Vincent DeVargas was recently named 2015 Knight of the Year by St. Joseph’s Knights of Columbus Countil 7057. DeVargas is a faithful member of St. Joseph Father Werner Council and daily lives out the Knights of Columbus tenets of unity, charity, fraternity and patriotism. He serves the community, church and his family with energy, dedication and passion, and gives generously of his time and talents. We are all proud of him and the Knights of Columbus are blessed to have had him as a member for eight years.
DeVargas regularly attends meetings and offers good and workable suggestions to projects and challenges the council has. He works at the KC Breakfast serving coffee to those needing refills, always with a smile and his unique sense of humor. In the church, he has been a lector for several years.
A college graduate, DeVargas started out as a teacher and then moved into the insurance industry where he continued to teach and train. He has a zest for learning and sharing that with others.
Joining the Knights of Columbus in 2007 he was selected to be Grand Knight his second year of membership, an office he held for two years. In this position he reached out to young and old, becoming a mentor to many.
DeVargas was on the Parent Guild of his children’s grade school and held the position of president during that time. In addition he worked with the Boy Scouts Troop assisting with the young boys in the program. He and his wife Diane were a team couple for WorldWide Marriage Encounter sharing themselves with couples desiring to enrich their relationship and Sacrament of Matrimony. In California, DeVargas served as the chair of the Parish Family Life Committee for seven years..
As a young man, he participated in the walk from Delano, Calif. to Sacramento led by Cesar Chavez in support of immigrant farm workers. In his insurance days, he worked to provide insurance to the immigrant workers and their families. DeVargas also worked with the Hispanic community in California through state advocacy programs receiving a Certificate of Recognition from Orange County Board of Supervisors for his dedication to the Latino Community.
DeVargas’ strength in analysis, problem solving and mediation led him to the political arena where he worked for years for better laws and protection of citizens. He served as president of the Orange County State Insurance Association and made annual trips to Washington, D.C. in that capacity for more than 10 years. He worked with the governor of California and served as a delegate to the political convention for the Republican Party. Vince served on the Board of Supervisors of Orange County on the Economic Development Strategy as vice chairman and later was appointed to the Orange County Human Relations Commission where he served for six years as a commissioner with one of his last years as vice chair. DeVargas’ experiences in the community led him to serve five years on the Diocesan Peace and Justice Task Force, which was responsible for creating programs for housing, immigration voting, parish social ministry and local government budgets. During his time on the task force a program on immigration reforms was researched and written and presented to the Bishop and priests of the Diocese of Orange. The report was well received by all and introduced to them the problems facing the immigrants and our country.
DeVargas met a young woman, a victim of an attempted murder who had started an organization called Crime Survivors, which advocated for assistance for victims of crimes. He was president of this organization for three of the eight years he was involved and worked diligently for laws to offer victims fairness, compassion and dignity while maintaining their primary focus of bringing criminals to justice.
DeVargas is a good friend also. He became a fill-in caregiver for his friend who was legally blind taking him to the Braille Institute and other places during the day giving respite to his friend’s wife. On the walls of DeVargas’ study are pictures of him with national statesmen including Henry Kissinger. His friend Gaddhi Vasquez was appointed to head the Peace Corps under President George W. Bush and told DeVargas his greatest honor of his appointment was his ability to do “good;” DeVargas has done that regularly during his life.
DeVargas is an ordinary man with a heart of compassion for his fellow man and a great love of God. He has been a faithful, loving husband and a great father to his four sons and loves to teach his grandchildren as he did his children. It’s important for DeVargas to be an active member of his church. He began lecturing in California and continues that in the Church of St. Joseph. He loves the bible and has studied it since childhood.
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The Mark and Lisa Hilsgen family, along with daughters Amber and Allie, were recently named 2015 Family of the Year by the St. Joseph Knights of Columbus Father Werner Council. The family exemplifies the value of responsible Christian living through service to the church and community, and is respected by many. They generously serve each other and others with love that extends out to their church and the greater community. Mark has been a member of the Father Werner Council for two years.
Mark and Lisa and their children have worked tirelessly in the church and community helping out where they were needed without reservation. They all work at the 4th of July working in stand with pep and vigor and setting up the stands. Lisa, Amber and Allie help with the parish’s religious education program and the whole family helps at the summer Vacation Bible School. Amber and Allie are in Girl Scouts and Lisa and Mark help with troop events.
In the community, where they are well known for their openness to helping give assistance when they are able. The girls help the funeral committee of the Parish set up for funeral meals and were part of the assistants at Bishop Kettlers’ installation. Mark is the assistant coach for the girls fast-pitch softball team and we can be assured Lisa is cheering the team to victory.
In the council, the family helps with energy at the Knights of Columbus breakfasts and the Knights of Columbus burger sales.
Since Mark and Lisa have been married, they have dedicated themselves to assisting others in the community if they had the ability and most often they did. After their girls were born, identical twins weighing only 2 pounds when born, they have included them in everything we do. Mark said the birth and recovery of the girls was a true miracle. A few years ago, Mark had a heart attack in church and several people thankfully came to the rescue and helped Mark on his way to recovery. Mark stated: “the church has helped us through several tough times so it’s natural for us to help at the church when we can.”
Mark and Lisa, Amber and Allie deserve this distinction because of their selfless service to others. This honor is bestowed on them because of the manner they support the church, the Knights of Columbus and the community showing others the value of generous stewardship of time, talent and treasure. They demonstrate in many ways how the Catholic church, through its people, serves others in need. We as a council applaud their strong and unwavering support of Catholic values.