2024 SUMMER PLENARY ~ ST. LOUIS

From August 9-10, the National Lodge held its Summer Plenary Session in St. Louis, MO, the heartland of America.  This article provides only a general overview of what transpired. The meetings were held at the Hyatt Regency at the Arch, within a stone’s throw of the beautiful Gateway Arch.  Members and guests from all over the United States attended the information-packed sessions and events that highlighted our Italian heritage and 119-year history.  Representing the Grand Lodge of California was State President Arlene M. Nunziati (Co-chair of the Supreme Cabinet) Past State and National President Vera Girolami and Judge Al (Chair of the National Bylaw Committee),  Past State President Lynn Lawrence-Murphy (Chair of the Charities Committee and Co-Chair Women’s Leadership Committee) with Past First Gent Bill, and Past State President and Sons of Italy Foundation Trustee Maria Fassio Pignati (Chair of the Douhet-Mitchell Air Power Award Sub-Committee).  National Trustee and Past State President Barbara Fumosa Wisniewski (Co-chair of the Honors and Awards Committee) was unable to attend.

After the Pledge of Allegiance and after I sang the anthems, the opening welcome was beautifully given in English and Italian by Frank Schiro, President of the Grand Lodge of IL/WI, followed by the spiritual opening prayer by our National Chaplain Father Adam Forno.

National President Michael G. Polo gave his report, where he mentioned that the National Lodge is fully staffed and doing well.  We are also advancing our important role in the Italian American Leadership Forum, of which he is the Inaugural Chair.  He also meets with his Vice Presidents, Presidents of the CSJ and SIF, and our Executive Director on a regular basis to keep a pulse on what is transpiring.  He is doing a very good job!

This report was followed by those of the Vice-Presidents, and then the Financial Reports which stated that we are doing well on our investments and are working hard to monitor income and expenses while keeping in line with the Budget.

As for the bylaw changes passed at our State Convention, they were approved by the Plenary Session.

The various committees gave their reports and updates on the projects that they are working on.  The FOTO (Future of Our Order) Committee, comprised of young members known as “Fratelli”, discussed their gains in social media engagement and their initiatives to improve the Order in certain areas.  Monica Domini-Brown of the Giuseppe Verdi Lodge of Sparks is the first FOTO member to become a lodge President.

The Charities Committee announced that they received $19,508 in charitable donations from Grand Lodges throughout the country for our approved charities.  The committee has created beautiful “Challenge Coins” that will be sold for $30 and whose profits will help our approved charities.  Past State President Lynn Lawrence-Murphy has brought these coins home for our Grand Lodge.

The Sons of Italy Foundation (SIF), whose President is Past National President Joseph Sciame, is doing well, as is our building in Washington, D.C., which is undergoing a lot of cleanup, landscaping, repairs and maintenance.   This year’s NELA awarded 16 scholarships, out of 271 applications,  to the highest ranked students of academic excellence.  Next year’s NELA will be on May 22 in Washington, D.C.

The Grand Lodge of New York, which has been the overseer of the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum on Staten Island since 1976, will not renew their lease in 2025.  We need to express our gratitude to the NYGL for their dedication and hard work maintaining this important historical building.  The Museum will now be supported by the National Lodge and donations from State lodges.  The building will be painted and repaired and brought up to date.

The Commission for Social Justice is still hard at work with President Robert Ferrito and his committee working to protect Christopher Columbus from the “cancel culture” that is trying to remove his statues and replace Columbus Day with Indigenous People’s Day.  The Native American Guardian’s Association stands with us in supporting our cause, and their concept is “Educate, not Eradicate”.  Definitely a phrase to remember and use in our correspondence with our elected officials.

Member Anthony Massa gave a wonderful presentation on re-branding our image with our beautiful new logo. We will capitalize on our strong points.  Family is the connector between everything, so our emphasis will be “Enter as Friends, Leave as Family”.

The Italian Relations and Culture Committee has created a compendium of 23 Italian holidays which will educate members about our culture and will share this valuable cultural content for your lodges online.  In addition, we are offering Italian classes at a discounted price for our members nationwide through Fondazione Italia of Los Angeles. More info is available on your online “Questo Mese”  More benefits for you to enjoy!

Important takeaways….We have a beautiful new logo that is ready to be shared…..It has been 10 years since we’ve had a National per capita increase, so to avoid this we will be offering a new fundraiser that will be an easy “fun-raiser”…..We have three lodges in Italy – two in Rome and one in Palermo with more to come……..Our iMembersdb online program is progressing and can be used for lodge communication and engagement…and very importantly, our membership has shown a 3.4% increase over 1/2023 and our attrition rate is slowing.  We are forming new lodges.

Following the close of the Plenary and before our final dinner, our National Chaplain Fr. Forno celebrated a beautiful mass for our members.   At our Saturday night dinner, we were unexpectedly treated to fireworks on the Mississippi River, and a terrifically funny “Name that Song” contest played on the piano by the talented Brian Andzik, National Trustee from Ohio,  that pitted table against table.  It was a great way to end our time in St. Louis!

We enjoyed seeing our brothers and sisters from afar,  had group lunches and dinners together, did some sightseeing, and even attended a baseball game the night before the opening session.  Despite the fact that our group of six had to spend an extra night in St. Louis because of airplane issues, we all had a wonderful time and represented our Grand Lodge with pride.