| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Worthy State Officers, State Directors, Assistant Diocesan Chairmen, District Deputies, Chapter Officers, Grand Knights, Council Officers, and Brothers All: There is so much to be proud of in Joliet as we closed the 2024-2025 Fraternal Year. The Circle of Honor Award has returned to the State of Illinois for the first time in sixteen years! Together with your help the Joliet Diocese brought in 507 New Members (24.3% of all new members in Illinois); earned 42 STAR Councils (58% of all councils in the Joliet Diocese) and 11 STAR Districts (38% of all Districts in the State)!! In addition, 2 of our 11 STAR District Deputies (Norm Bishop and Jim McCarthy) earned All-star DISTRICT Honors (All Councils in their district were STAR Council). That is quite an accomplishment, and I thank you for all of your hard work!! Listed below are your STAR Councils and your STAR District Deputies. |
| STAR Councils and STAR District Deputies |
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| Schedule your Membership Drive Now so we can get ALL COUNCILS Active |
| Let’s make the Circle of Honor Award part of our culture in Joliet! Last year as a Diocese we were 91% active with membership – meaning 66 out of our 72 councils successfully invited a new brother into their councils. This year let’s have ALL 72 COUNCILS successfully invite a new brother into their council. If your council struggled with this last year — help is available. Schedule your membership drive here to add it to the Joliet Fraternal Leaders Website and mention code #ALLCOUNCILSACTIVE25-26 in the comments and we will be there! |
| The Columbian Award in 2025-2026is easier than you think |
| Last year there were 22 councils that did not earn their Columbian Award for Programming. This year it is my hope that all council’s will earn the Columbian Award. I know almost all of our councils have the necessary programs to earn this award AND sometimes I hear “We’re not in it for the awards” —- which is KofC code for “We’re not in it for the paperwork” — help is available for that as well. If this council is YOUR COUNCIL — let’s give your pastor, membership, and parish community what they deserve and earn that Columbian Award this Fraternal Year! |
| All Councils to earn Founders Awardin honor of late FA Jack Springmire in 2025-2026 |
| On June 15th we lost a great Field Agent and Brother Knight Jack Springmire! In his honor this year, every council in Joliet should earn the Founders Award. Last year there were 22 councils did not earn their Founders Award in 2024-2025. If your council was one of these councils……the good news is that earning this award is more achievable than it ever has been. Host two fraternal benefit events during the year with a total of 14 or more unique people (wives can be counted) and remember to fill out their within 7 days of your event. It’s that easy!! Every council should be able to achieve this award…..it is the essense of the Knights of Columbus! |
| All Council to be SAFE Environment CompliantBefore September 1st |
| Every council is expected to provide a SAFE Environment for our youth and be in compliance with the Office of Youth Protection by September 1st. The first step is to file Form 185 reporting your council officers which will trigger this for Grand Knights. The second step is to file form 365 which lists all of your program personnel which will trigger the Program Director, Family Director, and Community Director. These four in bold are required to do on online training and in certain cases submit to background check. Last year 17 council were not SAFE Environment Compliant and I know we can do better! In 2025-2026 Joliet Diocese will be 100% SAFE Environment Compliant. To be compliant, it is a PASS/FAIL test. In other words, if one required member isn’t complaint……no one is compliant. When I look at the reports, in many cases it was 1 brother who struggled to meet the requirements for whatever the reason. My district deputies and I are prepared to do whatever it takes to help councils meet the requirements. We will place a HIGH PRIORITY on this in July and August and look forward to your cooperation in this necessary initiative. In addition, all Knights should be compliant with the Diocese Protecting God’s Children program through Virtus. This is done online and is inspected at the discretion of the District Deputy. |
| Thank you again for making 2024-2025 so successful! It is because of your effort and initiative that Joliet was successful this year. We are looking forward a successful 2025-2026 and are already off to a great start |
| Michael EnosJoliet Diocesan Chairman P.0.Box 681Kankakee, IL 60901Joliet Fraternal Leaders Website Voice 630.842.3870Email JDC Mike Add Your Membership Drive or Event to Our Page |