UST Knights of Columbus Council Ranked Among Top in Order
The Catholic university formerly referred to as “Houston’s best kept secret” is revealing another secret: one of the top councils in the Knights of Columbus. The Fr. Vincent Guinan Council #13940 – named for the first president of the University of St. Thomas – received top accolades in October and November 2009 from the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus, as well as from the organization’s Texas State Council.
In October, the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus awarded Council #13940 the prestigious Double Star Council award. The award is issued to councils who exceed goals set for them by the Supreme Council in membership recruitment, insurance program development and service programming. Approximately 3 percent of the 13,000 Knights of Columbus councils around the world are able to earn this designation in any given year.
Also in October, members of Council #13940 attended a conference for the 208 Knights of Columbus councils serving college communities. At the conference, the Knights College Committee awarded the UST Knights with a plaque for outstanding council programming at UST. The 2009 award marks the fifth award the Council has earned in its four years of existence, more than any other college council in the Knights of Columbus.
In November, the Knights of Columbus Texas State Council recognized the UST Knights for having achieved the Texas State Charities Honor Roll, a designation reserved for those councils able to contribute 100 percent of the per capita charitable donation goals set for them by the State Council.
“It is an honor to receive these recognitions. We’re extremely proud of our accomplishments,” said Alan Llanas, Grand Knight of Council #13940. “We’re committed to service, and at the end of the day we still strive to do the most work possible for our college and our community.”
The high levels of success and the awards are nothing new to the University of St. Thomas Knights. In 2006, the Council’s first full year of operations, the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center awarded UST the “School of the Year” award for its blood drives organized by the local Knights Council. As word spread about the Council’s successful organization and collection of donors, the Red Cross approached the Council about taking over the quarterly drives.
The Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest Catholic lay organization. It provides members and their families with volunteer opportunities in service to the Catholic Church, their communities, families, and young people. With more than 1.7 million members in more than 13,000 councils around the world, the Knights of Columbus annually donates more than $150 million and 68 million hours of service to charitable causes. Visit www.kofc.org for more information.
For more information about the Vincent J. Guinan Council #13940 contact Grand Knight Alan Llanas at 832-284-2498 or ustknights@gmail.com.
Story written by Clint Mendonca
Photo (left to right) Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, Grand Knight of council 13940 Alan Llana and Conference Committee Chairman Steven Bierschbach | 
