Catholic Man Of The Year Award (St. Louis)
The Catholic Man of the Year 2024 was held for the Archdiocese of St. Louis, MO, on June 9, 2024.
Congratulations to our two winners!
Michael Heck
The brief summary of Michael’s service could not begin to describe the many ways he so generously uses his faith and leadership skills for his Church and Community. In addition to his work as chair of the Annual Catholic Appeal and its many aspects, Michael serves as advisor to the Legatus Chapter, the Western Province of the Vincentians and the Roman Catholic Foundation of Eastern Missouri, to name a few. Although his service has been acknowledged through National and International awards of recognition, Michael can still be found praying in front of Planned Parenthood locations, advising and supporting the FOCUS Missionaries, initiating and helping the elderly and needy in his parish with home repairs and yard work, serving meals to the homeless and Rosary leader for the staff and clients at the St. Patrick Center Chapel. When asked to support those in need, Michael and his wife, Phyllis are known as “sacrificial givers” since they automatically give up certain things to make their gift possible. Living the faith with their children and grandchildren, they built a simple grotto and put up stations of the cross in their backyard where the children play and all can be inspired. Formed by a strong family of faith in a foundation of consistent prayer and service, Michael recalls the words of his father, on an occasion when he complained about something, always saying, “Quit your whining and think about somebody else!” An advice which still forms him today.
Robert Nuelle (Rest in Peace)
Through his many activities and presence in his Parish, Bob has become well known because of his continuing service to his Church and community, even at 96 years of age. Having a background of playing baseball in the minor leagues with Hall-of-Famer, Ted Williams, influenced his great desire to help children in sports. This led him to volunteer running many of the sports activities for St. Mary’s Special School for Children where he made it possible for them to learn about different sports and even play in the Special Olympics. He has been a volunteer for Friends of Kids with Cancer and has Co-Chaired a fundraising golf tournament for them for the past 21 years, contributing over 4 million dollars for their mission. Bob provides a calming influence to those in need as noted in his work at his parish sponsored St. Nicholas Food Pantry down in the city. He has also been a Knight of Columbus for over 30 years and meets regularly with a Lectio Divina group after the 6:30 am Mass in addition to participating with the Men’s Awakening Video series group at 6 am on Saturdays. A loving husband with great kids, his faith-filled life was one always concerned about others. When nominated to participate in this Catholic Man of the Year event, Bob accepted the task of completing the paperwork involved. Two days after submitting it he suddenly passed away. So, we pray, “Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let Your perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. We extend our sincerest sympathy to his wife, Peggy, his sons, Robert and Mark, and his entire family. We are most grateful to have the wonderful example of Bob’s life of faith and service for our inspiration.
The 2025 Catholic Man of the Year Award Dinner will be held on TBD. Nominations will be available TBD.
