A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
It is hard to believe that the summer will soon be upon us. The Society has had a very productive year so far, putting together three very well-received general Society meetings, a one-day bus trip to Wilmington, DE for the St. Anthony Festival and, of course, the June 28 15th anniversary celebration. We also have a group of dedicated individuals who have been working to redesign the Society’s website, to make it more current, a little more “flashy”, and more user-friendly for everyone who comes looking for us! So needless to say, the Executive Committee and a core group of dedicated volunteers have been busy.
I have to say that I was incredibly pleased that we were finally able to have a one-day bus trip. The travel committee has tried for several years to put together trips of interest to our members and friends, but the last few years we have not met with success. But this year, we were determined to succeed in planning and executing a one-day bus trip to Wilmington, DE for the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua (The St. Anthony Festival) which, this year, honored the region of Abruzzo! A group of 28 members and friends had a wonderful day together. Please be sure to read about this trip on page 4 of this issue.
We hope that you will be interested enough in the success of this trip, that you will want the travel committee to pursue other trips in the future. And of course, anyone interested in working with the Executive Committee to plan a trip – or if you have suggestions – please let us know. As we go to print, we will have just held the 15th anniversary celebration for the Society. I have every expectation that this will be a superb event, with many members able to attend; representation from the Embassy of Italy, the Italian Cultural Society, the Lucchesi nel Mondo-Tuscany Club, and the National Italian American Foundation; and four of our past scholarship recipients. So please look for a “special edition” of the Society’s newsletter, which will report on this event.
This year is a very important one for the Society, in that December 31, 2015 marks the end of the terms of service for the five officers (President, two Vice Presidents, Secretary, and Treasurer) and three members of the Board. I have already appointed three members to serve on the Nominating Committee: Dr. Lynn Sorbara, Ennio DiTullio, and Lucio D’Andrea. I am so very pleased that all three agreed to serve, with Lucio as Chair.
If you are approached by the three to serve as an officer or member of the Board, I hope that you will keep an open mind and recognize the positive contributions you can make to the effective operation of the Society. If you don’t want to serve as an officer or member of the Board, do consider helping with one of our standing committees – there are several that could use help, specifically the Hospitality, Travel, and Social committees. We are always open to help, and to new and fresh ideas. You can find contact information for the chairs of these committees on our website, www.abruzzomoliseheritagesociety.com. I wish you a joyous and adventure-filled summer, and I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events.
Cordiali saluti,
Maria