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Hundreds of Knights Attend Seminar on Membership Recruiting
State deputies and other fraternal leaders asked questions of the speakers at the Membership Seminar.
Proclaiming the common theme that recruitment is a top priority for the continued life of the Order, 10 Knights of Columbus leaders spoke at a membership seminar on Monday morning, Aug 6.
The event, chaired by Supreme Director Dennis J. Stoddard of Florida, was attended by hundreds of delegates, many of them state deputies, district deputies and grand knights.
Among the presenters was Supreme Director Javier G. Najera Cabrales of Mexico, who spoke about Hispanic recruitment.
The American hemisphere is strongly Catholic, especially in the Central and Southern regions, where Catholics make up 80 percent or more of the population within each country, he said.
In addition, the majority of immigrants coming to the United States are Catholic and 50 percent of them are younger than 39 years of age. In Canada, six out of 10 Hispanic residents are Catholic, he added.
“There is a great potential throughout this region for membership recruitment,” Najera Cabrales concluded.
Supreme Director Thomas P. Smith Jr., vice president for agencies and marketing, spoke about the importance of the Knights of Columbus insurance agent in recruitment efforts. “Agents recruit a lot of men for the Knights of Columbus,” he said.
“Working with them is better than not working with them. They have full-time energy to devote to the Knights of Columbus. Ask an agent to be part of your recruitment plans.”
The membership Blitz, a five-step program designed to bring in new Knights in a short span of time, has been a key component in Orderwide recruitment in the past few years.
Supreme Director Emilio Moure, executive vice president of business process for the Supreme Council, spoke about each step of the Blitz: contacting the pastor, holding a parish recruitment drive, following up immediately with candidates, sponsoring an information session and bringing candidates to a First Degree.
“Get a priest or pastor to speak about the Blitz from the pulpit,” Moure said. “This will do more than any number of Knights giving a talk.”
From a sales perspective, he said, “the Knights of Columbus is the best product out there. We have an obligation to offer membership to every eligible Catholic man.”