4TH DEGREE TO BE A PATRIOT AWARD

Flying the flag, singing the national anthem, taking an active interest in the history and destiny of one's country. These are some of the ways we show love and respect for our country. There are others, though, and that's what the Fourth Degree awards program, TO BE A PATRIOT is about.

Since the turn of the century, members of the Fourth Degree of the Knights of Columbus, ''the patriotic degree,'' have combined their Catholic heritage with their love of country and sponsored and participated in a variety of interesting patriotic programs and activities. TO BE A PATRIOT has been established to recognize these programs.

COMPETITION Competition to determine the best patriotic programs during a given fraternal year will be held on the district and provincial levels of the Fourth Degree. To enter the competition, each assembly must submit a report on their single best patriotic activity on form #TBP-2 to THE MASTER.

The master will then judge the entries and select the top activity in his district. The district winners will then be submitted to the vice supreme master. After selecting a top winner in his province, each vice supreme master should submit the entry form to the supreme master. Every entry will then be reviewed by a committee appointed by the supreme knight and supreme master. Winners will be announced yearly in October. Once a program has been recognized as a winner at the international level, it can not be entered in future competitions.

DEADLINES:
ASSEMBLIES -Original entries must be submitted TO THE MASTER by April 30.
MASTERS - Select top entry from district and submit to vice supreme master by May 15.
VICE SUPREME MASTERS - Select top entry from province and submit to supreme master by May 31. Any entries after May 31 will not be eligible.

GUIDELINES Listed below are some suggested guidelines for masters and vice supreme masters to use when selecting the top activity in the TO BE A PATRIOT program.

1. The award is based upon a single patriotic project or activity conducted by an assembly during the fraternal year.
2. BASIS FOR JUDGING
   1. Does the program truly exemplify the virtue of patriotism?
   2. How many members participated in the program? What percentage of the entire membership participated?
   3. What were the benefits of the program? How did the results affect the community at large?
   4. How original was the program?
   5. How was the program publicized and how effective was the publicity?

To Be A Patriot Form