2018 Membership and Recruitment Awards

VIP Club

The VIP (Very Important Proposers) Club is composed of outstanding recruiters. It offers councils a way to publicly honor recruiters and show the importance of ongoing membership recruitment.

As of June 30, 2018, membership in the VIP Club stood at 316,875 Knights, who have collectively recruited 1,309,733 new Knights. Of that number, 420 members have each recruited 100 members; 81 have recruited 200 members; 24 have recruited 300 members; and five have recruited 400 members. We have 12 men who have each recruited over 500 members. One brother Knight has recruited over 2,000 members and another has recruited over 3,000 men.

Jurisdictions with the most VIP Club members are:

New Jersey 10,033
Illinois 10,971
Michigan 12,148
Florida 12,370
Mindanao 12,966
New York 13,547
Québec 13,997
California 15,463
Texas 20,572
Luzon North 27,354

Top Recruiters

As a special recruitment incentive each year, the Order’s top recruiters from our Insurance and Non-Insurance Territories are recognized at the annual Supreme Convention.

This year, we honor Eduardo Valdez of British Columbia who is the 2017-2018 recipient of the Orderwide Top Recruiter Award of our Insurance Territories, recruiting 118 members this fraternal year. We would also like to recognize the top recruiter from our Non-Insurance Territories: Danilo Leonor Martinez of Visayas, who recruited 1,092 members this past Fraternal year.

The top 10 recruiters Orderwide for 2017-2018 are:

Rolando Cubos
Recruited 87 members – Mindanao

Salvador Sarabia Jr.
Recruited 101 members – Visayas

Eduardo Valdez
Recruited 118 members - British Columbia

Jose Rex Pilador
Recruited 121 members - Visayas

Jolito Espejo
Recruited 124 members – Mindanao

Ernesto Chapa Rangel
Recruited 153 members – Mexico Northeast

Joel Cadelina
Recruited 184 members - Mindanao

Antonio Bunda
Recruited 215 members - Visayas

Noel Lacanilao
Recruited 692 members – Luzon South

Danilo Leonor Martinez
Recruited 1,092 members – Visayas

Round Tables

Parish round tables are not only a way for a council to serve a parish — they’re also a great opportunity to recruit new members. The Orderwide average of new members recruited per active round table is three.

During the 2017-2018 fraternal year, 2,705 round tables were established. Jurisdictions reaching their goals were:

Delaware, 10 Round Tables
Past State Deputy John Brenner

Nevada, 11 Round Tables
State Deputy Thomas Thorn

District of Columbia, 15 Round Tables
Past State Deputy Amado Alvarez Jr.

Mexico Central, 15 Round Tables
State Deputy Francisco Sáenz Muñoz

Georgia, 16 Round Tables
State Deputy Mark Corrigan Sr.

Hawaii, 16 Round Tables
Past State Deputy Michael Victorino

New Hampshire, 17 Round Tables
State Deputy Glenn Camley

New Hampshire, 17 Round Tables
State Deputy Glenn Camley

Mexico Northeast, 18 Round Tables
Past State Deputy Alexandro Xavier Isaac Huerta

Mexico West, 18 Round Tables
State Deputy Lorenzo Cervantes Barajas

Idaho, 20 Round Tables
Past State Deputy Michael Townsend

Arkansas, 22 Round Tables
Past State Deputy Philip Savage

Utah, 23 Round Tables
Past State Deputy Andrew Airriess

Kansas, 30 Round Tables
Past State Deputy Vincent Melvin III

New Brunswick, 31 Round Tables
State Deputy Charles Lirette

North Carolina, 33 Round Tables
State Deputy John Nussbaum

Oregon, 33 Round Tables
State Deputy Francis Mohr

Alabama, 34 Round Tables
Past State Deputy Griffin Shreves

Mississippi, 36 Round Tables
Past State Deputy Noel Aucoin

Virginia, 37 Round Tables
Past State Deputy Stephen Kehoe

Manitoba, 41 Round Tables
State Deputy Daniel Shepherd

South Dakota, 46 Round Tables
State Deputy Patrick Powers

British Columbia, 48 Round Tables
State Deputy Koon Ming Lau

Indiana, 51 Round Tables
Past State Deputy Martin McCoy Jr.

Maryland, 51 Round Tables
Past State Deputy Stephen Cohen

Missouri, 51 Round Tables
Past State Deputy Joseph Rosenthal

Mindanao, 53 Round Tables
Mindanao Deputy Gerry Eutemio Mission

Saskatchewan, 56 Round Tables
Past State Deputy Brian Schatz

Luzon North, 63 Round Tables
Luzon North Deputy Jose Reyes Jr.

Visayas, 69 Round Tables
Visayas Deputy Anthony Nazario

Florida, 73 Round Tables
State Deputy Donald Kahrer Jr.

Iowa, 80 Round Tables
State Deputy Antonio Bañuelos

Luzon South, 84 Round Tables
Luzon South Deputy Ramoncito Ocampo

Colorado, 103 Round Tables
State Deputy John Doherty

California, 143 Round Tables
Past State Deputy Romeo Quevedo

Illinois, 150 Round Tables
State Deputy Theodore Stites Jr.

Michigan, 163 Round Tables
Past State Deputy Kenneth Unterbrink

Texas, 218 Round Tables
Past State Deputy Douglas Oldmixon

Century Club Awards

Councils that add 100 members over suspensions and withdrawals are eligible for the Order’s prestigious Century Club Award.

This year’s Century Club Award winners are:

Council 6235: Sta Rita de Casia, Anilao Iloilo, Visayas
100 members

Council 15468: Iscof Iloilo State College of Fishe, Dumangas Iloilo, Visayas
100 members

Council 9160: Marist, Marikina, Metro Manila, Luzon South
101 members

Council 6115: San Juan Nepomoceno, Pasay City, Luzon South
102 members

Council 6122: Lipa City, Luzon South
103 members

Council 12480: St. Francis of Assisi, Frisco, Texas
103 members

Council 16569: Iscof-Poblacion Main Campas, Poblacion, Barotac Nuevo, Visayas
105 members

Council 16417: St. Charbel, Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine
108 members

Council 8994: Our Lady of Penafrancia, Manila, Luzon South
109 members

Council 1000: Manila, Intrauros Manila, Luzon South
111 members

Council 10277: Don Bosco, Surrey, British Columbia
113 members

Council 6400: Barotac Nuevo, Barotac Nuevo, Visayas
114 members

Council 16245: Sto. Nino de Baseco, Baseco, Port Area, Manila, Luzon South
115 members

Council 5894: Banate: Banate Iloilo, Visayas
123 members

Council 8987: Maria Auxiliadora, Maypajo Caloocan, Luzon South
123 members

Council 10101: Our Lady of Montserrat, Gran Plains Subd. Jaro, Iloilo, Visayas
123 members

Council 16966: Camp Martin Teofilo B. Delgado, Camp Martin Teofilo B. Delgado, Visayas
126 members

Council 2312: Nuestra Senora de Monterrey, Monterrey, N.L., Mexico Northeast
145 members

Council 10695: Holy Cross, Gen. T. Deleon Valenzue, Luzon North
150 members

Council 12513: Saint Maxmillian Kolbe, Greenfields I Novaliches QC, Luzon North
150 members

Council 12262: San Isidro, Agbannawag Tabuk Kalinga, Luzon North
207 members

Council 16844: Our Lady Star of the Sea, Intramuros Manila, Luzon South
414 members

Circle of Honor

The Supreme Knight’s Circle of Honor Award recognizes state deputies who achieve 100 percent or more of their annual membership goals. Honorees and their wives will be guests of the supreme knight and the board of directors for a four-night/five-day stay at The Renaissance Indian Wells Resort & Spa in California.

The 2018 winners are:

Mississippi with 100 Percent
Past State Deputy Noel Aucoin

Oklahoma with 100 Percent
State Deputy John Pierce

Poland with 100.94 Percent
State Deputy Tomasz Wawrzkowicz

Mexico Northwest with 101.85 Percent
Past State Deputy Juan Manuel Álvarez del Castillo González

New Mexico with 101.88 Percent
Past State Deputy Patrick Mason

Nevada with 103.73 Percent
State Deputy Thomas Thorn

Alabama with 104.65 Percent
Past State Deputy Griffin Shreves

British Columbia with 105.04 Percent
State Deputy Koon Ming Lau

Manitoba with 106.54 Percent
State Deputy Daniel Shepherd

Arizona with 107.26 Percent
Past State Deputy Sean Halpain

Mexico West with 111.38 Percent
State Deputy Lorenzo Cervantes Barajas

Pinnacle Award

The Supreme Knight’s Pinnacle Award, which is the highest honor a jurisdiction can achieve, recognizes state deputies for combined achievement in several membership categories. The requirements are 115 percent or greater of the membership goal, Circle of Honor Level Two and 100 percent or greater of reactivation and round table goals.

Honorees and their wives will be guests of the supreme knight and the board of directors for a five-night/six-day stay at The Renaissance Indian Wells Resort & Spa in California.

The 2018 winners are:

South Dakota
State Deputy Patrick Powers
Membership Intake Goal —116.88 percent
Net/Net Goal — 212 percent
New Council Development Goal — 100 percent
Round Table Goal — 102 percent
Star Council Goal — 140 percent

Visayas
Visayas Deputy Anthony Nazario
Membership Intake Goal —118.84 percent
Net/Net Goal — 247 percent
New Council Development Goal — 320 percent
Round Table Goal — 140 percent
Star Council Goal — 140 percent

Hawaii
Past State Deputy Michael Victorino
Membership Intake Goal —124 percent
Net/Net Goal — 209 percent
New Council Development Goal — 100 percent
Round Table Goal — 107 percent
Star Council Goal — 114 percent

Mexico Northeast
Past State Deputy Alexandro Xavier Isaac Huerta
Membership Intake Goal —124.29 percent
Net/Net Goal — 251 percent
New Council Development Goal — 100 percent
Round Table Goal — 120 percent
Star Council Goal — 178 percent

Mexico Central
State Deputy Francisco Sáenz Muñoz
Membership Intake Goal —125.24 percent
Net/Net Goal — 163 percent
New Council Development Goal — 100 percent
Round Table Goal — 100 percent
Star Council Goal — 100 percent

Luzon North
Luzon North Deputy Jose Reyes Jr.
Membership Intake Goal —129.31 percent
Net/Net Goal — 227 percent
New Council Development Goal — 130 percent
Round Table Goal — 420 percent
Star Council Goal — 223 percent

Mindanao
Mindanao Deputy Gerry Eutemio Mission
Membership Intake Goal —153.96 percent
Net/Net Goal — 330 percent
New Council Development Goal — 780 percent
Round Table Goal — 151 percent
Star Council Goal — 223 percent

Luzon South
Luzon South Deputy Ramoncito Ocampo
Membership Intake Goal —155.38 percent
Net/Net Goal — 323 percent
New Council Development Goal — 240 percent
Round Table Goal — 560 percent
Star Council Goal — 198 percent

Ukraine
Territorial Deputy Bogdan Kovaliv
Membership Intake Goal —185.33 percent
Net/Net Goal — 271 percent
New Council Development Goal — 120 percent
Round Table Goal — 100 percent
Star Council Goal — 100 percent

New Council Development

New council development and council reactivation are the foundation of the Order’s growth and the key to establishing a Knights of Columbus presence in every parish. During the past fraternal year 283 new councils were instituted and 78 councils reactivated.

A state deputy attaining the new council development quota for his jurisdiction receives the supreme knight’s New Council Development Award. This plaque bears a replica of the medal of office for the state deputy and lists the councils instituted during the fraternal year.

Alabama, 100 Percent
Past State Deputy Griffin Shreves

Arkansas, 100 Percent
Past State Deputy Philip Savage

Colorado, 100 Percent
State Deputy John Doherty

Florida, 100 Percent
State Deputy Donald Kahrer Jr.

Georgia, 100 Percent
State Deputy Mark Corrigan Sr.

Hawaii, 100 Percent
Past State Deputy Michael Victorino

Idaho, 100 Percent
Past State Deputy Michael Townsend

Indiana, 100 Percent
Past State Deputy Martin McCoy Jr.

Kansas, 100 Percent
Past State Deputy Vincent Melvin III

Maryland, 100 Percent
Past State Deputy Stephen Cohen

Mexico Central, 100 Percent
State Deputy Francisco Sáenz Muñoz

Mexico Northeast, 100 Percent
Past State Deputy Alexandro Xavier Isaac Huerta

Mexico Northwest, 100 Percent
Past State Deputy Juan Manuel Álvarez del Castillo González

Mississippi, 100 Percent
Past State Deputy Noel Aucoin

Montana, 100 Percent
Past State Deputy Ronald Kazmierczak

Nebraska, 100 Percent
State Deputy Louis Gasper Jr.

New Hampshire, 100 Percent
State Deputy Glenn Camley

Nova Scotia, 100 Percent
Past State Deputy Carl Reid

South Carolina, 100 Percent
Past State Deputy Michael Allen

South Dakota, 100 Percent
State Deputy Patrick Powers

Tennessee, 100 Percent
State Deputy Tracy Staller

West Virginia, 100 Percent
State Deputy Scott Nale

Ukraine, 120 Percent
Territorial Deputy Bogdan Kovaliv

Luzon North, 130 Percent
Luzon North Deputy Jose Reyes Jr.

Wisconsin, 140 Percent
Past State Deputy Timothy Guski

Iowa, 150 Percent
State Deputy Antonio Bañuelos

New Mexico, 150 Percent
Past State Deputy Patrick Mason

North Carolina, 200 Percent
State Deputy John Nussbaum

Oregon, 200 Percent
State Deputy Francis Mohr

Luzon South, 240 Percent
Luzon South Deputy Ramoncito Ocampo

Arizona, 300 Percent
Past State Deputy Sean Halpain

Virginia, 300 Percent
Past State Deputy Stephen Kehoe

Visayas, 320 Percent
Visayas Deputy Anthony Nazario

Mindanao, 780 Percent
Mindanao Deputy Gerry Eutemio Mission

Every Council Active

The Every Council Active program is designed to encourage all councils to recruit at least one new member during the fraternal year. During the 2017-2018 fraternal year, 10,279 councils brought in at least one new member.

All state deputies are encouraged to strive toward attaining Every Council Active status during their term in office.

Star Council Awards

The Star Council Award is the highest distinction any council can achieve. It takes into consideration membership and insurance growth as well as programming activities reported in each of the six program categories of our “Surge…with Service” program. This is the final year of the “Surge…with Service” program as we begin our new programs campaign, “Faith in Action”.

At the end of the 2017-2018 fraternal year, 1,628 councils achieved Star Council status. Additionally, 167 councils met both the membership and insurance quotas.

We continue to urge all grand knights to give closer attention to completing and submitting their Columbian Award Application before the June 30 deadline.

Grand knights whose councils attain Star Council status are entered into a drawing for one of two incentive trips to the Supreme Convention.

This year, we welcome the following grand knights:

Charles Shelley of Saint Finbar Council 15728 in Brooklyn, New York

Michael Landolt of Havre de Grace Council 2002 in Havre de Grace, Maryland

The five jurisdictions with the highest number of Star Council winners as of June 30, 2018 are:

Texas 95
Visayas 108
Mindanao 145
Luzon North 158
Luzon South 161

A total of 3,081 councils earned the Father McGivney Award, which recognizes outstanding recruitment and retention efforts.

A total of 2,205 councils won the Founders’ Award, which is earned for excellence in insurance promotion and attainment of the council’s insurance quota.

The Columbian Award is presented to councils that have shown an outstanding effort in conducting a minimum of four Service Program activities in each category (Church, Community, Council, Culture of Life, Family and Youth), or one featured program in each category. This year, a total of 4,727 councils earned this award.

Star District Awards

District deputies are responsible for ensuring the growth of the Order, and the attainment of Star District status is the ultimate goal of every district deputy. The Star District Award goes to district deputies attaining 100 percent or more of their district’s membership and insurance quotas and in addition, at least one of their active councils has to attain one of the levels of Star Council. As of this publication, a total of 400 district deputies qualified for the Star District Award during the 2017-2018 fraternal year. Award winners in insurance territories receive a wall plaque and a Star District lapel pin, and the district deputies who attain Star District status are entered into a drawing for one of two incentive trips to the Supreme Convention.

This year, we welcome the following district deputies:

Mark Kistler from District 9 in Nebraska

Ruben Elizondo from District 37 in Texas

The following jurisdictions had the highest number of Star District winners as of June 30, 2018:

California 9
Texas 11
Poland 14
Luzon South 45
Visayas 58
Mindanao 63

Past State Deputy Recognition

State deputies work year-round to promote the principles of the Order : charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism. After their term of service, they remain a valuable source of encouragement, wisdom and leadership for their successors and the Order as a whole. The board of directors annually recognizes the dedication and accomplishments of immediate past state deputies. The 40 past state deputies honored this year for their service are:

Alabama, Griffin Shreves

Arizona, Sean Halpain

Arkansas, Philip Savage

California, Romeo Quevedo

Delaware, John Brenner

District of Columbia, Amado Alvarez Jr.

Dominican Republic, Robert Campusano Pérez

Hawaii, Theodore Rhoades III

Hawaii, Michael Victorino

Idaho, Michael Townsend

Indiana, Martin McCoy Jr.

Kansas, Vincent Melvin III

Kentucky, Gabriel Cabral

Louisiana, James Riente

Maine, Norman Gray

Maryland, Stephen Cohen

Massachusetts, Paul O’Sullivan

Mexico Northeast, Alexandro Xavier Isaac Huerta

Mexico Northwest, Juan Manuel Álvarez del Castillo González

Mexico South, Jesús Armando Blas Martínez

Michigan, Kenneth Unterbrink

Minnesota, Robert Penas

Mississippi, Noel Aucoin

Missouri, Joseph Rosenthal

Montana, Ronald Kazmierczak

New Mexico, Patrick Mason

North Dakota, Lawrence Lewandowski

Nova Scotia, Carl Reid

Pennsylvania, Charles Vagnarelli

Prince Edward Island, James Poirier

Puerto Rico, Miguel Vidal Lugo

Québec, Denis Lapointe

Rhode Island, Michael Benson

Saskatchewan, Brian Schatz

South Carolina, Michael Allen

Texas, Douglas Oldmixon

Utah, Andrew Airriess

Vermont, Michael Patnode

Virginia, Stephen Kehoe

Wisconsin, Timothy Guski