Star Council

Star Council Team Members

• David Zeigler (Laura) – Director
• zigsr@att.net ; 903-926-0776
• Districts: 1-11 & 231-239
  • Brad Meyer (Ruth) – Star Tracker Chairman
• Robert Landry (Missie) – Committeeman
• Oscar Gendrop (Maria) – Committeeman
• oscargendrop@hotmail.com ; 305-773-2527
• Districts: 34-63; 131-139; & 218
• Dan Rangel (Sylvia) – Committeeman
• rangeldan@sbcglobal.net ; 210-274-3256
• Districts: 141-152; 241-247; & 206-216
• Dr. Dean Hansen (Edee) – Committeeman
• deanhansendvm@gmail.com ; 214-808-3879
• Districts: 14-32; 103-118; & 196-201
• David Keating (Linda) – Committeeman
• jdkeating73@att.net ; 281-650-5503

lsutigers34@yahoo.com ; 361-676-2035

Districts: 121-127; 166-180; 186-193; 221-230; & 219

Districts: 64-102 & 217

STAR COUNCIL AWARD

The Star Council Award is the highest Supreme Award earned by councils for outstanding achievement in the areas of membership, insurance, safe environment, and service program activities. The Star Council Award is a unit of measure for successful councils. It is a positive health check point that the council has growth in membership, focus on insurance programs, compliant with Safe Environment, and a commitment to a variety of programs in the areas of Faith, Family, Community and Life.

All Councils begin every fraternal year as Star Council. With proper planning and leadership, every council can maintain that status all year long.

To earn the Star Council Award:

1. 1. Earn the Father McGivney Award for membership growth by June 30. The council quota can be found on the Membership tab in Officers Online. There is no application to complete for the Father McGivney Award, as the Supreme Council automatically determines eligibility. Goals are set at 6% growth with a minimum of 5 and maximum of 15.
3. 2. Earn the Founder’s Award for insurance growth by June 30. Each Council will participate in at least two Fraternal Benefits Events (FBE’s) for current and prospective members and their spouses during the fraternal year. For Councils with 99 or fewer members (based on your July 1 Roster) you are required to have a total for the year of 10 members or member eligible men at your events. For Councils with 100 or more members (based on your July 1 Roster) you are required to have a total for the year of 14 members or member eligible men at your events. Grand Knight to submit on-line form #11077 within seven days of the event to receive credit. Form is available at https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7322809/Fraternal-Benefits-Event-Council-Report-v2.
5. 3. Earn the Columbian Award for Faith in Action Programs (Form SP-7) by June 30. Conduct at least four programs in each of the four Faith in Action categories of Faith, Family, Community, and Life. Columbian Award application can be submitted at: https://www.kofc.org/en/forms/spa/invite.html?lang=en&form=SP7C.02.
6. 4. Complete and send the (2) required forms to Supreme and the Texas State Office.

Membership number and email address are required to complete the form.

Note: June 30 is a hard deadline. You can submit the SP-7 as early as the 1^st of March, Supreme will not accept this form after June 30. Submit the form early to verify the SP-7 will be accepted or if corrections need to be made.

• Service Program Personnel Report (Form 365) due by July 1. Form can be completed at: https://www.kofc.org/en/for-members/resources/forms/365.html
• Submit the Annual Survey of Fraternal Activity (Form 1728) due by January 31. Form can be completed here: https://www.kofc.org/en/forms/spa/invite.html?lang=en&form=1728C.02
• Forward the confirmation PDF copy to the Texas State Office.
• Both forms in “PDF” format can be found at: https://www.kofc.org/en/for-members/resources/council-forms.html. However, on-line submission is preferred.

1. 5. Safe Environment. Councils must be compliant with required training and background checks. All men in the following positions must complete the Safe Environment training modules within 30 days of receiving email from Supreme. Men in the Family or Community Director’s position must also provide authorization for a background check. The positions required for training are:
   • Grand Knight
2. Program Director
3. Family Director (background check required)
4. Community Director (background check required)
5. Columbian Squires Counselors (if applicable) (background check required)
7. The Service Program Personal (Form 365) will be recorded as received when the following required roles have been appointed - Program Director, Community Director, Family Director, Membership Director, and Retention Chairman. The Grand Knight can hold one of the Director’s positions; however, (2) two other unique men must hold the other Director roles.
9. Accurate emails must be reported on Form 365. Praesidium will use these email addresses to send notifications to those men to complete Safe Environment training and to provide authorization for a background check. There should be no general email specific to council name, position, etc., - it must be a unique email address to the individual. The email the member will receive from Supreme will include their username and password to access the training website.
11. Safe Environment training can also be completed by those without Internet access. The Office of Youth Protection (OYP) can mail the training materials to a Knight. He then can read the training, complete the paperwork, and mail back in. Contact the OYP (info below) for more details.
13. The Star Tracker will provide training status as required to achieve 100% compliance. Grand Knights and District Deputies are expected to monitor these reports for Safe Environment Compliance for their councils. Grand Knights and District Deputies can also monitor progress in Officers Online. They should work to ensure that each council is 100% compliant as soon as reasonably possible.
15. Timeline is as follows:
16. • Once the completed Form 365 is received by Supreme an email will be sent to the men who need to complete training. Individuals will have 30 days to complete the training and provide background information. Those without Internet access need to contact the OYP.
17. An email reminder will be sent after 2 weeks if not completed.
18. If not completed within 30 days, the director’s positions are automatically vacated by Supreme and another individual needs to be assigned.
19. Completing the online safe environment training modules shows commitment to protecting children and vulnerable members.
20. DIOCESAN SAFE ENVIRONMENT REQUIREMENTS ARE UNIQUE AND SEPERATE FROM THE KNIGHTS. BOTH MUST BE COMPLETED. PLEASE SEE THE INFORMATION IN THE FOLLOWING LINK: https://www.kofc.org/en/resources/safe-environment-program/safe-environment-trifold.pdf
21. 6. Council must be current with Supreme Assessments twice during the year; prior to October 10 based on July 1 Roster and April 10 based on December 31 Roster.

Some positions also have access to the Praesidium Academy administration dashboard to view council compliance status. Once completed, training is good for three (3) years.

Safe Environment Requirements can be found at https://www.kofc.org/en/safe-environment-program/index.html. All inquiries about the program should be directed to the Office of Youth Protection via email to youthleader@kofc.org or by phone to 203-800-4940.

The Texas State Council provides a District Deputy Checklist (see form at end of this section) to help achieve Star Council, Form TX21B – 24. This form is also available for download on the Texas State Website – https://www.tkofc.org/downloads/texas-state-council-forms

STAR DISTRICT AWARD

District Deputies are also recognized for excellence by Supreme. Criterion for this award is:

1. 1. Meet 70% of the District Membership goal.
2. 2. 50% of the Councils achieve the Founder’s Award.
3. 3. Submit District Deputy Report Form 944 for each of his councils prior to September 15
4. 4. Have at least one council in the district earn Star Council

LONE STAR AWARDS

Texas also has awards above and beyond the Star Council Award: The Lone Star Award for Excellence and the Lone Star Award for Excellence with Distinction.

The requirements for the Lone Star Award for Excellence are:

1. Meet the Star Council Award criterion.

2. Submit Report of Officers - Form 185 by July 1.

3. Pay State Per Capita by March 1.

4. Meet State Charity Goal by June 30.

5. Seat at least one delegate at the State Convention in Corpus Christi, April 25-27, 2025.

6. Submit Form 1295 Semi-Annual Audit by August 15 & February 15.

The requirements for the Lone Star Award for Excellence with Distinction are:

1. 1. Meet the Star Council Award criteria.
2. 2. Submit Report of Officers Form 185 by July 1.
3. 3. Pay State Per Capita by December 31.
4. 4. Meet State Charity Goal by December 31.
5. 5. Safe Compliant by December 31.
6. 6. Participate in (1) FBE by December 31.
7. 7. Seat one delegate at the State Convention for Councils with 99 or fewer members or
8. Seat two delegates at the State Convention for Councils with 100 members or more.
9. 8. Submit Form 1295 Semi-Annual Audit by August 15 & February 15.
10. 9. Submit Form 10784 for Special Olympics by January 31.
    1. a. https://www.kofc.org/en/forms/spa/invite.html?lang=en&form=10784C.02
11. b. (Need Membership Number & Email Address)
12. 10. Submit at least one entry for a State Service Program Award or Family of the Year or Blessed Michael McGivney Award or Educational Grant by March 1.

STAR TRACKER REPORT

A Star Tracker Report will be maintained and updated as data is available from multiple sources (Supreme and State). This report will track each council’s progress towards Star Council and the Lone Star Awards. Reports will be by Diocese and will be in Excel and PDF form. Star Tracker will be released on the 1^st & 15^th of the month (or next business day for Supreme if on weekend or a holiday).

Reports will be sent to Diocesan and District Deputies via our Constant Contact email platform.

GOALS FOR 2024-2025

Each Archdiocese/Diocese has been given a goal of 25% (minimum) of all councils within their diocese to become Star Council. Each Diocesan Deputy that meets/exceeds this goal will be recognized. Diocesan Deputies and District Deputies are asked to strive for one Star Council per district.

Goals per Archdiocese/Diocese:
DIOCESE/ ARCHDIOCESE	No. of Active COUNCILS	GOAL
Amarillo	24	7
Austin	95	24
Beaumont	29	8
Brownsville	52	13
Corpus Christi	52	13
Dallas	61	15
El Paso	39	10
Fort Worth	69	17
Gal-Houston	134	33
Laredo	27	7
Lubbock	26	7
San Angelo	36	10
San Antonio	105	26
Tyler	30	9
Victoria	32	9
TOTAL	811	208 (min.)

SUBMISSION OF FORMS

Report of Officers - Form 185, Report of Service Program Personnel - Form 365, Survey of Fraternal Activity – Form 1728, and Columbian Award – Form SP-7should be submitted via Officers Online in the secure sign-in area. The on-line submission process is simple, and automatically certifies that the form has been received by the Supreme Council.

One can also use the PDF form instead if needed (https://www.kofc.org/en/for-members/resources/council-forms.html). If submitted in this fashion, please e-mail to addresses as follows:

Form 185 addresschange@kofc.org

Forms 365, 1728 & SP-7 fraternalmission@kofc.org

Since the District Deputy and the Texas State Office are not automatically notified of form submittals, councils need to save each form as a PDF file and forward them as follows:

State Council Office forms@tkofc.org

District Deputy (use appropriate address)

Diocesan Deputy (use appropriate address)

The council should retain a copy of all council forms. This is our biggest challenge: getting the documentation and paperwork done right and on time. Star Council and Safe Environment compliance hinges on timely and accurate completion of forms.

AWARDS

District Deputy Incentive

District Deputies who get all their Council’s Form 185 & Form 365 turned in at the Organizational Meeting will be entered for a $250 gift card drawing to be given away on Sunday morning at the Organizational Meeting.

1st Star Council in Texas

Every Council that pre-qualifies for Star Council as of the April 15, 2025, Star Tracker Report, the Grand Knight will be entered into a drawing for a $100 gift card. The Drawing will be held during the State Convention weekend.

Texas Circle of Honor Award for Diocesan Deputy

Requirements: Meet Star Council Goals for the diocese (25% of councils in the diocese).

Award: Engraved Barrel Head with Knights of Columbus emblem, Name, Diocese, & Year.