Welcome. I hope you all had an enjoyable 4th of July holiday. Tonight we begin the new fraternal year, and the challenges that, with God’s help, lead to continued success for our Council. It is said that you must know where you come from and know where you’ve been before you can know where and how to move forward. St. Dominic Council has been on a good and straight path, and that is due to the members of this council, past and present. I wish to ask the past grand knights who are present to please stand and be acknowledged as I state your name. I also want to acknowledge all past grand knights for their contributions. Thank you brothers, thank you. I wish to thank all the brothers who came to the council on June 26th, and made improvements to the building, specifically installing the new exterior door in the basement, landscaping, and thorough cleaning of the kitchen, bathrooms, and our main room; also for the carpet cleaning. It is a nice way to start the fraternal year.

I realize that a grand knight cannot work alone. A grand knight can only succeed with the support and guidance from his fellow officers and brother knights, and only with their willingness to support consensus decisions made for the good of the council. So, let us move forward. Let us agree to speak openly and freely, and to give each brother the respect that he deserves, that which we expect to receive in return. We are here because we want to be here. We share the same values and the same connection to our God, our Roman Catholic faith, to our families, to our brother knights, and to St. Dominic Council. We are a special fraternity, a proud brotherhood. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother, Our Lady of the Rosary, may we continue to do good and charitable works in the name of Jesus Christ, for the greater glory of God.