A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
The year 2015 will soon be coming to a close. I imagine, like most of you, that we are asking ourselves “where has the year gone!” As the year as your President comes to a close, I want to thank the members of the Executive Committee who worked so hard this year to bring some extraordinary events to our membership: informative and quality programs presented at our general Society meetings; special events (Carnevale); the 15th Anniversary Celebration; the Ferragosto picnic; and recognition of last year’s AMHS/NIAF scholarships, Christina McGrath and Sophia Labas.
We have also greatly expanded our social outreach via our Facebook page and through a growing relationship with the Passatempo Meetup group. We also expended a great deal of time and energy to enhance and modernize the AMHS website, whereby members and friends can register for events on-line; join or renew their membership on-line; and soon, we will have a merchandise store (website visitors can conduct secure transactions on the new site). The Society dedicates its new website to Romeo Sabatini, who worked tirelessly for over 10 years developing and maintaining our original site; and to Ryan A. Turner who, in honor of his grandmother Rosemarie Antonelli Turner (whose father Frank emigrated from Abruzzo), gifted the Society with funds to develop this new site.
The Society is grateful for Romeo’s time and Ryan’s generosity which bridges the past with the future for the benefit of all AMHS members and friends. Please be sure to check out the new website, www.abruzzomoliseheritagesociety.org Of course, our year would not be complete without our ever popular porchetta lunch and wine-tasting event, which will be held on Sunday, November 15 in Casa Italiana. Once again AMHS member Joe Novello will prepare his succulent porchetta, and many of our local wine makers will bring their product for all to enjoy. We also will hold elections for officers and three members of the Board, whose terms of office expire on December 31, 2015.
Please be sure to read the report from the Nominating Committee, with information on the candidates, on page 3. In closing, I wish to acknowledge the will of the members who voted, at the September 27 general Society meeting, to officially affiliate AMHS with The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) as a member of the Foundation’s Italian American Leadership Council (IALC). The IALC was unveiled in 2014, and it is NIAF’s newest and most engaging way to participate, not only in the leadership of NIAF but in NIAF’s leadership of the greater Italian American community.
At the end of the day, what this truly means for AMHS is that we enhance and elevate our voice within the Italian American community, not only here, in the Washington, DC area, but throughout the United States. I and several other members and officers were gratified to understand and recognize the benefits of this affiliation through our participation in events during NIAF’s 40th Anniversary Gala weekend in Washington, DC, October 15- 18. We met many NIAF Board Members who were very gratified to “have us on board”, so to speak, to leverage our common purpose to be the voice of our community and to share our common culture, values, and history. I hope you will read more about what our affiliation with NIAF means for each of you, as members, in the following article. I also wish to thank all of you for your continued support.
I encourage you to get involved more closely with the Executive Committee. For example, we have several standing committees that could use some extra hands, specifically the Hospitality, Social, Travel, and Fundraising committees. (See article related to the Hospitality Committee on page 5). We could use your help! The work of these committees should not be left solely to the members of the Executive Committee. I look forward to seeing you on November 15.
Cordiali saluti,
Maria D’Andrea