Knights of Columbus Derby - Rose Hill Council 4458

The Derby Council meets in the Knights of Columbus Hall at the Parish Faith Center at 2300 E Meadowlark. The Grand Knight is John Washburn. You can contact the Knights by phone at the Parish Office 316-788-5525, 316-788-1548, or send mail to P.O. Box 385, Derby, KS, 67037.

Knight of the Month– James Gibbs
Family of the Month – John & Barb Betzen

Ray Kennedy Receives Highest Award from K of C
Brother Ray Kennedy was acknowledged at this year's State Convention where he received the State Knight of the Year Award. State Deputy Francis Drouhard commended Ray for his 42 years of dedicated service to the Knights of Columbus and our entire community. We all offer our congratulations to Ray for this outstanding award and recognition.

Additional Awards From State Convention
Greg and Katie McHenry were selected as Family of the Year for District #32. In the Commitment to Humanity Program's Tootsie Roll Drive, our council collected the Top Dollar Per Person Award for Division #10. Our council won the Evangelium Vitae Award for the Wichita Diocese as well as 2 nd place in the state for Pro-Life Activities. Our council also won 3 rd place in the state for Community Activities with the project of serving breakfast for the Holy Family Campers and staff members.

Officer Elections
Our council will conduct its annual election of officers at the general meeting on May 10 th .

Texas Hold'Em Tournament
Our council hosted a Texas Hold'Em Tournament for 50 participants on April 10 th . The winners of the tournament were Paul Wetta, Jasmin Malboeuf, John Peltier, Gene Westphal and Tom Chandler. This successful event raised $1,000.00 for our Parish Building Fund and $400.00 for our council's general fund. Another tournament has been scheduled for Saturday, September 18 th .

Life Saver Sunday
Our “Life Saver Sunday” collection will be held on May 15&16 th . The money collected after each Mass will benefit “A Better Choice”, which is a Catholic crisis pregnancy center located in Wichita.

Volunteers will be needed for a short time after each Mass. Instructions will be given at that time.

Grand Knight's Corner
• After several months of renovations, the house in Kingman has been placed on the market for sale. The full sale value will be donated to the Parish Building Fund. A big thank you goes to Tom Schmeidler and everyone else that contributed their valuable time and materials. This gracious donation, and your efforts, will lead to a very significant donation to the Parish Building Fund.

• We are searching for volunteers to serve our council's First Degree Team in the positions of Deputy Grand Knight and Chancellor. If you are interested in serving on the Degree Team, contact Tony Hug at 788-2562 or John Washburn at 788-3016.

• If you know of any Brother Knight, or members of their families that are in ill health or suffering some other hardship, please let me know.

Membership News
• Our membership drives have been very successful this year. Please welcome Jeremy Loney, Chuck Gerlach, Craig Shockey, and Doug Schroeder, who joined our council in April. Patrick Loney and Eloy Mendoza have transferred to our council. A major Degree will be held at St. Jude's on June 6 th . Please get a Form 100 to any new recruit, or give the individual's name to Bob Stuhlsatz at 788-4234.

• For the Good of the Order – Please remember the following in your prayers: Abigail Degenhardt (infant daughter of Steve & Kellie Degenhardt), the families of Pat McHenry and Kathy Brennan, our military brother Knights, especially those deployed, and for all of the families affected by the recent layoffs.

Council News
• Congratulations goes to Abby C, Anna Craig, and Anna Mahoney, who won the District level Vocations Poster Contest for their age group.

• The following resolution was made at our last council meeting; “That our council shall contribute $400.00 to sponsor a council softball team in this summer’s DRC softball league.” All council members are invited to vote on this resolution at the May 10th meeting..

• If you prefer to receive this newsletter via e-mail, contact John Washburn at john-washburn@sbcglobal.net or John Betzen at jfbetzen@sbcglobal.net.
Upcoming Events (Stewardship Opportunities)

• This month’s Parish Breakfast will be held on Sunday, May 9th (Mother’s Day) at 10:00 a.m. Bring your family out to enjoy a good meal and good company! Anyone interested in helping prepare the meal may contact Kent Lund at 788-6031.

• General Membership Meeting on Monday, May 10th at 7:30 pm in the Knights Hall (Election of Officers) – all members are welcome to come out, socialize and enjoy good company.

• Serve lunch to Group of Catholic Educators that Ann Hughes is hosting at noon on May 15th.

• Serve Hotdogs for the St. Mary School Fun Day Picnic at 11:00 a.m. on May 26th.

• Prepare Breakfast for Holy Family Campers and Staff on the morning of June 16th.

From our Insurance Department
General Agent, Greg Schafer recently sent a letter to report that Mike Ronnfeldt has recently completed a week of intensive training at the K of C Supreme Council office in New Haven, Connecticut. With this training, Mike is dedicated to providing the highest level of service and the most secure, stable products and advice to the members of the councils he serves. Further details of this training will be detailed in our next newsletter. Please contact Mike Ronnfeldt at 640-4168 to review your options in providing the security that your family deserves.

Knight of the Month and Family of the Month winners
2008-2009
click here to view previous years' Knight & Family of the Month winners

Business meetings are the second Monday of the month at 7:30 pm and are held at the Knights of Columbus Hall.

Officer meetings are the fourth Monday of the month at 7:30 pm and are held at the Knights of Columbus Hall.

Council 4458, St. Mary's Derby was chartered July 21, 1957 with 44 members. Also in 1957 the council began sponsorship of the Boy Scout troop and Cub Scout pack. The first annual Easter egg hunt for parish children was held in 1958 and the council also received its first Star Council Award for the 1958 -1959 Fraternal Year. Eighty acres of land was purchased and a clubhouse was constructed in 1968. This property allowed members and their families to enjoy hayrack rides, fishing, wiener roasts, dances, etc. A 40 x 60 foot addition to the building was built in 1972. In 1977, the council hosted the State Convention as well as the state bowling tournament. Columbian Acres sits on 80 acres of land, one half mile east of Rock Road on 71st St. Thirty acres have been donated to the Parish for the new church and school.

A list of Past Grand Knights and State or Supreme Officers can be found on the Officers page.