Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, October 21, 2025

St. Mark’s Parish Hall (1011 Eastwood Rd), Wilmington, NC

Opening Ceremony

• SK Larry Greer opened the meeting at 7:00 pm in the Saint Mark’s Parish Hall, 1011 Eastwood Road, Wilmington, NC. There were 19 Sir Knights with ID cards and rosaries in attendance.

Call of Officers

Opening Prayer

• Meeting’s opening prayer was led by the SK Deacon George Keenan.

Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag

Opening Ode

• The Opening Ode, America the Beautiful, was sung.

Call for the Approval of the Minutes of the Prior Meeting

• Minutes approved as posted on website.

Report of the Faithful Friar – Deacon Keenan

• November 5, 11:00 AM – At Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Newton Grove, Bishop Zarama prays for all deceased Priests and Bishops. Deacon Keenan will be there with his 60 foot rosary which will be said after grave-site blessing. Let us pray for our Priests.

Report of the Faithful Comptroller - SK Frank Bio

• 147 total members, two transferred out of the assembly from last month’s meeting.

• The financials reported can be requested by contacting the Faithful Comptroller.

Report of the Faithful Purser - SK Tom Sullivan

• The financials reported can be requested by contacting the Faithful Purser.

Report of Committees

Membership Report/ Reading of Applications/ Balloting

• Next 4th Degree Exemplification: November 1, St James the Greater, 139 Manor Ave, SW Concord, NC 28025. No candidates were presented.
• District Secretary of the Fourth Degree communicated that they would like to do a 4th Degree Exemplification at the Basilica of Saint Mary between January and March 2026 with 2017 as the host assembly.

Veterans Report – SK Ludgate

• 50/50 Drawing – Held after the meeting concluded – John Bolger won.
• November 8, 2025, 11 AM - Veterans Parade meet behind the Wilson Center at 9:30.
• SKs Bolger and Ferro want to fill boxes for the veterans at Ashley House. If you would like to be a part of this, bring a shoebox filled with socks, gloves, shaving cream, razors, deodorant, gift cards, etc. These will be delivered sometime in early December. Please bring boxes to the next meeting in November.
  Also, those at Ashley House are in need of bicycles. if you have any old bicycles that you wish to donate, then please reach out to SK Joe Ferro.
• SK Greg Decker - See Veteran Support Raffle for information about the raffle and to purchase tickets online or by mail.
• Veterans Council Meeting, September 18, was attended by SK Decker and SK Apicella, information from the meeting is on the Assembly website under Resources. Two of the presentations (and flyers) were on the changes to Miracle Field and the major upgrade to ACCESS of Wilmington.

Color Guard Report

• Color Corps Commander SK Gabel – not present tonight
• Past Events
  • October 6 - Honor Guard event for the visitation and funeral SK Frank Pinkston
• Upcoming Events
  • November 8 – Veterans Day Parade
  • December 13, 5:30 PM - Burgaw Christmas Parade

Uniform Reimbursement

• Two available to offset 50% of the cost. Contact Faithful Navigator if interested.

Fraternal Socials

• Christmas Party December 16 in place of our scheduled meeting will again be at South Beach Grill on Wrightsville Beach. A Signup Genius is forthcoming.

Trustees Report

• No report

Unfinished/Old Business

• VA Clinic Canteen looking for volunteers to man the Canteen on Wednesdays, need a minimum of two for each shift. Please respond to this VA Clinic Canteen Survey so we can plan appropriately. The survey will run for two weeks.

New Business

• December 13 – Wreaths Across America at the Wilmington National Cemetery, 12pm. And buy your wreaths here
• Push to recruit new members into the 4th Degree.

Report of Third-Degree Councils

These reports are to be forward-looking so that our membership knows what our affiliated councils will be doing over the upcoming month.

• 1074 Wilmington

  • October 24, 7:30 am – Rosary at BSM
  • October 24 - Special Olympics, Legion Field
  • October 24 – Falcon Fright Night, BSM
  • Coats for Kids Collection is in process
  • COR on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday at Immaculate Conception Church
  • November 30 – Corporate Communion at 8 am and Multilingual Rosary at 11 AM at BSM
  • December 6 – Christmas Party

• 12017 St. Mark

  • COR runs every Wednesday. Will be doing special study from Franciscan University of Steubenville for Advent beginning November 5.
  • October 25 - LAMB Collection at the Food Lion at Mayfair.
  • November 1 – Movie Night, Babette's Feast, 6:30 to 9:00 pm
  • November 17 – Brewery Night, Kickback Jacks, 6-8 pm
  • November 28 – Christmas Tree sales begin and runs for about two weeks.

• 12885 St. Therese

  • September 20 - Shrimparoo
  • Very good recruitment weekend, had two Knights of the Month for their work.
  • Increased membership by 7 members

• 11817 St. Stanislaus

  • The Council and the Ladies Guild sponsored the Parish Picnic on 9/21 with a great turnout.
  • Coats for Kids – coats to be distributed in early November.
  • Fr. Steven has been a “Gift to Church Attendance”. The parish feels blessed with his presence.
  • Tootsie Roll Drive this Saturday.
  • Wreaths Across America – the council is doing this ceremony with the St. Stanislaus cemetery.
  • October 30 – 31 - Polish Festival, looking for volunteers to help out.

Brothers in Need

• Repose of the Soul of Bishop Herb Brevard
• Repose of the Soul of SK Frank Pinkston
• Lynn (wife of SK Bob Carter)
• Fr Greg Spencer
• Valerie (wife of Marco Vialpando)
• Eric Smallwell (Firefighter healing from burn injury)

Good of the Order

• October is a month that invites both reflection and action – a time when we, as Catholic gentlemen and patriotic leaders, are called to live our faith courageously in the public square.
  The Church dedicates October to the Holy Rosary and to Respect Life Month. These two themes – prayer and life – perfectly capture what it means to be a Fourth Degree Knight. Through prayer, we draw strength from God; through defending life, we put that faith into motion.
  As men of the Patriotic Degree, our duty is not only to love our country, but to guide it toward truth. Patriotism is not blind loyalty – it is a virtue grounded in justice, mercy, and moral clarity. When we defend life from conception to natural death, when we stand for religious freedom and for the dignity of every person, we are being true patriots. We are living witnesses that faith and citizenship are not separate, but inseparable.
  October also reminds us of the power of Our Lady of the Rosary, who has long been invoked as a protector of nations and a guide in times of conflict. The Rosary is our spiritual armor – a weapon of peace in an age of division. Let us encourage our families and parishes to rediscover this devotion, praying for our Church, our leaders, and our nation.
  As elections approach and the world wrestles with uncertainty, may we bring calm where there is noise, light where there is confusion, and charity where there is discord. Let us be Knights who lead not by words alone, but by the quiet strength of conviction, prayer, and service.
  May Our Lady of the Rosary intercede for us, that we may remain faithful to both God and Country in all we do.
  Vivat Jesus!

Closing Prayer

• Conducted by SK Deacon Keenan

Closing Ode

• Sung the Star-Spangled Banner.

Adjourn

• Next regular meeting will be at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, November 18 at St. Mark's Parish Hall.
• Meeting adjourned at 8:00 pm.

Minutes submitted by SK Mike Apicella, Faithful Scribe.