THE FATHER MICHAEL C. KIDD K of C WEBSITE

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1 1 P a ge Best Website Contest 2008 ~ 2009 The Maryland State Council is again sponsoring the Best Website Contest as an incentive for each Council and Circle to help meet its responsibility to report Knights of Columbus news to its membership. Participation in this contest is optional; however each Grand Knight and Chief Squire is encouraged to enter their website in this prestigious activity. There will be 1 st, 2 nd, and 3 rd Place Awards given for both the best Council and best Squire Circle web site, at the State Convention in Ocean City, Maryland. An Internet website can play an important role in the ongoing success of a Council or Circle. Visitors to the site are not necessarily just looking for dates of forthcoming activities and events. They may be searching for news, photos and other information that may entice them to stay actively involved or hoping to retrieve specific answers to questions. Topical websites can also encourage inactive members to begin to attend Council/Circle meetings and may also serve as a powerful recruiting tool. Grand Knight or Chief Squire s Role in his Council/Circle s Website As the leader of your Council/Circle, it is your responsibility to encourage your webmaster to keep your website timely and informative. This is done best by keeping him in the informational loop just as you keep your newsletter editor fully informed. Guidance to the Webmaster The Webmaster should endeavor to keep the website topical and updated regularly and most importantly, see that it contains information needed to accurately represent Council/Circle events. Like a news bulletin, every website will differ from every other. Clearly, a website should not be just a newsletter maintained on line! Items that work best on the web tend to be somewhat different than those that are useful in the newsletter. For this reason, the web is ideal for showing your Knights/Squires in Action if quality digital images are available. Also, if adequate server space is available, files can be archived on the website, which acts as a major feature. These stored items could include documents or schedules, archived newsletters, photo galleries, targeted write ups from Program Chairmen, the Pastor, the Chaplain, the Grand Knight, the Chief Squire, Pro Life Committee, the Insurance Representative, the District Deputy and so on. The archived material can be generic - meaning it is useful any time of the year - or it could be seasonal - Program Chairmen reports would fall in this category. Remember too that the average visitor to a website stays only 3 to 5 clicks on that site. So, if you haven t captured a person s interest quickly, they are unlikely to stay. Technical innovation (such as XML; Flash) is not a requirement. The State is not looking for bells and whistles. It is the content, the innovation in its use, articles or documents that can be downloaded, and ease of navigation that make a website good. To Enter All councils need to submit the following information. Just complete the entry form below and return it to the State Webmaster on or before January 21, The judges will visit the sites between February 15 th and March 15 th, with no advance notice to the Council or Circle. This will permit the judges to evaluate each site just as council members would see it. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Jim Parshall at (301) Website Competition Application Council Name: FATHER MICHAEL C. KIDD COUNCIL Number: Website URL: Webmaster s Name: Fr. Joseph A. Jenkins Address: Holy Family Catholic Church, Woodmore Road, Mitchellville, MD Webmaster s frjoe2000@yahoo.com Mail to: James F. Parshall Divot Place Montgomery Village, MD Or webpageadmin@kofc-md.org

2 Before I developed the website for Father Kidd Council, I reviewed a number of other council websites. Some were little more than single information pages, and many of these were obsolete. Yahoo sites seemed to have become increasingly popular; however, the drawback to using Yahoo Groups as websites is that they are restricted to members and the public cannot see the files. This means that such a site might be useful to members, if they remember their passwords, but of little or no value to informing Knights of other councils or the public at large. A few websites had great bells and whistles, but seemed to make more noise than to offer useful material. One site that I looked at had music that played tediously on all its pages, backgrounds that made reading difficult, and the options for countless languages that no one I knew spoke. The links were also heavily coded with pull-downs that confused me so that after an hour I still could not figure how to navigate the site. Okay, after looking at all that, and knowing that many of our brothers are not computer savvy, I was determined to make a site that was both comprehensive and easy to use. FIRST, I did not want to make the site hopelessly busy with background images. I purposely kept the backgrounds plain. Let us look at the header to the website. In bold letters we read, Father Michael C. Kidd K of C Council and under that in a smaller font, Knights of Columbus Council Mitchellville, Maryland. There would be no doubt as to where one had come. The header strip is taken from a very ancient carving of two Knights on a horse. The one is no doubt helping his brother in arms. The K of C symbol was added to the right side of the image. SECOND, I wanted a website that would have both the stability of fixed pages with basic information and the dynamism of posts with pictures and stories about recent activities. Below the header is the basic guide to the website. The guide links lighten slightly when the cursor travels over them. They are as follows: 1. HOME This is the front page to the website. Visitors are welcomed and told something about our new council. Currently there is a YouTube clip of our installation of officers. Next there is a biography of our namesake, Father Mike Kidd, who passed away a year ago. Then there are messages from the Grand Knight and Chaplain, followed by a few comments from visitors. 2. POSTS This is the section of the site that is probably the most frequently updated. Almost anything can be posted here and the webmaster and several brother Knights have jurisdiction to do so. Quite a few pictures illustrate the various activities of our council. Those without high speed internet may have to be patient with certain posts given the many pictures. However, as the technology is increasingly perfected, this should be less and less a problem. 3. MEMBERS/INSURANCE This page features a photo of our Membership Director, information about membership and how to join, a paragraph about the Fourth Degree, and a message from the Insurance Agent about Fraternal Benefits. He is a parishioner and is also pictured. This page also includes important link-icons: MEMBERSHIP PROGRAMS, ROSTER (requires a password) and MEMBERSHIP HANDBOOK. The Membership Director leaves regular (at least monthly) messages in the comments section at the end. 2 P a ge

3 4. COUNCIL This page introduces the activities of our council and shares a few words about the identity, purpose and mission of the Knights of Columbus. This page includes the following link-icons: COUNCIL ACTIVITIES, CURRENT OFFICERS, OFFICERS & DUTIES, SUGGESTIONS, STATE ACTIVITIES, REPORTS & INPUT, CHAPTER & ASSEMBLY & LADIES AUXILIARY. The Council Activity Director leaves regular (at least monthly) messages in the comments section of the REPORTS & INPUT page. 5. CHURCH This page elaborates upon the ways that the Knights of Columbus support the Church and our priests. This page includes the following link-icons: CHURCH ACTIVITIES, HOLY FAMILY CHURCH, VOCATIONS, SUGGESTIONS, STATE ACTIVITIES, REPORTS & INPUT, ARCHDIOCESE & SHRINE/USHERS. The Church Activity Director leaves regular (at least monthly) messages in the comments section of the REPORTS & INPUT page. 6. COMMUNITY This page focuses on how the Knights of Columbus respond to the needs of the world around us. This page includes the following link-icons: COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES, SHELTER MEAL MINISTRY, S.O.M.E., SUGGESTIONS, STATE ACTIVITIES, REPORTS & INPUT, PRO-LIFE, & FLAG & PATRIOTISM. The Community Activity Director leaves regular (at least monthly) messages in the comments section of the REPORTS & INPUT page. There are also additional link-icons: P.G. COUNTY POLICE, P.G. COUNTY FIRE/EMS, P.G. COUNTY SOCIAL SERVICES & CATHOLIC CHARITIES. 7. FAMILY This page lists how we support and make families stronger. This page includes the following link-icons: FAMILY ACTIVITIES, YOUTH ACTIVITIES, EVENT BULLETIN BOARD, SUGGESTIONS, STATE ACTIVITIES, REPORTS & INPUT, HOLY FAMILY CHURCH & LADIES AUXILIARY. The Family Activity Director leaves regular (at least monthly) messages in the comments section of the REPORTS & INPUT page. 8. YOUTH This page expresses our intention to help young people to fulfill their potential and to live out their Catholic faith and values. This page includes the following link-icons: YOUTH ACTIVITIES, HOLY FAMILY CHURCH, HOLY FAMILY YOUTH GROUP, SUGGESTIONS, STATE ACTIVITIES, REPORTS & INPUT, ARCHDIOCESE, & K of C YOUTH. The Youth Activity Director leaves regular (at least monthly) messages in the comments section of the REPORTS & INPUT page. 9. PRO-LIFE This page makes clear that the Knights of Columbus is unambiguously and proudly pro-life. Pictured is the parish memorial to unborn children gifted to the church by the Knights. This page includes the following link-icons: PRO-LIFE ACTIVITIES, REPORTS & INPUT, STATE ACTIVITIES, SUGGESTIONS, K of C PRO-LIFE CLEARING HOUSE, MD RIGHT TO LIFE, PRIESTS FOR LIFE & BOWIE PREGNANCY CENTER. The Pro-Life Chairman leaves regular (at least monthly) messages in the comments section of the REPORTS & INPUT page. 10. AUXILIARY This is a holding page for a projected Ladies Auxiliary. 3 P a ge

4 11. CALENDAR This page gives the month by month listing of events important to the Knights of Columbus and the local council. There is additional material in the side panel on the right. Given that this council is named after a beloved pastor, chaplain and faithful Friar, the first item is a small photograph of Father Kidd. Next we find a SEARCH option that will allow one to look up items on the site. Next there is a section called GOOD OF THE ORDER. Recognizing that all work and no play makes for dull boys, Dave Thomas (also pictured) is linked through his picture to a page with riddles, jokes, pictures and profound thoughts. Next there is a picture of a News Boy and a section called NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS. Following this link we find a page that includes the following: Our Yahoo Group and Group Address Links to Monthly Council Newsletters FACEBOOK Group Photographs (requires registration) Any NEWS ALERTS General Comments Next there is a monthly calendar of postings. Next there is a widget for K of C videos: including informative videos on the Knights, Father McGivney, a cartoon about Christopher Columbus, a pro-life message, and a Laurel and Hardy clip from Sons of the Desert (tell the wives this is an example of a K of C meeting and get slapped!). Next there is basic membership and contact information, the time and place for meetings, membership benefits, and information about the Fourth Degree. Next there are listings of RECENT POSTS and RECENT COMMENTS. Next there are prayers: MARY QUEEN OF THE KNIGHTS, FATHER MCGIVNEY PRAYER, and the PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS. Next we find the monthly archives, top posts, and administrative links. Next are links to the Archdiocese of Washington and to the Wordpress host. Next come links for the COUNCIL NEWSLETTERS, DISTRICT 6 WEBSITES, MD STATE KNIGHTS, MEMBERSHIP AWARDS, and to the SUPREME COUNCIL. Third, while I wanted the site to support the strong stands we take about morality and the right to life; I also wanted to avoid partisan politics. I recall a K of C council website a few years ago that 4 P a ge

5 featured a polemic against President Bush and material from a foreign Communist nation. I was shocked and insisted that the material be removed. Prior to the recent election, there was a splinter group called Knights for Obama. That went too far. Our men can vote for whom they please, but partisan politics should neither be brought into our council chambers nor to our newsletters and websites. I have made every effort to present our values and efforts without reference to partisan politics. Such references will not be posted to this website. Fourth, I wanted the site to be a useful tool for brother Knights. However, I also desired to make it attractive for those surfing the Internet and for Catholics wanting more information about our council and order. It is filled with information and pictures. I also wanted it to be a site where less active Knights might stay in the loop and find encouragement to become more involved. The website can become a very important element in recruitment. Although Father Kidd Council and its website are new, not yet a year old; our numbers are near seventy members, we will probably get double-star council this year, and the website is getting increasing numbers of daily hits. What I did not fully anticipate is that because of the cookies I activated on Wordpress.com, the site regularly comes up in GOOGLE searches. Indeed, it now seems to be getting as many hits as the State K of C site on the international search engine. This makes it all the more imperative that it shows the best face of the Knights of Columbus to others. Many days (and late nights) went into the creation of the site, and while I put it together, it is the fruit of all the men who are brother Knights at Father Kidd Council. This is not my first website. Years ago I created websites for St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Upper Marlboro, MD and for the parish-based Knights of Columbus council there. Later, I also established a website for St. Peter s Parish in Waldorf, MD and the Dr. John Griffin K of C Council website in Waldorf, MD. Although the Chaplain of the Council, I am proud to reckon myself as just another brother Knight who is doing his part to assist the new council. In the days ahead, this website will more and more pass into the hands of my brothers. I will always lend a hand, although I know full well that my chief responsibility is to admonish and act as a spiritual guide and healer of souls for the council and my parish. Father Joseph A. Jenkins frjoe2000@yahoo.com website fatherkidd@yahoo.com 5 P a ge