Cristoforo Colombo Lodge #1534

Happy Summer everyone. It looks as though our Lodge has not published an article for quite some time. Boy was last year a mess. We did not hold any meetings or gatherings last year but continued to do somewhat regular newsletters to keep our members in touch and informed.

May 2021 was our first in-person meeting. We moved our meeting site to the Reno Elks Lodge #597. They have a beautiful, large kitchen and a huge room for our meetings. We held Festa there a couple times and it worked out fabulously. Many members and friends were anxious to return and we had our usual 50ish people in attendance. Hugh Ricci gave us a fun heritage game to play as our first program of 2021. We recognized milestone members this month. Bill Nelson and Sam Olson for 5 years; Barbara Wisniewski and Paul Romero for 15 years; Christine and Larry Handy for 25 years; and Pam and Hugh Ricci for 40 years. WOW! As usual, Antonio Ricci cooked a delicious dinner. Everyone was very happy to socialize again. See pictures.

June was our scholarship month. Anthony Avansino from Reno High School received the $5000 Bob Trinchero Scholarship from the Grand Lodge. We were so proud one of youth from Nevada received this scholarship. Isabella Giambruno, from McQueen High School received a $3000 scholarship, and Avery Grogan from Reno High School received the $2500 scholarship. They and their families attended our June dinner meeting. See their pictures.

Some of our members attended the 85th Zoom Grand Convention. We are so lucky, happy and proud that our member, Barbara Fumosa Wisniewski is now President of the Grand Lodge. She is such a hard worker and dedicated member of our organization. Everyone is lucky to have her as our President.

Our baseball tradition will continue this year. We have a fun night planned on August 6th at the Reno Aces Ballpark. Many of our members and families will attend this fun-filled evening. Another tradition that’s back is our annual picnic. This year it is being held at Bartley Ranch in Reno. We will have games for the kids and hopefully our famous salami toss game. Food service will just be a little different. We hope for a great attendance.

Thank you for reading about our Lodge. We hope you are all back to your regular activities and functions and are doing well. Chi dorme non piglia pesci (you snooze, you lose). Don’t let this great summer get away from you. Enjoy your life, your family, your friends. Until next time…..

Please visit our Face book page at Reno Sons of Italy and our website for more information: www.renosonsofitaly.org. Learn more about our Lodge, your Italian heritage and upcoming events.