A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Cari amici
I wish to express the Society’s condolences to the families of long-time members Nick Ferrante and Pino Cicala. Within the course of one month, we have lost two great friends. May their families find comfort and peace in the wonderful legacies left by both men. You can read more about the lives of these two “amici” in Siamo una Famiglia. We are most grateful to Carmine James Spellane for volunteering to serve on the AMHS Executive Committee as Secretary. We look forward to working with him throughout the year. As I mentioned in my March message, this is a critical year for the Society with elections for five officers and three members of the Board, whose terms expire at the end of this year. I will soon appoint members to serve on the Nominating Committee, to find suitable candidates who are “ready, willing, and able” to volunteer their time in the service of the Society. I also wish to thank long-time member Elisa DiClemente, who has stepped up in a great capacity to help with domestic hospitality. When you see Carmine and Elisa, please be sure to thank them both. We have a very exciting program scheduled for May 21, when we will hear from one of our own, Domenica Marchetti, a well-published cookbook author and food blogger who has roots from both Abruzzo and Molise. Domenica will take us on a virtual tour of Abruzzo and Italian culinary traditions. We will enjoy a family-style meal at Carmine’s Restaurant; due to the size of the private dining room, space is limited to 82 paid reservations. So make sure to read about the program on the following article of the newsletter, and make your reservations online, via the Society’s website, or using the flyer on page 15. This should be a very informative, entertaining, and interactive conversation. The Executive Committee is also working on a couple of events we plan to host and/or co-host in June: a fundraiser dinner for the region of Abruzzo, and a celebration of Festa della Repubblica in Northern Virginia. We will share information about these events once the dates and location are finalized. I hope you enjoy this issue of the AMHS Notiziario – we always welcome contributions from our members! I look forward to seeing you at the May 21 meeting and, as always, thank you for your continued support.
Cordiali saluti,
Maria