KNIGHT LIFE PAGE 1

KNIGHT LIFE

EDWARD DOUGLASS WHITE COUNCIL 2473 ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA

July 2020 Founded May 20, 1923 Number 1

GRAND KNIGHT’S MESSAGE

Brother Knights, welcome to a new

fraternal year! First and foremost, I

would like to thank all of you for

your continued support and ser-

vice to EDW Council 2473 and our

charitable work.

I want to share my congratulations

and heartfelt appreciation for the

newly elected Council officers. We

have a wonderful team. Finally, I want everyone to know that

I am exceptionally humbled and honored to serve as your new

Grand Knight. I am looking forward to serving the Council as

well as supporting all of our Brother Knights and their fami-

lies.

Well, we are certainly living in interesting times. We’ve had to

make many adjustments to our daily routine as we try to mini-

mize our exposure to the coronavirus and reduce the spread of

COVID-19. However, our state and our region are beginning

to reduce restrictions and reopen the economy. That means

we can soon return to in-person meetings and activities!

And, that is just what we will do. Providing our region stays

on course, our Council meetings will begin again, every first

and third Thursday of the month at 7:30pm in the Paradise

Lounge. Of course, we understand and encourage anyone who

is at increased risk due to existing health conditions or age to

not attend our meetings at this time.

If our region decides to slow or reverse the easing of re-

strictions, we are prepared to hold virtual meetings using

Zoom. If that needs to occur, we’ll let everyone know and send

out instructions on how to participate. Either way, we are

back in business!

As your new Grand Knight, I want to share with you my ini-

tial priorities for this fraternal year. With your support, I want

to focus on charitable activities, strengthening connections to

our parishes, and improving our communications.

1) Charity is the first guiding principle for the Knights of Co-

lumbus and is at the heart of our work and our faith. This year,

I want to reinforce our traditional annual works of charity,

which are always a success, and explore new charitable oppor-

tunities to build up our strong charitable foundation.

2) Parish support is integral to our charitable works. Knights

are best when fully integrated into the ministries and charita-

ble works of our parishes. This year, I want to reinforce our

connections to our four parishes and get more involved in par-

ish life to grow closer to Christ in the Catholic faith.

3) Communications is key to our overall success and sustain-

ment. This year, I want to work on improving communication

by providing clear, consistent, and timely information through

emails, our website, and our social media sites.

Each one of these efforts will need a dedicated team of Brother

Knights to step up, establish new committees, and drive us

forward. I’m looking forward to hearing from volunteers will-

ing to assist. Together, I know we can achieve positive growth

in all these areas that will help sustain EDW Council 2473’s

stellar reputation, impactful size, and nationally recognized

leadership.

Finally, I want to thank our Past

Grand Knight John Rovinski Jr.

and the entire Columbus Club

Board of Directors for successfully

leading the Council and the Club

through these unprecedented and

exceptionally challenging times

resulting from the coronavirus

pandemic. Rather than folding up,

they charged forward and have

brought us through this challenge

stronger and more stable than be-

fore. We all owe them our heartfelt

appreciation.

As we move forward together, please remember that I am hear

for you, my Brother Knights. Please feel free to contact me any

time. Please remember to pray for our Brother Knights in

need, pray for healing and guidance during this pandemic,

and pray the rosary as often as possible. Thank you.

Vivat Jesus,

Jim Saenz

Grand Knight

Jim, in 2004, preparing to

jump while in the Army.

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COUNCIL OFFICERS 2020-2021

Grand Knight: Jim Saenz 703-638-0075

Chaplain: Fr Joseph Giordano, CICM 571-982-5902

Dep Grand Knight: Scott Wanek

Chancellor: John Dresden

Fin Secretary: Bill Wester 571-276-1410

Treasurer: Andrew Rudolphi

Recorder: Charles Feghali

Advocate: Paul Kozich

Warden: Bryant Gilbertson

Inside Guard: Nick Beirne

Outside Guard: Mark Joyce

Trustees: Steve McTeague, PGK 703-969-1570

Joseph Baker, PGK 808-333-9686

John Rovinski, Jr, PGK

Fraternal Benefits Advisors

Robert J Canter, Jr, CSA, FICF, LUTCF 301-952-0180

Edward Imperati, CFP 703-677-6923

Council Office 703-536-9656 x 320

Council Home Mansion 703-536-9656 x 314

In case of illness or death of a member

Please call the Council Office 703-536-6356 x 320

Committee Chairmen

6-Point Program: John Rovinski, Jr, PGK

Church Activities: Art Gamotis PGK 703-448-0332

Community Acts: John Carmany 703-876-4654

Council Activities: Art Gamotis PGK 703-448-0332

Fraternal Activities: Joe Baker PGK 808-333-9689

Youth Activities: Steve Willenbucher 571-438-1517

500 Club: Council Office 703-536-9656 x 320

Advertising: Rick Vranesh PGK 571-214-9775

Blood Drive: Len Sese 703-641-4843

Charity: John Rovinski, Jr, PGK

Culture of Life:

KCIC: Jim Holland PGK 703-533-1550

Knight Life Editor:

KOVAR: Art Gamotis PGK 703-448-0332

Ladies U-Knighted: Jo Balsamo Wood 703-263-1185

Membership: Greg Strizek 703-346-4387

Organ Donors: Jerry Garren PGK 202-498-1638

Retention: Jim Holland PGK 703-533-1550

Special Activities:

Waiters: Bob Muschamp 703-237-8475

Columbus Club of Arlington 2019 Board Officers

Grand Knight: Jim Saenz 703-638-0075

Dep Grand Knight: Scott Wanek

President: John O’Neill, III 571-437-9415

Vice President: Greg Strizek 703-346-4387

Secretary: Charlie Boone 703-843-4248

Treasurer: Tom Maguire 703-314-5213

Asst Treasurer: Jerry Garren PGK 202-498-1638

Board of Directors

Bob Dannemiller FDD PGK 703-685-3795

Anthony Demangone 571-332-2512

Bryant Porter 202-213-8650

Brett Smith 703-489-3112

Bill Wester 571-276-1410

Club Staff

General Manager: gm@columbusclubevents.com

Operations Mgr: Nick Beirne 703-536-9656 x 310

operations@columbusclubevents.com

Events Mgr: Rene Padilla 703-536-9656 x 311

eventsales@columbusclubevents.com

Summer Camp Director: Marty Lerner 703-536-9656 x 324

Pool Phone in Season: 703-536-9656 x 313

July 2020 Knight of the Month This month, we recognize our most

recent Past Grand Knight, John

Rovinski Jr.

John just com-

pleted two years

serving as our

EDW Council

2473 Grand

Knight. During

that time, he

showed us true servant leadership,

dedication, and sacrifice as he

steered this giant ship known as

EDW. (Get it--he’s a Navy guy.) As

has been tradition for our Grand

Knights, John continued to increase

our membership, improve our chari-

table activities, and sustain our social

activities. However, uniquely and

impressively, he also led us through

the challenges of the coronavirus

pandemic and the resulting re-

strictions during his final months in

office. Throughout that time, John

made sure EDW and the Columbus

Club continually took appropriate

action to keep our Brother Knights

and families safe and healthy, while

also keeping us financially viable. On

top of that, he found the opportunity

for EDW to support our parishes and

communities during this pandemic

by establishing a team to coordinate

home deliveries for vulnerable indi-

viduals, distribute masks, make do-

nations and deliveries to local food

pantries, and provide meals to Christ

House. He enabled EDW to, once

again, provide for our communities

in need during difficult times. John,

thank you for your superb leadership

and caring friendship. We look for-

ward to your continued service as

one of our Worthy Trustees.

Together We Can Beat This “You can still go out and give blood. We’re worried about potential blood shortag-

es in the future. Social distancing does not have to mean social disengagement.”

- U.S. Surgeon General

The INOVA Health System has again asked our EDW Council for help to

maintain a strong blood supply for their

patients, especially during this pandem-

ic. Let’s show INOVA how Knights re-

spond to a call for help. Please donate!

Where: Knights of Columbus EDW Council #2473

5115 Little Falls Rd

Arlington, Virginia

When: Sunday, July 26, 2020, 8:30AM to 2:00PM

Make your appointment today at: https://bit.ly/KCED07262020 org OR

Call: 866-256-6372 and use sponsor code 6216.

KNIGHT LIFE PAGE 3

FINANCIAL SECRETARY MESSAGE

I’d like to share my congratulations to the slate of officers elected to serve the

EDW membership during the fraternal year running July 1, 2020, through June

30, 2021.

I would especially like to congratulate my

brother, Jim Saenz, who is at the helm this year.

You are all a great group of guys, who have

stepped up to the plate to make EDW work.

Please take notice: Inside this newsletter, you

will find the revised proposed budget for the

upcoming fraternal year. This will be voted

upon during the upcoming July 16 the meet-

ing. I hope you can join us, as your input and

participation are hugely important.

Also, as financial secretary, I want to pass along my kudos to the leadership of

both EDW and the Columbus Club for taking difficult, yet necessary, decisions

to shepherd our organizations through this COVID-19 Crisis.

Bill Wester, Financial Secretary

LEND ME YOUR EARS,

AND YOUR UP-TO-DATE

EMAIL ADDRESS

As our Worthy Grand

Knight highlighted in his

message, the Knights will

focus on improving commu-

nication to its membership in

the upcoming year.

We need your help!

Please make sure we have

your most up-to-date email

address on file. It will take

just a moment, but it will

help us greatly.

Update/confirm your email

address by contacting Finan-

cial Secretary Bill Wester.

P. 703.536.9656 Ext. 320

Email: fs2473@hotmail.com

We use the letters EDW quite

a bit.

Those

letters

are quite

meaning-

ful.

Those are initials of Edward

Douglas White, the first

Catholic Supreme Court As-

sociate Justice and Chief Jus-

tice of the Supreme Court of

the United States from 1910

to 1921.

We hope you’ve been able to enjoy the new Pfundstein Patio on the EDW Campus! Keep

an eye out for Friday and Saturday evening seatings. Be sure to like the EDW Facebook

page to stay on top of all that is happening—www.facebook.com/KofCEDW/.

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One of the best views in all of Arlington.

OBITUARIES

The following Brother Knights

have gone on to meet our Heav-

enly Father. Please keep them in

your prayers.

PGK Leo P. Maimone—1/1/2020

Samuel H. Houser—2/4/2020

Richard P. “Steve” Stephenson

3/1/2020

Mark. E. Nester—4/7/2020

Raymond E. Fioramonti—

4/30/2020

Dominick J. D’Alexander

6/18/2020

SICK AND IN

OUR PRAYERS

Please remember the following

members and their families in

your prayers. If you have time,

give them a all or drop them a

note.

Norm Marcocci

Bishop Paul Loverde, State Chap-

lain for the K of C

Paul Murphy

John O’Neill

Chris Hudson

Paul Murphy

Collin McGowan

Jack Halpin

Art Gamotis PGK

THE MANSION AND COVID-19

The Deep End will be open with limited menu and hours on weekends. Starting July

4th weekend, we will be serving out of the Deep End Patio Friday & Saturday! Picnic

Tables are available by reservation ONLY via this link. It is imperative that we stress a

limit to ONE table per family, per day. We anticipate increasing capacity & frequency

as we progress through Phase 3. A total 30 tables will be set up on the lawn and we

expect all our members to observe all our social distancing guidelines.

Let’s not forget, our regular Friday and Saturday evening dining on the Pfundstein

patio. Come up and enjoy some food and drink, reservations can be sent

to eventsales@columbusclubevents.com. Seating’s at 5:30 &7:30 both nights!

Here are additional details:

• The picnic tables will be set into limited sections.

To comply with government orders, we will per-

mit 8 persons per plot per picnic table area. Social

distance guidelines are expected to be followed

while on the picnic grounds.

• Tables are NOT to be moved from designated

spaces.

• All recreational equipment will be open at a use-at

-your-own-risk policy. Compliance with social dis-

tancing is required at any of these locations.

• Grills will be permitted for usage, at your own risk.

• Masks are to be worn when not seated in your picnic area.

• When conversing with other patrons social distancing is required and masks are

mandatory.

• Masks are to be worn when ordering food and drink at the Deep End.

• Masks may be removed when seated at your table/plot on the grounds

One of the best parts of being a Knight is the

enjoyment of our 10-acre campus, which in-

cludes the iconic Saegmuller Mansion.

The Columbus Club board of directors have

been making difficult, but necessary decisions

in light of reduced income due to the cancella-

tion of this year’s camp program and head-

winds against pool operations.

We’ve received many questions along the lines

of this: When is the Mansion re-opening?

We hear your concerns and we understand.

However, please be patient with us. We are

working on two fronts. First, when the Man-

sion opens, it must be done in a safe and secure

manner that follows state and local guidelines.

Second, changes likely will be made to the

operations to ensure the Mansion operations

are fiscally responsible.

As the situation unfolds, we’ll keep all brothers

updated. Until then, we appreciate your pa-

tience and understanding.

PHASE 3—THE DEEP END AND GROUNDS

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The COVID-19 crisis has hurt area food banks, as donations have dried up,

just at the same time as many newly unemployed Americans are seeking help.

Pictured to the right, Brother Knight (and past Grand Knight) Bob Dannemil-

ler delivers a donation from the EDW Council to the Saint Lucy Food Project

in Manassas, which is administered by the Catholic Charities of the Arlington

Diocese.

Our Brother Bob and other knights relentlessly volunteers his time to numer-

ous food backs in the tri-state area. He represents us well, shuttling pallets of

bread and other food to grateful food banks in our area. Brothers Bob Muschamp and Jim Connell are heavy volun-

teers as well.

The EDW Assistance Team continues to deliver food and medication to those in need. Now we are focusing on tak-

ing donations to stock our area food pantries. With food supply lines strained, businesses shut down, and people left

without income, the need for food has increased. We ask your generous donation to feed families with no other

means of putting food on their tables.

Please consider donating to EDW’s efforts to help our local food pantries by selecting "Food Pantry Support" on the

EDW food pantry donation website.

The time has come, and the Columbus

Club Pools entered Phase 3 on July

2nd!

Under guidance from our governor,

the CDC and our local health depart-

ment, we have put together a plan we

hope works best for all. Phase 3 opens

up our facility for free swim, limited

wading pool usage, picnic grounds (by

reservation only, and recreational

equipment on the grounds. We have

enacted procedures and policies based

on guidance from around Northern

Virginia.

All details on the new pool policies can

be found on the Columbus Club Web-

site.

Parents and guardians are in charge of

maintaining the required 10-foot social

distancing requirement. Lifeguards are

focusing on water safety protocol.

Anyone under the age of 16 must be

accompanied by an adult.

All staff and members will be screened

for COVID-19 symptoms. Details are

outlined on the club website.

Entry will be through the front desk,

and everyone will exit onto the

grounds near the sidewalk the picnic

area.

Three lanes in each pool will be active

in each swim session.

One hour time-slots for swimming can

be reserved via the manage reserva-

tions link on the pool website. We are

limiting 3 swim sessions per family,

per week.

We’ll be at 75% capacity. Also, one

family per time slot can reserve the

wading pool.

Exiting members must wear face

masks.

We understand these are big changes,

and we appreciate your understand-

ing. If we all follow the rules, the pool

will be a safe and fun diversion this

summer. (Something we all need!)

Again, details are outlined on the

Columbus Club Website.

EDW KNIGHTS FIGHTING HUNGER IN OUR REGION

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THE NEW RULES FOR THE KNIGHT POOLS IN PHASE 3

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New Slate of EDW Council Officers Slated for 2020/2021

The EDW Council 2473 officers for the fraternal year 2020-

2021 were installed in a ceremony conducted by the new

District Deputy and EDW PGK John Rovinski, Jr. on July

2nd. The new EDW officers look forward to serving the

Council and their brother Knights.

The officers are:

Grand Knight: Jim Saenz

Chaplain: Fr. Joseph Giordano

Dep. Grand Knight: Scott Wanek

Chancellor: John Dresden

Financial Secretary: Bill Wester

Treasurer: Andrew Rudolphi

Recorder: Charles Feghali

Advocate: Paul Kozich

Warden: Bryant Gilbertson

Inside Guard: Nick Beirne

Outside Guard: Mark Joyce

It was wonderful to

hear laughter and

splashing on the cam-

pus over the Holiday

weekend. The new

pool deck was enjoyed

by all. A hearty thank

you to the Columbus

Club board and staff

for getting our pool

ready. We look for-

ward to seeing you on

campus!

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KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS

Edward Douglass White Council 2473

5115 Little Falls Road

Arlington, Virginia 22207-1899

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