This month has been exceptionally difficult for me as your President. The First Gent has been undergoing treatments for his illness. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. We need them more than ever.

I want to thank my Vice Presidents, Pauline Richmond, and Louie Lodi for stepping up during this time. They have been strong for me and taken over some of my responsibilities.

Lori Rossi and Lynn Lawrence Murphy have been instrumental in keeping business as close to usual as possible during this

 I hope all of our Lodge Officers were able to meet with their Council to set schedules for 2023. Knowing where we are going makes things easier. When a bump in the road occurs, it is easy to work around it when you have a plan.

All Financial Secretaries, please be sure to check and update the information in the Il Leone. That is the information used by our members to reach out to you. Be sure to check the meeting information and update to Debbie Ure @ debbie@sandgraphics.com and Andy

With the holidays past, we have had more time to work on the business of the Grand Lodge. The Council will be looking for a new Office Manager as of February first. We will be looking for a qualified member or someone outside of the Order, if necessary.

Several of the Council members assisted in the move to our temporary office. I would like to thank them publicly for their time and energy. Third Vice President, Louie Lodi spent a lot of time packing, loading items in San Francisco, and taking items to the new temporary office in Sacramento. Recording Secretary, Lori Rossi, spent a lot of time sorting items in San Francisco and then placing them in the new temporary location. Financial Secretary, David Lavazzari spent time sorting through many boxes of financial papers, making sure

This month has been very active for our Local Lodges. With this being an election year, they have been recruiting new officers to take on new responsibilities. As members of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America, it is important for each of us to give a little time and energy to our Lodges. We are always in need of innovative ideas and new energy to keep our Lodges going in a growing direction. We can not afford to become stagnant. For those of us that are not able to take on an office, we must support our Officers in any way we can. Congratulations to all our new and returning Officers.

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the Saddleback Valley Lodge meeting to install new members. My apologies to President Hank Lowinger and the members of that Lodge. My First Gent, Ken, is down with a bad back. Hopefully, by the time you read this he will be back to his old self again. I’m afraid

This past month has been a whirlwind of activity. Ken and I were in Chico with the Vincenzo Bellini Lodge for the Western Foundation’s Golf Outing. I declined to participate in the Frozen Meatball contest. I just figured it would be better to go out a winner than to miss and lose! As you all know, I don’t golf so it would have been a definite miss! Instead I became the Tequila girl and was driven around by President, Tony George, to visit each group of golfers. I had never ridden in a golf cart to it was a great experience. Unfortunately, Tony had never driven a golf cart so there were some precarious moments! Thanks for the fun Tony!

I have not yet received a report of how much