The Joanne Coccia Lodge #2553 Foundation is proud to announce the names of eight deserving students, the recipients of our 2020 scholarship awards in the amount of $16,000.

The Veta M. Finazzo Memorial: $2,000 awarded to Tyler Abbruzzese. Tyler, a graduate of Rancho Cucamonga High School in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, achieved a 3.3 grade point average. He also participated in water polo. Tyler is a sophomore at Northern Arizona State. His studies are in political science, (major) criminal justice, sociology, psychology (minor) business with an interest in communications. Tyler’s goal is to earn a degree in political science and become a private practice attorney. With his determination and resolve, he can achieve his goal. Tyler is the son of Robert and Eva Abbruzzese the grandchild of Bob and Mary Abruzzese who are members of our lodge.

The Joseph Finazzo Memorial: $2,000 awarded to Ethan Abbruzzese. Ethan, a graduate of Rancho Cucamonga High School in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, maintained a 4.0 grade point average. His activities included water polo, swim team and as a member of the Heroes Club. The Heroes Club supports the military,

Greetings from Petaluma!

Well another month has gone by and we are still in this terrible pandema. It seems like there is no end in sight, so we must continue to be viligant in our handwashing, wearing our masks and keeping social distance.

So many of us in the Lodge are people who live alone and this staying in our homes by ourselves is wearing us out physically and emotionally. Thank God I haven’t heard of any of our members who have gotten the virus and I hope it

Once again it’s been a while since we published an article in the Il Leone. Our last meeting was in February. We so miss our meetings and miss seeing our members. It has been difficult to say the least wondering how everyone is and not being able to socialize with them. We are sure you all are having the same issues with your lodges. We have continued to publish our monthly newsletter so our members can keep in touch, feel somewhat connected, and know what is going on in the lodge. We also have wonderful people who are calling members to keep in touch and check on them.

January was our “Get Healthy” meeting where we learned about our brain and pain from Dr. Pam Netuschil. She also talked about and showed us the Egoscue Method for staying whole body healthy. It was an interesting and informative presentation. One of our youth, Ella Ricci, spoke about the history of “knuckles” aka gnocchi. The rest of the youth presented other Italian themed foods. We are lucky to have so many children at our meetings. They are learning about their heritage and some great recipes!!

In February, our member, Saline Pechetti, presented Savoys in Torino,

Roma Lodge has not met since its February meeting and has canceled future monthly meetings for the foreseeable future. The lodge is in the center of Tulare County which is on the governor’s watch list and may remained shut down for some time to come. During this time, we have had to cancel our 90th anniversary celebration, recognition of our scholarship winners, annual ravioli dinner fundraiser and junior member night just to name a few.

If the pandemic continues until a vaccine is developed, it may be well into next year before local lodges can meet and become active again. I understand what local lodge presidents are being faced with in deciding whether to try to meet or wait until society gets back to the “new” normal. As presidents we face the risk of losing members in January when the 2021 dues are being collected.

Roma Lodge dues are $75 for members of which only $.25 cents goes to the local lodge. In part, we encourage our members to look at their return on investment by being Roma Lodge members.

Roma Lodge has nearly 60 junior members 18 years of age or younger. Junior members are the lifeblood of any local lodge and represent the future of the organization. As a child I remember not being allowed into lodge meetings as ritual and protocol mandated no children be allowed in the meeting during the business session. Those days are long gone, and it is a good thing. How can we expect our younger members to become involved in lodge activities and take on leadership roles if they have never experienced what local lodges do?

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic is having the same affect on our children and grandchildren. Roma Lodge annually has a special night in August just for junior members. A special meal of hamburgers, hotdogs, crinkle fries, chicken strips and popsicles make for a fun night. A special raffle is held just for juniors as they get their choice of many back-to-school items they can choose from. They assume the officer chairs and run the meeting.