Knightly News - October, 1999

One Point Six Million
by Bro. Carl Bates

I hadn't been a Knight two weeks when, one morning, there was a phone call from Supreme Knight Virgil Dechant congratulating me on being the 1.6 millionth member. Mr. Dechant invited my wife, Judy, and me to be guests of the board of directors at the annual Supreme Council Convention on August 3 through 5 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I hardly had collected my thoughts, when I received another call from Mr. Bob Goossens who is in charge of membership for the Supreme Council. Mr. Goossens told me that his office would make all the arrangements for Judy and me to attend the convention. The next couple of days, I received a call from then State Deputy , Ross Willour, further inviting us to be guests at the California State Convention . Next came a call from then Grand Knight, Frank Costa, further congratulating me and encouraging me to go.

Through all of this, I went from disbelief to excitement at being honored by the whole order. Judy and I decided to shuffle our summer plans to attend the Supreme Convention.

We flew to Minneapolis a day early, so as to enjoy some of the activities being offered by the Minnesota Knights. The convention opened on Tuesday, Aug 3rd with a morning mass in the convention hall. There were over 2000 delegates and guests in attendance . Sixty priests, bishops, archbishops and Cardinals lead a procession to the altar . They were followed by honor guards from five different states. Very impressive and quite holy!

The afternoon session was opened by Supreme Knight Virgil Dechant. He introduced the theme of the convention: "OPEN WIDE THE DOORS TO CHRIST". This is in reference to the planned millenium ceremony at which the Pope is to open the Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica . This theme was carried out through the entire convention. Mr. Dechant then proceeded with the 4-hour State of the Order address. Early in the address, he called attention to the milestone of 1.6 million members and introduced Judy and me to the convention . The rest of the address told us of the magnitude of the order and of all the many accomplishments and plans. We were really impressed at the scope of this great organization. I urge all of you to read the annual report.

Tuesday evening was a formal States Dinner with over 2500 in attendance. There were over 100 clergies and dignitaries at the head table. Judy and I were seated with the California delegation.

On the second afternoon was the awards ceremonies. Judy and I were called forward along with Past State Deputy, Ross Willour, and his wife, Marilyn. I was presented with a formal certificate honoring me as the 1.6 millionth member. The rest of the afternoon was devoted to presentation of awards to many delegations and individuals for their accomplishment on behalf of the order. The final award was to the international "Family of the Year", a truly impressive family from Kansas.

On Wednesday , Judy and I were invited by California State Deputy, Guy Schumaker, to be guest at the Western States breakfast and dinner. We many of the fine people there from California who represent us at the state and national levels. Thursday was opened by an early morning mass in the convention hall. That was the end for us, but the delegates had another business session.

Nearly all of the members in attendance had brought their wives. Some brought children and grandchildren. The two biggest hotels in Minneapolis were swarming with Knights and their families. Delegates came from as far away as the Philippines. The Minneapolis Knights were great hosts. They had made all the preparations and arrangements and had several activities available for before and in between business sessions.

Judy and I were impressed with the whole experience. I was awed by the size and scope of the order. It is truly an honor and a challenge for all of us to be a part of the Knights of Columbus.

Happy Birthday to our Brother Knights