During this time of Christmas and gift giving, let us take a moment to reflect on the meaning of gifts by slightly moving away from the images of stores crowded with people, prices, etc. Let us think of what a gift simply means. From my point of view, a gift should consist of two qualities to really be considered a real gift: One, it must be something given out of free will showing affection, appreciation or gratitude; Second, when a gift is given, one should only show happiness and not expect to receive anything in return. Because of these two qualities, I believe that there are many gifts that are far from the above mentioned because it is more of an investment or trade or to put it in other words, it is something materialistic that entails compensation. From the point of view of the person who receives a gift, some ideas should also be put into consideration: First, one should recognize with appreciation that a gift is above all else a sign of affection and gratitude and in that sense worth more than its monetary value and second, using the gift in a way of honoring the person that gave us the gift. Read more...

Brother Knights,
Wow, the convention is upon us! Looking forward to seeing you at the State Convention! The year is really flying by….have you gotten your council reports all in? Take time now to start your Columbian Award Application – don’t wait until the last minute. Read more...

Congratulations to Silver Knight Awardees for April 2013:
- David Hall, Council 766 Walla Walla
- Mark Brown, Council 766 Walla Walla
- David Johnson, Council 7907 Issaquah
- Patrick Achey, Council 7907 Issaquah
- Gregory Mahoney, Council 7907 Issaquah
- John Williams, Council 9605 Mountlake Terrace
- Michael Carrigan, Council 7907, Issaquah
- Darren E. Grafe, Council 7907 Issaquah
- Tracy Wayne Zuehls, Council 13395 Silverdale
Romy B. Ablao, PGK PFN FDD FIC
Chairman, Member Development West

URGENT – URGENT
CERTIFICATE OF ELECTION FOR CONVENTION DELEGATES
TO: GRAND KNIGHTS, FINANCIAL SECRETARIES, AND DISTRICT DEPUTIES
The Washington State Council’s “Annual Meeting” is upon us the coming week in PASCO, and it is your duty to have submitted the names of your elected delegates to the Annual Meeting so they can attend and be seated as your council’s official representatives (Delegates).
I count only 98 councils having reported their elected delegates and 54 councils have not reported yet? We will endeavor to seat your delegates if they hand carry the Certificate of Election to the convention, but the burden to validate their registration becomes a time consuming issue that we will not have to bear should you email it this week.
Please report by email today with your Certificate of Election to me at wonkags@aol.com, and if you did not receive the Certificate of Elections form sent by Ex. Sec. John L. Walker, PSD, I’ll happily email you another copy.
If your council is on the following list, your Council has not submitted a “Certificate of Election” form for your elected delegates to the 110th Washington State Council Convention in Pasco!
829, 894, 1401, 1460, 1620, 2126, 2303, 2999, 3044, 3153, 3455, 3611, 4367, 4385, 6686, 7117, 7149, 7356, 8015, 8079, 8136, 8266, 8398, 8455, 8672, 9145, 9434, 9605, 9910, 10652, 11085, 11252, 11762, 12002, 12251, 12420, 12483, 12786, 12889, 13364, 13422, 13462, 13606, 13761, 13831, 13834, 14162, 14268, 14852, 14922, 14926, 15338, 15462, 15538 Fraternally,
George Czerwonka, State Secretary

…from the cluttered desk of the State Advocate
Brothers,
I was reviewing the Internal Revenue Service’s web -site this month and found four new Councils that showed up as losing their Tax-Exempt Status. Two of them turned out to be minor clerical changes that the Council was going through and so they did not truly have a difficult problem. However, two of them really do have a problem. Financial Secretaries, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is that you file the appropriate 990 Form with the IRS yearly. Filling out the 16 pages worth of information and paying $800 to get reinstated is a painful and costly lesson that you really do not want to learn the hard way.
The Resolutions for this year's State Convention are now posted on the State web-site www.kofc-wa.org on the home page and pages 30 to 40 in this bulletin. Download the Resolutions and review these Resolutions with your delegates and advise them on how you would like them to vote. Your voice will be heard this way.
Finally, I just finished reading and grading all of the finalists in the Awards competition for the State Convention. I am always amazed by your accomplishments each year and hope share in your big moments at the State Convention. See you there!
God Bless,
Bob Baemmert
State Advocate

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