A Message from the President – A Look Back and Ahead
Dear members and friends:
I am gratified to have this first opportunity to address you as your new AMHS President.
As we all know, Maria D’Andrea-Yothers did an outstanding job before me, leaving us an organization that has a robust membership, a healthy financial status, and a consistent record of delivering interesting and stimulating programs. Following in her footsteps will be a challenge. Fortunately, Maria will still be around and very much involved in our Society, so I will be able to avail myself of her guidance and advice.
Rest assured then that her experience and leadership will remain an invaluable asset of the Society. I write this note in the waning days of 2017, so the time is appropriate for both a look back and a look forward. Looking back, we have enjoyed a series of superb speakers for our General Society meetings: First Counselor at the Italian Embassy Catherine Flumiani, author Ceil Lucas, author and chef Domenica Marchetti, author and actress Katherine Wilson, and medical researcher (and AMHS’s own) Lynn Sorbara. The presentations were all of high quality, a testament to the dedication and high standards of the AMHS Program Committee.
At the first general Society meeting of 2017, the two winners of the NIAF/AMHS scholarship for the 2016-2017 academic year, Salvatore Pitino and Nicholas Rao, addressed the membership and talked about the importance of their Italian heritage and the role of the scholarship in furthering their studies. In May, the Scholarship Committee selected two new winners for the 2017-2018 academic year: Benjamin Abeles (Cornell University) and Gianluca Nigro (George Washington University). We can expect to meet them in person (perhaps individually) at one of our General Society meetings in 2018.
In December, members of the AMHS, along with the Italian Embassy and other community organizations, attended a Mass and reception commemorating the 110th anniversary of the Monongah mining disaster, in which hundreds of immigrant workers, including many Italians from Molise, lost their lives. Lastly, as the year ends, we pause to recall the passing of Pino Cicala (in April), and Mike Savino (in December), as well as all other AMHS members or friends we may have lost in 2017. Looking forward, the Program Committee has prepared another excellent lineup of speakers and presentations for 2018. Stay tuned for the announcements. As I noted above, the Society’s membership going forward remains strong, as do its finances.
The officers serving the Society in the new year are, in addition to me, Nancy DeSanti (First Vice President); Lynn Sorbara (Second Vice President); Carmine Spellane (Secretary); and Peter Bell (Treasurer). New members of the Board are Rico Allegrino and Joann and Joe Novello (welcome back!). The AMHS truly appreciates their willingness to volunteer their time and energies, and we should all realize that the Society cannot function without contributions such as theirs. Outgoing Board members Ennio DiTullio and Jim Mustachio (in addition to me) deserve our thanks for their work.
Still looking forward, it is important to remind our membership that the period for submitting an application for one of the two joint NIAF/AMHS scholarships opened on December 1st 2017 and will close on March 1st of 2018. If you have a child, grandchild, niece, nephew, or family friend who might benefit from the scholarship, be sure to have them check out the AMHS website for additional information (http://www.abruzzomoliseheritagesociety.org/
scholarships/ho w-to-apply/), including the Society’s criteria for eligibility. The website now reflects the current criteria (Thank you, Jonathan Stern!). By the time that you read these words, the New Year will have already started. It will not be too late, however, to wish everyone a healthy and happy new year, enlivened by an active participation in the cultural events of your Society, starting with our first General Society Meeting of the year on January 28th. The speaker will be Sara Gay Forden, author and financial reporter, who will talk on the “House of Gucci”. It should be interesting.
Best regards,
Ray LaVerghetta