Daniels are greatly exaggerated. You can see the entire performance on video, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10j6jOPSlZuIXcqruB0qCLNsp5J3jQ2nh/view?usp=drive_link

Programs and Upcoming Events

·        It’s Election Night!

The nomination committee has proposed the following slate of candidates for the July 1, 2023 fraternal year:

OFFICE                                  NAME        

Grand Knight                         Brendan Butler
Deputy Grand Knight           Kevin Armstrong
Chancellor                              * open
Recorder                                 Dale Dolesh
Treasurer                                John Dedecko
Advocate                                 Rich Pulice
Warden                                    Ernie Waingortin
INSIDE GUARD                        John Harrold
OUTSIDE GUARD                    Tom Hirsh
Trustee 3 Year:                        Mike Tremblay
Trustee 2 Year :                       Mike Bleecker
Trustee 1 Year :                       Scott Snyder
Financial Secretary                 Richard Caissie (Appointed by Supreme)
Chaplain                                  TBD

Additional nominations may be made from the floor.       If there are none, per tradition, the slate will be offered for election on a single ballot.

p.s. if you are not at tonight’s meeting, there is a chance you will be elected for the open Chancellor position!   Just saying. . .

Other News and Meeting Agenda Items

·        Fraternal Year Hiatus

Per our bylaws, we are off-duty until September, in other words, there are no meetings until the second Tuesday of September, i.e., September 12^th.

In the interim, there will probably be an “Officers” only meeting during the summer at the call of the new Grand Knight to focus the agenda for the upcoming fraternal year.

·        Prayers / Intentions:

Keep Andy Tivnan in your prayers this month while he faces his next challenge in anti-rejection therapy.

Also please keep Mike Fallon’s son Craig in your prayers.

·        Other business?

If you have an item to add to the next meeting agenda, please let me know.

News?

If you have any news to report, email GrandKnight@kofcmarlboro.org.

See you all tonight.

Vivat Jesus.

Mike Tremblay
Grand Knight