Pat Ellis 

Although Pat has not managed to make many meetings of Council 10243, he has found the time to be a part of some of the activities of the Council.  His becoming a part of the Council was pretty much a group effort--Andy Schumacher, Randy Barrett and Dan Barrington all were working on him.  His life keeps him pretty busy most nights of the week, and giving up yet another evening for a Council meeting does not seem to be an option at this point.  Still, he has taken part in some of the usual Council activities such as Booyah preparation and sales, Tootsie Roll drives and Free Throw competitions.

 

Pat came into the Knights knowing little about it--being a native of Wisconsin Rapids he did see Knights in action occasionally from a small Council there.  His initial concept of the Knights was that they appeared to be a group of primarily retired gentlemen, and one of the things he sees as a great asset of Council 10243 is the mixture of ages among those who are a part of the Council.  He was somewhat surprised that ‘younger’ men such as Andy and Randy were a part of the Knights.  Of course, he notes: “When you’re in High School and college, everyone seems to be so much older.”  He did witness the Fourth Degree Honor Guard in action at a relative’s funeral and was impressed by their presence at that affair.

 

Before coming to Green Bay a number of years ago, Pat served in the Peace Corps.  Sent to Paraguay in South America, he worked for about two and a half years as an advisor to Savings & Loan institutions.  His contribution included working with bookkeeping and making recommendations regarding business practices.  He traveled by motorcycle between the institutions he was working with and ended his involvement in February of 1979.  It was at that time that he accepted an invitation from an uncle to take a job in a beer distributing company in Green Bay.  Since then he has been involved in the insurance field, and has worked for Wisconsin Physicians Service before coming to his present job at Insurance Associates of Green Bay which, he proudly states, is the “largest, locally-owned, independent agency in Brown County.”  He works in the area of employee benefits and spends a great deal of his time working on prospects and dealing with service work. 

 

Pat and his wife, Kay, have been married for almost fifteen years now and have two children--Anthon and Bridgett.  The children’s schedule of baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer keep them busy.  When there’s time, Pat enjoys downhill and cross country skiing and a good game of golf.

 

February 1997