One month into the New Year, 2021 and we are slowly getting thru this pandemic; at least we are seeing a dim light at the end of the tunnel. Vaccine distribution is on its way, even though slow we are getting close. Keep the positive thoughts there. Just imagine what the people of 1918 were thinking compared to what we have to day. STAY POSITIVE!!

It is nice to hear Lodges are still trying to stay in touch with their members. The drive thru dinners many lodges are doing seem to be successful and even though we do not see that smiling face thru that mask, I am sure it is under there. Many lodges are using Zoom for their get together

I want to congratulate our Lodge Presidents who are setting up either all Zoom or Hybrid meetings. Some of our Lodges are doing take out/drive by dinners to keep in touch and to do fundraising during this time. There is one Lodge that is doing a “Dining on Zoom” meeting twice a month. They pick a type of food and everyone makes it. Then they spend an hour eating and socializing. If you don’t make the meal you can still socialize. It is a wonderful way to keep in touch safely. All our Lodges are doing a great job of keeping in touch with our members.

We have just celebrated Valentine’s Day. Here are some fun facts about the history of this day. This day is celebrated in Italy but didn’t start with Saint Valentine it began about eight hundred years before he was born. Valentine’s day history has its roots in ancient Roman culture

Dear brothers and sisters in OSDIA, in these days, our world seems rife with division, envy, and hatred. Patience, compassion, understanding seem scarce, and when they do appear, seem too often overwhelmed with knee-jerk negativity to have much impact.

As I have written in my past articles, I have focused on building Membership, offering constructive ideas, and setting specific goals. As we all know, building membership requires constant solutions and implementation

Greetings brothers and sisters. I hope all is staying safe during these difficult times. Thought I would share the treasured story of Saint Agatha as her feast day is celebrated every February in Catania, Sicily. For centuries, from the 3rd to the 5th of February each year, Catania goes through a unique experience. A whirlwind of strong emotions accompanying the three incredible days dedicated to the “Santuzza”, as the locals name it, that involve thousands of devotees every year. They are eventful days full of faith, tradition, and devotion, a Feast that is quite unique in the world; the only comparison can be the Holy Week in Seville, Spain, or the Corpus Domini in Cuzco, Peru. During these three days, the whole town is abuzz for the patron Saint’s Festival,

Hello from Redding:

We really don’t have much news from our lodge. Like most of the rest of the lodges, we have suspended our meetings and events. We have had a few members who have tested positive for Covid 19, but only one, that we know of, who was hospitalized briefly.

We are holding our council meetings in person

The World Ag Expo was started in Tulare, California in 1968 at the Tulare County Fair. The show was started with an idea of a few local farmers sitting around in a garage one day having a few adult beverages according to Charlie Pitigliano, past Roma Lodge President and WAE show chairman in 2016. The original show was called the Tulare Field and Row Crop Equipment Show. Each year the show grew in attendance and facilitated the move to the current site in 1982. The name was changed to the World Ag Expo, now with over 2 million square feet of show space, 1,200 volunteers and numerous permanent buildings with plenty of exhibitor space for indoor and outdoor displays. Attended by over 100,000 people and 1,200 exhibitors the show is the biggest in the world.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the WAE