A Message from the President

Dear members and friends:

After a bone chilling winter, I wish everyone a happy spring! 

The AMHS itself is coming out of its hibernation. Here in March we have just had our January event after having it rescheduled twice because of weather. 

We heard from Dr. Jennifer Primeggia. The talk was very informative and very well received. Our members learned a great deal and had many great questions. 

We have a lot of engaging events coming up this year. At the March event, I highlighted that we are doing a card game on April 11th at 1:00 p.m. at the Salazar. This is a joint event we are doing with a professionals group called Europeans in DC. It is part of a broader desire that I have for our society to help promote an invigorate Italian culture throughout the region. 

We will also be teaching Italian cards in Virginia. Where we will be doing a joint event with the Italian Society of St. Mary of Sorrows on Friday, June 26th.

We are partnering with Comites and Italians in DC for both of these events. We are looking for new ways to partner with other groups. We are working with Ciao DC for the upcoming Aril 19th author talk from Anthony DeSantis on The Stowaway in First Class.

We are also looking to revive the dormant Italian film series, create a young Italian mixer, and partner with a running association to have an Italian-themed fun run. We are also looking to get back to our happy hours and to revitalize our online programming.  We have shared online events from Maremma Sheepdog Club of America and the Smithsonian. And are looking to bring back our own online film discussion series this summer. 

The society is also active in helping to promote L'Aquila during this year. The town has been named the European capital of culture. And as such we are working to bring author Angelo De Nicola over for a presentation on his book “THE FIRST JUBILEE IN HISTORY.” We have written documentation in support of a grant for him to travel to the United States. And we have also submitted documentation in support of a documentary film currently being made in Italy highlighting the culture of Molise. 

With these initiatives we hope to build more connections to our regions in Italy. It has been a goal of mine to make sure that we do at least one in person and one virtual event each year that is explicitly about one or both of our regions. I think this is a vital part of the society and its mission. 

On the whole, there are lots of things to be excited about in the society and there are lots of ways for people to get involved. If anyone is interested in helping with any of these initiatives or anything else, please let me know. Contact me at president@abruzzomoliseheritagesociety.org.

And hopefully for the last time I will mention technology. Please make sure you read your emails and reach out if you have any trouble renewing your membership. We are switching between platforms and it is a different process than in the past. Once you are enrolled, it will be smooth sailing and a massive upgrade. But it will be a bit different than how it was done in the past. If you have any questions you can contact me or Vice President Rico Allegrino at president@abruzzomoliseheritagesociety.org or membership@abruzzomoliseheritagesociety.org.

Sincerely,

Best regards,

Chris Renneker 

Spring 2026