Saskatchewan Knights of Columbus

Thanks to the efforts of Father Michael J. McGivney, assistant pastor of St. Mary’s Church in New Haven and some of his parishioners, the Connecticut state legislature on March 29, 1882, officially chartered the Knights of Columbus as a fraternal benefit society. The Order is still true to its founding principles of charity, unity, and fraternity.

The Knights of Columbus was formed to render financial aid to members and their families. Mutual aid and assistance are offered to sick, disabled and needy members and their families. The social and intellectual fellowship is promoted among members and their families through educational, charitable, religious, social welfare, war relief, and public relief works.

The history of the Order shows how the foresight of Father Michael J. McGivney, whose cause for sainthood is being investigated by the Vatican, brought about what has become the world’s foremost Catholic fraternal benefit society. The Order has helped families obtain economic security and stability through its life insurance, annuity, and long-term care programs, and has contributed time and energy worldwide to service in communities.

The Knights of Columbus has grown from several members in one council to 15,900 councils and 1.9 million members throughout the United States, Canada, the Philippines, Mexico, Poland, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Panama, the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, Cuba, Guatemala, Guam, Saipan, Lithuania, Ukraine, and South Korea.

Our charitable activities encompass an almost infinite variety of local, national and international projects. From international charitable partnerships with Special Olympics, the Global Wheelchair Mission and Habitat for Humanity to our own Food for Families and Coats for Kids projects and other local charities, the opportunity to work together with fellow Knights and their families is virtually endless. In 2017, the Knights of Columbus set a new all-time record for the 19th consecutive year. Our charitable donations increased from $177 million in 2016 to a new total of $185,652,989 in 2017. In addition, we achieved our highest level of charitable service in 2017, volunteering more than 75 million hours of service.

The Knights of Columbus of Saskatchewan, in the name of Jesus Christ and through the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, strive to build the Catholic Church by developing the spiritual growth of themselves and their families, serving parishes, building communities, and by evangelizing all people according to the principles of Charity, Unity, Fraternity and Patriotism. 

The Knights of Columbus is a Catholic, Family, Fraternal Service Organization that includes charitable service and financial aid to our communities, parishes, families and members.

The State Deputy is the CEO of the Knights of Columbus in his jurisdiction. He inspires and leads the state officers, district deputies, and councils in his state to grow in holiness and perform charitable acts of service.

Photo	Name	Office	Email	Bio
	Joseph W Riffel	State Deputy	Email	Joe Riffel Bio
	Rev. Edward Gibney	State Associate Chaplain	Email
	Most Reverent Bryan Bayda CSsR	State Chaplain	Email	CV of Bishop Bryan Bayda
	Chris Bencharski	Immediate Past State Deputy	Email	Bio of Chris Bencharski
	Larry J Packet	State Secretary	Email	Bio of Larry Packet
	Marte Clemente Marquez Nogot	State Treasurer	Email	Bio of Marte Clemente Nogot
	Greg Dozorec	State Advocate	Email
	Agnel George	State Warden	Email
	Gerry J. Gieni	Sask State Executive Secretary	Email

Saskatchewan is a large province, and the State Board has divided the province into clusters with each board member responsible for the districts and councils in that cluster.

See below for a map of the clusters:

One of the most important positions in the Knights of Columbus, the district deputy is a key link in the chain between the Supreme/State Council and local councils.

Photo	Name	Office	Councils
	Gerry Seidle	District 1	1247, 4280, 10313, 15955
	James Stoffel	District 2	8896, 9859, 10418, 13214
	Jim Langen	District 3	9278, 10401, 10797, 11307, 17190
	Keith Byers	District 4	1534, 2071, 2994, 3360, 3878, 9760
	Rob Chapple	District 5	5914, 4704, 5949, 12415
	R. Wayne Johnston	District 6	2725, 3031, 3142, 5393, 8962, 8991
	Gerald P. Hoffart	District 7	5557, 6493, 10029, 10239, 12943
	Raymond P Andreas	District 8	3559, 3802, 6381, 7564, 10265
	To be appointed	District 9	1731, 3161, 3165, 4850, 5248, 10317, 10400
	Russell E. Slugoski	District 10	5249, 5408, 5858, 6182, 6362
	Wayne A. Exner	District 11	2031, 5182, 5201, 5320, 5965
	Tony Dakiniewich	District 12	5970, 6594, 7436, 8239, 8338
	To be appointed	District 13	4899, 5238, 5735, 6331
	Ronald P. Koenig	District 14	3575, 3920, 5474, 5549, 5707, 6169, 6684, 7150
	Thomas I Schwab	District 15	2094, 5626, 5694, 5878, 7336
	Leon A Pouliot	District 16	3456, 5353, 9761, 10856
	Borris A. Billay	District 17	1519, 5543, 8547, 8655, 9949
	Trent Zwingli	District 18	5219, 5788, 9757, 10174
	To be appointed	District 19	5256, 5259, 5479
	Rene Y Gaudet	District 20	3183, 5976, 6755
	Wayne A. Exner	District 21	5861, 6132, 7138, 9713
	Ron Wassill	District 22	3177, 5968, 7140, 7315
	Fred Staniec	District 23	1886, 5838, 5850, 5946, 6395, 8752
	David P Schaan	District 24	5859, 6068, 6529
	Adrien L Piche	District 25	4938, 5384, 7497, 8905, 10587, 12740
	Dale Meier	District 26	2695, 8215, 9539, 11429, 11888
	Ron Denis	District 27	8279, 8301, 8638, 9538, 9690, 12156
	Frank Brown	District 28	1517, 5104, 10580, 11775, 11936, 13129
	Don Deranger	District 29	9277
	SD Joe Riffel	District 30 (Inactive Councils)	2430, 6044, 6588, 9647, 9848, 9860, 10315
	SD Joe Riffel	District 31 (Inactive Councils)	4848, 5117, 5411, 6467, 6489, 10316
	Online Chairman Abel deSa	District 32 (Saskatchewan Online)	98058

Below is a list of the Knights of Columbus Councils in Saskatchewan as well as the district to which they belong.

Below is a list of the founding dates for the various Knights of Columbus Councils in Saskatchewan, as well as the approximate number of members in each council.

Council Formation Dates

State Program Directors organize and lead the faith, family, community, and life programs that occur state-wide. They collaborate with council-level program directors.

Photo	Position	Name	email
	State General Program Director	Eugene Achtimichuk	[email protected]
	State Executive Secretary		[email protected]
	Marion Prayer Program (Icon)	Mike Bzdell
	RSVP & Vocations	Sask Char Fndtn Committee C/O Pres Harvey Granatier
	Silver Rose	Wayne A Exner
	Priest’s Sports Day	Mike Bzdell
	Spiritual Enrichment	C#8215 Committee
	KofC Sask Representative for the  Catholic Connections Committee	Brian Schatz (PSD)
	KofC Sask Rep to the Catholic Congress Saskatchewan Feasibility/Organizing Committee	Brian Schatz (PSD)
	Community DIRECTOR	John Marshall
	Disaster Preparedness	Harvey S Hill
	Helping Hands	Harvey S Hill
	Coats for Kids	Shawn D Scherr
	Wheel Chair Foundation	Shawn D Scherr
	Habitat for Humanity	Rejean E Houle
	BBFT Championship	Cody Geiger
	Soccer Challenge	Cody Geiger
	Catholic Citizenship Essay	John Marshall
	Substance Abuse Awareness	John Marshall
	Celebrity Dinner	Mike Cey & Shawn Scherr (C/O C#8215)
	Family Director	Jeff M Krasowski
	Culture of Life DIRECTOR	Alex J.S. Ogrodnick
	Marches for Life	Louis L Roth
	Pregnancy Center Support	Louis L Roth
	Silver Rose Program	Wayne A Exner
	Special Olympics	Terry D. Shalley
	Conscience Protect Chairman	Gerald Weigers
	Membership Director	Dan W. Devers
	Online Membership	Abel deSa
	Council Reactivation/ Merger	Brian Schatz (PSD)
	Membership Retention Chairman	Chris Bencharski (PSD)
	Northern Sask Council/Member Retention/Reactivation Chairman	Chris Bencharski (PSD)
	Southern Sask Council/Member Retention/Reactivation Chairman	Brian Schatz (PSD)
	Round Table	Albert W Dion
	New Council Development	?? SD to take position ??
	Cultural Diversity Chairman	Marte Clemente Nogot (WST)
	Insurance Promotion Chairman	Mark J Lewans
	Ceremonials Director	Denis A.F. Carignan (PSD)
	State PR & Communications	Peter Folk
	Newsletter / Bulletin Editor	Peter Folk
	Webmaster	Peter Folk
	State Trainer	Robert Barkman (PSD)
	Awards Director	Eugene Achtimichuk
	State Council Activities Director	Larry Packet (WSS)
	Fr McGivney Guide	Greg Dozorec (WSA)
	Protocol	Greg Dozorec (WSA)
	State Survey	Glen Hauser
	State IT Committee	Glen Hauser & Peter Folk
	Charity Appeal	Richard D. Colbow
	Sask Charitable Foundation	SCF-President Harvey Granatier