235 Rochelle Ave. Rochelle Park NJ, 07662  Tel: 201.843.9613 | knights@kofc2842.org

Brother Manny is always willing to lend an extra hand where it's needed. Manny was a great help volunteering his time during our council open house events. Helps ushers at Sacred Heart Church. Manny even got three of his great friends to join the council. Manny possesses the traits of a worthy brother that we welcome into our order. It is because of these actions that we are proud to award him with the honor of “Knight of the Month” for November 2021.

Even before officially becoming a member of our council and the Knights of Columbus, Robert Hickey showed that he possessed the kind of traits we look for in a worthy member of our order, volunteering his time to help decorate Sacred Heart Church for Christmas. It was at that time that we got to talk with Robert and realized he would be a perfect fit, and he hasn’t disappointed.

In addition to helping decorate the church, Robert immediately volunteered to assist with the council fish fry just a few days after becoming a full member. Robert also assists with collection at 5:30 mass Sacred Heart, volunteered with our Council Open House in April, brought in his friend Dennis Griffith and got him to become a member and even volunteered to march in the poring rain and represent our council in the Saddle Brook Memorial Day parade.

It is because of all these efforts that we are proud to award Brother Robert Hickey with the Knight of the Month for the month of May 2021

PGK Ferrara is a man who seems to always be doing something. A “man with a mission” its no

surprise then that he is the man behind our efforts at “Meals With A Mission” in Garfield. For

more than five years, PGK Ferrara has dedicated the third Tuesday of each month to

gathering Brothers, co-workers and anyone else he can convince to come down, to cooking

meals for the less fortunate. It is through PGK Ferrara’s commitment and dedication to

helping those in need that our presence at “Meals With A Mission” on any third Tuesday is as

common place as a 50lbs of beef in that same kitchen. It’s not just “Meals With A Mission”

where PGK Ferrara has left his mark, Brother Ferrara has literally spilt blood for our council as

each year he, along with PGK Bill Courtney, organize and run our annual blood drive. And

leave it to an Italian to be a ladies man, well at least once a year, as Brother Ferrara humbly

hosts a romantic “Night of Wine and Roses” each year right around Valentine’s Day as a way

for us men to show that special woman in our lives how much they mean to us, now that’s

amore! It is because of these actions that we are proud to award him with the honor of

“Knight of the Month” for July 2020.

“A big man with a big heart”. That is probably the best way to describe Brother Heyrich.

Robert joined our council in October and in less than one year has already shown that he’s

willing and able to volunteer his time whenever the need should arise. Brother Heyrich has

volunteered his time and talents to assist in our garden along with Brother Ray Lancaster and

Brother Tom Tomesco. He has also stepped in in assisting with outdoor mass and recently

when the council was in need of someone to chair the 2020 Adopt a Family for Christmas

project, there was Brother Heyrich, once again volunteering his time. It is because of these

actions that we are proud to award him with the honor of “Knight of the Month” for June

2020.

When looking for worthy candidates to join our order and our council, we try to look for men

who will be active members. Men who will give as much of their time as they can to events or

any other need the council may have. We exceeded expectations with Jorge Ramos. Within a

matter of several weeks of becoming a Second Degree member of our order, Brother Ramos

had already volunteered to help with our Puerto Rico Earthquake Relief Drive and our Youth

Basketball Free-Throw contest. When the church was in need of Brothers to assist with

outdoor mass, one text message was all that it took for Brother Ramos to say “yes”. Not yet a

member for one year and already Brother Ramos has joined the ranks of an officer in our

council as our new Outside Guard. It is this eagerness to get active and help out that we so

appreciate in men who want to be Knights of Columbus. It is because of these actions that we

are proud to award him with the honor of “Knight of the Month” for May 2020.

When COVID-19 hit, our frontline workers immediately sprang into action. Doctors, nurses,

EMTS, police and firemen and women instantly turned from average citizen into modern day

heroes. Quickly signs went up on yards thanking these men and women for all that they did.

Words of thanks were not enough for Tom Tomesco, for to Tom actions speak louder than

words. Quickly Tom got to work creating a GoFundMe for our frontline heroes. The mission

of the campaign would be to get the whole community involved in raising money that would

be used to purchase hot, ready-to-go meals for the frontline. The campaign would also

support local food establishments that were hurting as a result of having to be closed during

the height of the pandemic. Through his efforts, and with the help of the community, Tom

was able to raise more than $1,000 and supplied several local hospitals with hundreds of

ready-to-go meals. It is because of this action that we are proud to award him with the honor

of “Knight of the Month” for April 2020

A pillar of our council and our own “Santa Clause”, PGK Courtney is “Mr. Christmas”. From

organizing and running our annual toy and coat drives, to visiting the elderly at the

Maywood Senior Center to organizing the ever popular annual feeding of the less fortunate

on Christmas Eve at the Second Reformed Church, PGK Courtney has a big heart to go with

his even bigger personality. Billy is always willing to lend a helping hand for anyone in need.

In September 2019 when his son came to him with the suggestion of having a fundraiser for

the widow of a friend, there was Billy running around getting donations for the tricky-tray

and not stopping until everyone had a great time. It is because of all that PGK Courtney has

and continues to do for our council that we are proud to award him with the honor of

“Knight of the Month” for March 2020

In addition to serving as our Warden and and faithfully executing the duties and responsibilities of the position, Gil Duke has gone above and beyond and has established himself worthy of being recognized as our “Knight of the Month” for February 2020. Whenever the council was in need of someone to come forward and help with an event, Gil was there. Gil volunteered his time to set up and decorate the council Christmas tree. In addition he was part of the team that put on this past years “Light Up For Christ” event. Later on in December, Gil was front and center helping to decorate Sacred Heart Church for Christmas. Later on that same day, Gil volunteered his time and his truck to transport toys to sick children at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood that were collected at a recent Bingo event. In February Gil once again came forward when the council was in need of someone to chair our “Night of Wine & Roses” Valentines Day event. Although Gil could not be present for the event, he went out of his way to ensure that everything was in order for the evening and there would be no complications. We are proud to acknowledge all the time and effort Gil has put in to our Council and are happy to have awarded him this honor.