Bob Ledvina 

Bob experienced a sort of re-birth in his relationship with the Knights of Columbus when Council 10243 was formed at St. Bernard Parish in 1990.  Like a number of other men of the Council, Bob had been a Knight for quite some time but had been inactive--in his case, for over twenty years.  Bob first got involved in the Knights at the invitation of a friend at St. Joseph Parish in Norman, Wisconsin around 1960.  Because of family commitments and work schedules he found it difficult to get to many meetings, and gradually found himself falling away from the Knights.  He stayed pretty much on the sidelines after moving to Green Bay, but found a new interest in the Knights when Council 10243 was formed in 1990.  Though not quite a charter member of the new Council, Bob was one of the first to transfer into the fast-growing Council as it developed.

 

A good deal of Bob’s experience with the Knights to this point has involved food.  He has been a part of several fund-raisers such as the Cub Food Stand and the Knights’ Grill at the Parish Picnic.  He enjoys the opportunity to get together with other members of the Council and work together--the fraternity is a reward in itself.  Bob has also been an excellent Membership man for the Knights--he is responsible for several new members and transfers into Council 10243.  He says membership efforts don’t take a lot of work--just a positive outlook toward the Knights and a willingness to tell others about the fraternity and assist in getting them signed up.  “New members are the life of the Council,” Bob notes, and he feels it is vitally important for all Council members to be about the business of bringing new people in.  He sees the Knights as standing for the values of Catholicism and is impressed by the support the Knights give to the clergy.  He also believes the Knights are involved in a lot of “behind the scenes” work--doing much good that is not seen or recognized.  He believes the strongest asset of Council 10243 is the number of younger men who are involved and the mix of younger and older men working together for the success of the brotherhood. 

 

Bob will be retiring as of the first of the year from his current job as Planning and Scheduling Supervisor at the Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant.  He enjoys the work that he is involved in and had previously worked at a Wisconsin Public Service coal plant.  At the moment he has no definite plans for retirement, though he intends to do some traveling and continue to be involved in charity work.  He and his family built a home near St. Bernard Parish some 27 years ago and he plans to stay there, joking ”I don’t want to go down South with all the old people!”  Three of his four children are members of St. Bernard Parish as well, and both Bob and his wife, Carol, are involved in the parish, serving as Eucharistic Ministers.  They have been married for 35 years.  Bob had also been involved with the American Legion, and has been a member of the Order of Catholic Foresters, a fraternal, insurance organization, for some sixty years now--”Since I was two years old.”  He is also involved in the Holy Name Society.

 

September 1994