Our May 73rd Anniversary dinner was a terrific evening! We had a wonderful prime rib or chicken wellington dinner. The food was fantastic, as usual. Our caterer did another outstanding job. The members that helped put this event together created a beautifully decorated hall. Without each and every one of them, our events would not be as successful. We would like to thank each of the lodges and state officers that attended our anniversary: Anaheim Lodge, Dolly Sinatra Lodge, Joanne Coccia Lodge, La Costa Dei Fiori Lodge and Pugliese Lodge. The state officers that attended were: Western Foundation Trustee Joseph

On June 12th Sunday afternoon, Jimmy Maestretti did the most mouth watering Salmon dinner for us. He even went so far as to have tortellini with a light creamy pesto sauce, Caesar Salad and oven roasted veggies. We had 70 people that were overwhelmed with the quality of the dinner, me included. It was great to see Fred Schram in attendance. He just got over a bout with Covid and pneumonia and a stay in the hospital. Welcome back Fred... He looked great by the way.!

Hope everyone is well and thriving. This pandemic

Happy Summer! Our Lodge hopes you are getting together with your Lodges, fundraising, initiating new members, and socializing again. It’s been really wonderful seeing our members again and welcoming new ones. Our dinner meetings at the Elks Club in Reno have been a big success. So much more parking, room, and an incredible kitchen for our cooks.

Our “Non Festa Fundraiser” or also called “Fill the Boot” ended in January of 2021, but we continued it through May of this year. As we were not able to have our big Festa in 2020 or 2021, which is our big fundraiser, we started the Non Festa Fundraiser. As of the end of May, we collected $7,674. Our goal was

The Festa Itala was held in the main square of Pittsburg, California. The event reflected Italian culture through music, food and dance. Seen above are some of the volunteers from C. Colombo Lodge who worked at the Festa. Zelda LeFrak-Belleci, Christine Galindo, Sal Lucca, Janet Castillo and Ernie Dineli.

C. Colombo participated in the Festa Itala held on a recent June weekend in Pittsburg, Californian. Heading the committee hosting

Survival…
Like many Sons and Daughters of Italy lodges, Saddleback is struggling to retain and even gain members. To that end, we have been successful, and I thought I would give my opinions on why we are doing well. First of all, it is leadership. Our president and his council have been very effective in maintaining morale and loyalty through the pre-pandemic and pandemic period. Hank, especially, has encouraged ideas and has kept virtually all members of the lodge active by delegating the responsibility for activities, meeting programs and meals, and responding positively to member’s ideas. Secondly, we strive for monthly activities. There is so much to see and do around Orange County and beyond that our activities abound. We have done wine tasting, museum trips, outdoor picnics, outdoor movies, and train trips for example at affordable prices. As a result, we have a very cohesive group.

It is our plan to give the Grand Lodge