President's Message
Membership Should Be KJT's
Key
Focus . . .
As I write my first article as KJT State President
for the KJT News, my mind is racing in many different directions as to what to
write about. This article may sound like I’m in a whirlwind, but there are many
things that I would like to say. My main focus will be on membership as we are
at a critical juncture in our history. I will also talk about the events forthcoming
that give us an opportunity to increase our membership, and lastly, I will write
on the TEAM that we have in place to take the KJT where we need to go.
Before
I go into any of that, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the membership
of the KJT for having full confidence in me to succeed President Elo J. Goerig
as the next president of the Catholic Union of Texas, the KJT, by electing me
as State Vice President at the last convention. As I stated in last month’s article,
I never expected to take over in this manner, but I pledge to all of you to do
the best I know how in leading our great fraternal. Now, I have only been around
for the last six and one half years, so I don’t know how everything “used to be
done” at the KJT, so please, if I do something a little differently than it was
done in the past, be patient with me. I know the words “fraternal” and “change”
are generally not used in the same sentence, but just understand that I’m only
keeping the best interest of the KJT in mind.
We have slipped into a declining
membership trend over the past few years and this is a major concern to me. This
year is no different. Through the month of May, we are already 40 members behind
where we began the year with more death claims coming in daily. We have got to
replace the members that we have lost in order to remain a viable company. With
membership comes premium income and that is what drives a life insurance company;
premium income.
I am calling on all KJT members to look around and make
sure that everyone in your household is a KJT member. If you have looked there
and you can check that off of your list, move on to your extended family and then
on to your friends. Let these folks know about the many member benefits that the
KJT has to offer from Youth Camp to College Scholarships, to our Loan Program
and our Script Save drug discount card program. Not to mention the savings you
can find by buying select products from KJT Insurance Services, LLC, our newly
formed wholly owned insurance agency that now offers auto, home, long term care
and Medicare supplements, as well as individual and group health insurance.
It is amazing to me to see how many of our members who have already inquired about
these products offered through KJT Insurance Services and the number of folks
who we have been able to save money for in the short time that Insurance Services
has been up and running. We hope to hear from many more of you in the future.
Our Youth Camp has always been one of our major draws to becoming a member of
the KJT, and this year is no different. If you are bringing one or more of your
children to camp that day, be sure to join us for the State Family Day prior to
delivering them to Camp Lone Star. We have once again conveniently scheduled these
events for the same day so that more people will take advantage of the “two for
one” special.
The KJT State Family Day is scheduled for Sunday, August
10 at the KJT Activity and Fraternal Center. We will begin the day with Holy Mass
beginning at 10 a.m. being celebrated by our KJT State Spiritual Director Father
Bob Knippenberg. Mass will be followed by a meal with the main course being prepared
by Master Chefs and State Directors Robert Nors and Ray Pokorney. We will once
again have a couple of moonwalks (a.k.a. “bouncy things”) for the kids and one
of them will even have a water slide, so be sure to come prepared for that. Music,
fraternalism, fun and games can be had throughout the afternoon.
Our State
Family Day activities are for ALL KJT members (no, you didn’t have to win a contest
at your District Family Day to attend), and be sure to invite a friend or friends
who aren’t currently members. This is a great opportunity to show them what the
KJT is all about. If you can’t bring someone along to Family Day, be sure to invite
him or her to your society’s annual information dinner. We still have many societies
throughout the state that have not yet held their dinners, so be sure to bring
someone along when yours does get scheduled. This is one of the best ways to showcase
the KJT and they get a meal to boot!
Lastly, I want to talk about the
TEAM that we have in place to solve our membership problem. No, I’m not talking
about the Home Office, nor the Directors, nor the District and Society Officers,
but I’m talking about all of us together. It takes all of us together to get to
where we need to go, so I’m pleading that we all make a concerted effort to go
get “one new member” to turn our membership trend around.
Hey, let’s face
it, there have been some great athletes in the past in many sports – Michael Jordan
in basketball, Roger Staubach in football and Mickey Mantle in baseball to name
a few, but none of them did it on their own. It takes five to make a team in basketball
so without the other four, Michael Jordan would have just been another basketball
player. We face the same situation here at the KJT. Are any one person’s efforts
going to make a difference? No, definitely not, but if many of us get involved
and take pride in what the KJT stands for, we can definitely make that difference!
Please “jump on the bandwagon” as we move forward and celebrate with your non-member
friends and family members just what the KJT is all about!
KJT State President,
