When I was 21 years old, an odd thing happened to me. I was elected Grand Knight of an organization known as the Knights of Columbus, a Roman Catholic men's fraternal organization that has nearly 14,000 councils in some 19 countries throughout the world today.

What made it odd was the fact that I was only 21 and the average age of Bishop England Council 724 in Columbia, SC was over 70. Let's face it, my father, Michael A. Aun, Sr. had tons of friends and loads of political connections, so with his influence, I won by a landslide of two votes 81-79.

So here I was, wet behind the ears and full of "bliss" and vinegar (I'm trying to be polite here) and I have been elected to a presiding position in one of the oldest Knights of Columbus councils in the world.

We had a remarkable year in 1972-73. Not only did we stir the ire of the local protestant community by having Easter Sunrise Services celebrated from the steps of the State House in downtown Columbia, but we also raised thousands of dollars for charity and did countless good works in the community.

In Lexington, the Knights of Columbus sponsored the Punt, Pass and Kick Competition in conjunction with Ben Satcher Ford in Lexington. We had the largest competition in the state, thanks to the publicity of the Lexington Dispatch News, of which I was Sports Editor at the time.

Our most successful project was Christopher Towers, a 16-story high rise that the Knights of Columbus built in Columbia near Five Points. While the project started under my predecessors, it came to fruition during my tenure as Grand Knight, earning me an inordinate amount of credit for the highly successful endeavor.

Christopher Towers is affectionately named after the namesake of the Knights of Columbus, Christopher Columbus. The project was constructed under the federal government 203-B HUD program, which helped construct projects of this nature for ambulatory, moderate-income elderly. The 16-story building cost over $4 million at that time to build and is hailed as one of the most successful projects of its nature at the time.

The Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, Dr. John McDevitt, came down from New Haven, CT to christen the building and see what all the fuss was about in Columbia, SC. No council elects a 21-year old kid Grand Knight.

Dr. McDevitt was one of those northern liberals who had no use for the segregated south. He literally boycotted some 13 southern states that had invited him to address their state conventions that year because southeastern councils were still largely segregated. Our council was not and for that reason, Dr. McDevitt, after saying an emphatic "NO" to every state convention in the south, said "yes" to a speaking invitation at a June Ball & Awards Banquet for a small council in Columbia, SC.

I was a real estate broker at the time and was trying to etch out a living in a real estate market that featured 21% interest rates on mortgages. Dr. McDevitt asked me if I was interested in coming to work for the Knights of Columbus and my answer was not only no, but hell no. I was not about to move to New Haven, CT. With my redneck accent, I would fit in like a mosquito in a nudist colony. I might like it, but those present would not.

"I don't want you to move to New Haven," said the Supreme Knight. "I want you to sell our insurance to members of the Knights of Columbus right here in South Carolina." After three years of saying no to him, I finally became a Field Agent with the Knights of Columbus in November of 1974. At the time, the Order had $3 billion of life insurance in force. Today, some 32 years later, they boast of over $60 billion in force. Today, over $5 billion per year is written by a field force of some 1,250 field agents, almost double the total amount of insurance in force since its founding in 1882 through 1974 when I came on board.

Today, I am a General Agent with the Knights of Columbus in Central Florida. We have some 18 offices here and we service over 35,000 policyholders all over mid Florida.

I have written five books in my lifetime, shared the platform with two Presidents, won a World Championship of Public Speaking for Toastmasters and have been named to the Speakers Hall of Fame for both Toastmasters and the National Speakers Association. I even met and had a private audience with Pope John Paul II. Despite all the good things that have happened in my life, I am most proud of helping widows and orphans survive the loss of the family breadwinner.

Isn't it funny how fleeting fame is?