Four New Board Members Elected

In the Wednesday morning Business Session, four new members were added to the Order’s Board of Directors with the title of supreme director.

Newly elected were Past State Deputies Arthur J. Harris of New York, Brian W. Simer of Idaho, James R. Scroggin of California and Meclea L. Casavant of Alberta, Canada, who also is a former supreme warden.

Casavant, who is 69 years old, served as supreme warden from 2008 to 2010. He and his wife, Astrid, live in St. Albert in Alberta and are parishioners of Holy Family parish there.

He joined the Order in 1974 and belongs to Brother Anthony Council 10014 and Archbishop Emil Legal Assembly, both in St. Albert.

Over his employment career, Casavant was a social worker for Catholic Charities of Eastern Nova Scotia, a youth counselor with the Dept. of Health and Social Services, and most recently a consultant with an addiction treatment center.

He has served on a number of Church-related and civic boards, including Don Bosco Homes, and he was a member of the Archdiocese of Edmonton’s Pontifical Missions Council and attended the Millennium World Mission Congress in Rome in 2000. He and his wife have two grown children.

Harris, 66 years of age, is a resident of Rochester, N.Y., where he and his wife, Marlene, are members of St. Thomas More parish. Harris is the immediate past state deputy, having served from 2009 to this past June 2011. He joined the Knights of Columbus in 1984 and is a member of Msgr. Richard Burns Council 11749 in Rochester, and Father Paul Cuddy Assembly in Webster, N.Y.

He worked for 32 years for Eastman Kodak Co. as a quality engineer before his retirement. He served six years in the U.S. Army as a communications installer before his honorable discharge in 1972 with the rank of sergeant.

Harris is the father of four grown children and grandfather to 11.

Simer, 48 years old, was born in San Francisco and now resides in Nampa, Idaho. He and his wife, Cheryl, are members of Holy Apostles parish in Meridian. He joined the Order in 1996 and belongs to Holy Spirit Council 11548 and Bishop Sylvester Trienen Assembly, both in Meridian. He served as Idaho state deputy from 2009-2011.

He is involved in a number of civic organizations and programs, including Police Athletic League and Meridian’s anti-drug coalition, and serves in leadership positions for youth sports and character development programs.

Simer has his own business as a financial adviser, and is the father of three children.

Scroggin is 64 years old and served as California state deputy for two non-consecutive terms, from 2001-2002 and 2007-2008. He and his wife, Lisa, are members of Our Lady of Victory parish in Fresno. He is retired as an administrator in the Fresno public school system, where he worked for more than 30 years, and is the father of two grown children.

Scroggin has been a member of the Order for 32 years and belongs to Father Doherty Council 4440 in Fresno and Paul Pryor Assembly in Clovis, Calif. He is involved in his community and church, serving on his parish council and as a Eucharistic minister, and as a hospice volunteer.