How Can I Help You?

[This is the last in a series looking at my decision to leave the UCC and what’s next for me. Return to the first post.]

A Knights of Columbus Field Agent?

Yes sir! Yes ma’am! The Knights of Columbus was founded in 1882 by the Venerable Servant of God Father Michael McGivney. Fr. McGivney had his own seminary studies interrupted by the premature death of his father, forcing him to return home to work for the survival of his family. Later, as a young priest, he witnessed first-hand what was happened to the families in his parish if and when the primary breadwinner died. Emotionally, it’s hard to lose a family member, but financially, it can be downright cruel.

Fr. McGivney at one point volunteered to be a count-appointed guardian to a boy whose family couldn’t prove to the court that they had the means to support him. (At that time in Connecticut, families had to prove their income potential after the husband passed away. If they couldn’t prove enough potential, the courts would move to break apart the family to try to keep the family as financially solvent as possible).

Between that and seeing a need for a way for Catholic men to have a sense of belonging, he founded the Knights of Columbus as a fraternal benefits society to give men both a brotherhood of which to be a part as well as to help ensure the welfare of widows and children if one of the members died.

As a Field Agent, basically, I would see to further enact Fr. McGivney’s vision of financial security to Catholic families if the unthinkable happened for a geographical area within Austin. I will be assigned a number of councils (the local, parish-level organization) and will meet with those families to help them assess their financial needs with a particular emphasis on life insurance, annuities and long-term care insurance.

In other words, I’m not about what you should invest in or not nor other things like that, but rather to help with the questions of: What would happen if one of us passed away? What is a safe vehicle for retirement? What happens if the stock market crashes the year before I retire–can I plan for that? What happens to my family if I need some type of long-term care (rehab hospital, nursing home, home health care, etc)?

The Knights of Columbus offers to members various products to help find solutions to those questions and my job will be to personally help members figure out what they need and to get it.

Additionally, I will be a resource to my councils to help them in other ways related to the Knights and to help introduce men to the Knights of Columbus.

Vanessa and I are excited about this new opportunity and I’m honored that I will be welcomed into so many homes around Austin. I’m looking forward to being able to do some good for families. If you have any questions about this all, leave a comment, give me a call or shoot me an e-mail.

Thank you all for your prayers for our family as I transition into this new role.