To All OSDIA Members,
Half the year has passed, and Convention time is upon us. I know Ervin Siax has been working very diligently along with Lynn Lawrence Murphy, Lori Rossi and of course our State President Barb Wisniewski. Our office manager, Ervin is the silent hero within all this preparation of our Annual Convention. He spends all week at the Grand Lodge attending to concerns and handling phone calls. I would like to give a big shout out to Ervin along with a Hug. Thank You for all that you do at the Grand Lodge.

April and May have been Bocce Months. Gold Country Lodge #2705 had their Pasta Bowl Bocce Tournament, and everyone enjoyed the three F’s: Fun, Food and Fraternity. Sacramento Lodge #1352 also had their Big Bocce Tournament. It was a great success with a grand total of about $1,700 towards their charities. Speaking about Bocce, I would love the Lodges in the North to come to me at Convention and let me know if there is any interest

     My dear Sisters and Brothers I hope you are taking advantage of our Sons and Daughters of Italy News Channel on YouTube. Just go on YouTube anytime and search Sons and Daughters of Italy to see the latest topics and happenings going on across the Country. There is so much valuable information such as numerous programs with well-known people of Italian American heritage. The Cooley’s Anemia Foundation features impressive work they are doing and some of the breakthroughs they have developed. A must see is “I’m an Italian American” by Angelo Bianchi. If this doesn’t make

To My Sisters & Brothers of OSDIA

Good morning! I got up early at 4:00 AM to start this April article because I am ecstatic about our Grand Council Meeting held in March. For all of those “Soothsayers” who say the Grand Council does not do much but spend the membership’s money, I learned firsthand that is a misconception. Trust me we spent over 13 hours going over books and trying to think of ways we could assist all the Lodges in California to

The Sleeping Lion is about to roar again! When communicating with the Lodges in the North, I have found that they are starting to do more activities. Many Lodges have already been meeting since the beginning of 2022. In the past two years we participated in Zoom calls and raised money with Drive-Thru Spaghetti dinners and other activities. All the Lodges in the North have done an excellent job of keeping in touch with their members and being positive during these times. The Lodges are anxious to get together and start socializing once again.

In February, the Shasta Lodge had an unbelievable Crab Feed. On Friday night they had four hundred people and then on Saturday

To My Sisters & Brothers of OSDIA

I would like to start out with a big Congratulations to Tony George, new President of the Vincenzo Bellini Lodge in Chico, and his officers. Mike Smith has done a tremendous job and now has passed the gavel to Tony. I know he will continue the superb work the Vincenzo Bellini Lodge has done throughout the years. I would also like to congratulate Mark Rossi and Yvonne Vanoni for becoming State Deputies. Mark is the State Deputy for the Napa Lodge. Yvonne is the State Deputy for the Vincenzo Bellini Lodge. They both will be great assets to the lodges and will help in any way they can.

Sending best wishes for a speedy recovery to Bill Murphy. Donna Lee Costa has stepped in to be President of the Napa Lodge for now. Thank you, Donna Lee! I hope that our “Bocce Monthly Fun Fest”