A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear members and friends:

I hope that you are enjoying the spring and the re-awakening of nature that comes with it. This glorious season is also bringing some other unmistakable signs of a slow return to life. Little by little, thanks to the increasing availability of anti-COVID vaccines, some rites of spring that were missing last year, such as March Madness and April opening days for baseball, have reappeared in 2021, though severely constrained by measures aimed to ensure public safety. We are by no means out of the woods yet, as new variants of the original COVID strain continue to cause spikes of sickness and death among Americans and others throughout the world. Nevertheless, things are so much better now than they were one year ago, thanks to the fastest development of vaccines in the history of medicine.

While it is still too early for the AMHS to begin scheduling the kind of in-person events that we long for, planning them is a conversation that we may be able to have later this year. In the meantime, our Program Committee continues to work on presenting exciting new events that will take place in the virtual format. Our first general meeting of 2021 took place online on February 21. The guest speaker was Michele Antonelli, a former information systems consultant turned writer. As discussed in the article on page four of this issue, Mr. Antonelli discussed his latest book in which he collected proverbs from all facets of life in the mountains of Abruzzo. He distilled their cultural and moral significance and noted how gradual changes have altered the lifestyle reflected in the proverbs. Born in L’Aquila, Abruzzo, and having worked in various countries around the world, the author is uniquely qualified to assess the values expressed in the proverbs and comment on the ways in which the rural societies have changed. If you wish to acquire a copy of Mr. Antonelli’s book for your personal library,.

By the time you read this message, the AMHS Scholarship Committee will have likely completed its review of scholarship candidates for the 2021-2022 academic year. Each year the AMHS awards scholarships to two outstanding students who have demonstrated academic excellence and a strong interest in the Italian language and Italian culture. The Scholarship Committee reviews the applications over the month of April and typically selects two winners by early May. The results will appear in the next edition of your Notiziario, so be sure to look for them there. You might recall that early last year the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) announced that Abruzzo would be its 2020 Region of Honor. Its plans to honor Abruzzo, however, like so many of our own plans, were postponed in the wake of the pandemic.

The postponement is due to end soon though, as NIAF is proceeding with its plans to honor the region and will likely have made a formal announcement by the time you read this message. This will be exciting for us, as this splendid region of Italy will get some time in the spotlight, time that, I think we can agree, it richly deserves. We will keep you informed of additional details as we learn of them. Please stay tuned for information on upcoming AMHS events. In the meantime, enjoy the weather and everything else that this delightful season offers us.

Best regards,

Ray LaVerghetta