Knights of Columbus Father John Savoca Council 12633 of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Lenoir City celebrated its 25th silver jubilee on Sept. 7 with a gala at Tellico Village Yacht Club.
The Knights’ Supreme Council in January 2000 authorized the council and its 36 charter members to assemble and work as a fully constituted Knights of Columbus council. Since its formation, the council has grown to greater than 200 members and made approximately $1 million in donations to various charities.
Over the past 25 years, there have been 14 Grand Knights elected to lead the council. The first three, Robert Fox, Alexander Stuve, and Stephen Popovich, have passed away. Ten of the remaining 11 attended the gala and received a memento to commemorate their service, with one unable to attend due to illness.
The council has seen five Grand Knights go on to serve as district deputy: Mr. Popovich, William Twohig, Jerald Dougherty, Daniel Hanley, and Jim Gold.
Mr. Fox served as Grand Knight through 2002, Mr. Stuve in 2002-03, and Mr. Popovich in 2003-05. Succeeding Grand Knights in order have been Mr. Twohig, Mr. Dougherty, Dennis Preston, Mr. Hanley, Edward Valente, Lance Lyons, Donald Hoyle, James Gecsei, Joseph Filosi, Mr. Gold, and current Grand Knight Kenan Guarino.