Bill Tillotson - Director
STAR COUNCIL COMMITTEE - 2022-23
Star Council Team Members
• Bill Tillotson - Director
• Joe Naderer - Safe Environment Chairman
• Hector Gutierrez - Committeeman
• Brian Kozel – Committeeman
• Clint Mendonca – Committeeman
• Joseph Patrick Ortiz – Committeeman
• Donald Piwonka - Committeeman
• Mark Von Rosenberg - Committeeman
STAR COUNCIL AWARD
The Star Council Award is earned by councils for outstanding achievement in the areas of membership, insurance, and service program activities. The criterion used for this award are the behaviors most seen in successful councils – growth in membership, focus on insurance programs, and a commitment to a variety of programs in the areas of Faith, Family, Community and Life.
All Councils should strive to earn this prestigious award every year. With proper planning and leadership, every council can do so.
To earn the Star Council Award:
Earn the Father McGivney Award for membership growth by June 30, 2023. 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 assesses eligibility. Goals are set at 6% net growth with a minimum of 3 and maximum of 20.
Earn the Founder’s Award for insurance growth by June 30, 2023. Working with their Insurance Agent, each Council schedules at least two Fraternal Benefits events for current and prospective members and their spouses during the fraternal year. The event must be promoted three ways with documentation and there is a minimum of 7 individuals required to attend. The Grand Knight should submit the completed Form 11077 documenting his council’s efforts to his General Agent within 7 days of the event. Only the General Agent can submit the form to Supreme for the council to receive credit. Fraternal Benefits event can be combined with other councils. There is no application to complete for the Founder’s Award as the Supreme Council automatically determines eligibility.
Earn the Columbian Award for Faith in Action programs by June 30, 2023. Conduct at least four programs in each of the four Faith in Action categories of Faith, Family, Community, and Life. The State Program Director will provide more detailed information.
Complete and send other required forms to Supreme and the Texas State Office.
Submit the Service Program Personnel Report (Form 365) due by July 1, 2022
Submit the Annual Survey of Fraternal Activity (Form 1728) due by January 31, 2023
The most convenient way to submit these forms to Supreme is by going to the secure Officers Online section of the Knights of Columbus website at www.kofc.org and selecting the Member Management application or go the Forms tab to find the online forms to complete. Then forward the confirmation PDF copy to the Texas State Office.
5. Safe Environment. Be compliant with required training and background checks. Men in the following positions must complete Safe Environment training modules and may be required to provide authorization for a background check. These must be complete within 30 days of receiving an email from Supreme after appointment.
• Grand Knight
• Program Director
• Family Director (background check required)
• Community Director (background check required)
• Columbian Squires Counselors (if applicable) (background check required)
Some positions also have access to the Praesidium’s Armatus administration dashboard to view council compliance status. Once completed, training is good for three years.
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 also hold one Director position - however other men must hold the other Director roles.
Accurate emails must be reported. 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. There are three modules to complete, each taking less than an hour.
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.
The State Safe Environment Chairman will provide periodic reports on progress 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.
Timeline is as follows:
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.
An email reminder will be sent after 2 weeks if not completed.
If not completed within 30 days, the director positions are vacated and another individual needs to be assigned
Completing the online safe environment training modules shows commitment to protecting children and vulnerable members
DIOCESAN SAFE ENVIRONMENT REQUIREMENTS ARE UNIQUE AND SEPERATE FROM THE KNIGHTS. BOTH MUST BE
COMPLETED
Safe Environment Requirements can be found at kofc.org/safe. All inquiries about the program should be directed to the Office of Youth Protection via email to oyp@kofc.org or by phone to 203-752-4554.
6. Council must be current with Supreme Assessments twice during the year; prior to October 10, 2022, and April 10, 2023.
These steps are covered in multiple locations with multiple resources. Specifically, each council can refer to the yearly Fraternal Planner, the Faith in Action Guidebook, the Safe Environment Program Information Guide, and of course, this Texas State Star Guide.
The Texas State Council provides a checklist in this Star Guide to help achieve Star Council, the Form TX21B – 2020. This form is also available for download on the Texas State Website.