Knights of the Year at Msgr.John J. Burns Council # 802

MSGR.JOHN J. BURNS COUNCIL # 802
KNIGHTS OF THE YEAR

2024 - 2025

Robert (Bob) Connor

Brother Bob Connor is dedicated to the personal development and continued honor of his Brother Knights. He celebrated 30 years of Knighthood this past October and has consistently provided leadership, guidance, and encouragement throughout our brotherhood and the Catholic community at large. He proudly served his country in the United States Navy, retiring after 22 years of service as a Master Chief Petty Officer, which is the highest enlisted rank in the United States Navy, representing the top one percent of enlisted members in the maritime force.

Sir Knight Connor currently serves Assembly 1251 as Faithful Comptroller. He is an active member of our Assembly Honor Guard, one who is always willing to serve. He also serves as a volunteer pallbearer whenever needed.

Brother Bob is a mainstay at our Wednesday bingo fund raiser. He regularly volunteers to work both the early and late bingo sessions. He has accumulated nearly 300 hours of personal volunteer service hours this year, working bingo alone, ultimately helping to raise approximately $120,000 for charitable donations.

Brother Bob attends mass daily where he serves as Eucharistic Minister, Lector or Hospitality Minister as needed. He also serves as a member of the Mercy Associates, responding to the Gospel invitation of Jesus to minister to those who are poor, sick and uneducated through the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. He regularly participates in our parish bible study groups and is active in all parish events.

Bob and his wife, Rosemary, have been married for over 48 years and is the father of two children. He consistently glorifies God by serving his community and country as though Christ were the one being served.

2021 - 2022

Mark Hampson

Congratulations to Mark Hampson on being chosen as our Knight of the Year for 2021/2022. Among other things, Mark has taken on the responsibility ot managing of our Thursday Night Bingo program. He also does a lot of behind the scenes work. (Ed. Note: Thanks, Mark for helping me up and down the steps after my knee replacement surgery. I'll always be grateful to you for that.)

2020 - 2021

Richard (Rick) Norman

Our congratulations go out to Brother Knight Richard Norman, otherwise known as “Rick”, on his selection as our council’s Knight of the Year for the year 2021 to 2022.

In addition to his duties as Financial Secretary (which he carries out very well), he is also
involved in almost every activity that Council 802 has. Until bingo was put on pause last year, Rick was
always there to sell cards and assist with the bookkeeping. He is in attendance at most council functions. He is also on St. Patrick church’s Parish Finance Council. In addition to his usual Finance Council duties, this year Rick helped specify, plan, and set up a way to raise funds for a new sound system at St. Patrick. The now completed system is a vast improvement over the old system which was installed piecemeal over several years. One of the features of the new system is the ability for it to be controlled wirelessly from any location in the church.

Last spring when the church was first closed due to the COVID 19 Pandemic he worked with
Fr. Augustine Palimattam, Pastor, to livestream Masses and daily prayers. When we were able to partially
re-open the church building, Rick, working with BK David Viger Sr., PGK of Council 802 set up a three camera system using borrowed I-phones and Father Augustine's I-Pad to stream the weekend Masses at St. Patrick to the Family Life Center next door to the church as well as on Facebook, so that those at home, who couldn’t be physically present at Mass, would be able to participate with the rest of our Catholic Community. They are making plans to continue to stream at least one Mass every Sunday even after we are able to fully reopen. These are just two examples of how Rick is willing to give his time and talent even while he works at a family owned business that takes him out of town on a regular basis.

Brother knight Norman’s willingness to step into the breach for the good of the Catholic Community and Council 802 is the reason we have selected him as our Knight of the Year. So, again, our congratulations go out to our Knight of the Year, Richard (Rick) Norman.

2019 - 2020

Robert (Bob) Connor

Brother Bob Connor is dedicated to the personal development and continued honor of his Brother Knights. He celebrated 30 years of Knighthood this past October and has consistently provided leadership, guidance, and encouragement throughout our brotherhood and the Catholic community at large. He proudly served his country in the United States Navy, retiring after 22 years of service as a Master Chief Petty Officer, which is the highest enlisted rank in the United States Navy, representing the top one percent of enlisted members in the maritime force.

Sir Knight Connor currently serves Assembly 1251 as Faithful Comptroller. He is an active member of our Assembly Honor Guard, one who is always willing to serve. He also serves as a volunteer pallbearer whenever needed.

Brother Bob is a mainstay at our Wednesday bingo fund raiser. He regularly volunteers to work both the early and late bingo sessions. He has accumulated nearly 300 hours of personal volunteer service hours this year, working bingo alone, ultimately helping to raise approximately $120,000 for charitable donations.

Brother Bob attends mass daily where he serves as Eucharistic Minister, Lector or Hospitality Minister as needed. He also serves as a member of the Mercy Associates, responding to the Gospel invitation of Jesus to minister to those who are poor, sick and uneducated through the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. He regularly participates in our parish bible study groups and is active in all parish events.

Bob and his wife, Rosemary, have been married for over 48 years and is the father of two children. He consistently glorifies God by serving his community and country as though Christ were the one being served.

We are proud to have this exemplary Knight as Council 802s Knight of the Year for the term 2020 - 2021

2018 - 2019

Frank Washington

Our Knight of the Year is the epitome of everything a Knight of the Year should be. He retired after 38 years of service to the United States Government which included some very sensitive areas of service. His numerous commendations speak to the high degree to which he fulfilled these duties. After relocating to Mississippi, he suffered the death of his wife and turned his efforts to his church, the parish school and the Knights of Columbus. He rose to membership in the fourth degree and is a proud member of our Assembly Honor Guard. In the Council, his work is evidence of his support of the program categories of Faith, Family, Community and Life.

The following are examples of this Knight’s very personal involvement in our parish, school, council and community: Each morning/afternoon of every school day, Brother Washington acts as security guard at the parish school keeping an alert eye out for anything unusual. His very presence is a positive assurance to the staff, teachers, students and parents. He will also sub (strictly as a volunteer) in for the church grounds keeper/custodian when he is off work. If one of the churches needs a small repair he takes care of it without fanfare. For instance, just to cite one example, recently, he repaired and patched several pot holes in the St. Patrick Church parking lot at his own expense. He acts as the Sacristant each Sunday morning at St. Joseph Church making sure everything is ready for Mass, the heat/air adjusted and all necessary supplies are in place. He is a member of the Knights of Peter Claver and serves as a volunteer pall bearer at funerals when requested. He is a member of the kitchen crew for the Wednesday night parish dinners often serving as the primary chef. He participates in every council activity and often serves in a primary role when others fail to appear. He is one of the primary cooks for the church wide fish fries and BBQ's that occur throughout the year.

In short, Brother Washington "asks nothing but gives all" to the church, council, school and community. We are proud to have him as our Council Knight of the Year and believe he will only add luster to those previously selected as Council 802’s Knight of the Year.

2017 - 2018

Ed Shamp

Our congratulations go out to our Knight of the Year, Ed Shamp. In August of 2016 the concept of upgrading Council 802 bathrooms to the 21st century with regards to meeting the American Disabilities Act (ADA) federal guidelines was conceived. In January of 2018 the project was completed.

One Knight, in particular, bought into this dream. To say that he lived, ate, drank, and breathed this as a part of his waking hours would be spot on. We're talking about 2+ trips per day, on average, for a long time to the job site. All inspections of material and job quality control to involved inspectors was part of the deal. This Knight actually has a day job.

In addition to this responsibility, the KofC kitchen and bar is another job on which he spent a lot of personal time. This is a mini bit of information that will open a small window into this Knight’s endeavors for his Council.

Our council is proud to name Ed Shamp as our Knight of the Year for the year 2017 to 2018.