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April 23, 2020In July 2018, the Knights of Columbus Council #12108 of Saint Mark in Norman were inspired to bring the message of hope and encouragement to billboards and advertising benches in different cities across Oklahoma.
Pro-life billboards using two simple words, “Choose Life,” have gone up across Yukon, Oklahoma City, Del City, Norman and Edmond.
The idea for running pro-life billboards stemmed from Vic Munding, the Knights “Life Director” for Oklahoma. Munding said people seem to always be looking for signs.
“As human beings we’re looking for signs,” he said. “God put it on (my) heart we need to have a presence and a positive force out there.”
Munding and his late wife acted in faith and put up the first money for the initial billboards. Munding’s wife passed away unexpectedly two days before Christmas in 2018 and never got to see the billboard campaign come to fruition. Devastated by her passing, Munding’s fellow Knight, Dr. Ron Larchick, picked up the effort and ran with it.
“It was an amazing thing,” Munding says.
Partnering with Tyler Media, to-date the Knights have sponsored 12 electronic billboards and benches. The billboards go up in phases, allowing the Knights to collect the money for six months and pay for the billboards the next six.
Larchick, grand knight for Council #12108 and state trainer, says he has solicited comments from other Knights about what the campaign means to them.
“We’ve had a lot of good comments and compliments about what we’ve done,” Dr. Larchick said. “It has been fantastic.”
“We have an obligation as Catholic men to be the voice for the most vulnerable who need our protection against abortion,” said Steve Rose, state warden.
Pat Stang, member of Council #6478 in Yukon, said, “I believe the pro-life billboards are thought-provoking and let people know that Catholics have a firm stand on the ‘Choose Life’ issue.”
Larchick said the billboards remind people how precious life is while simultaneously putting the Knights on the forefront of the battle against abortion. The Knights would like to see their efforts continue, eventually expanding to Tulsa.
Currently, 15 councils in the state and several individuals, including non-Knights, fund the effort. To learn more about the pro-life billboard campaign, visit www.kofc12108.org.
Eliana Tedrow is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.
