Message from the 1st Vice President

Hope all of you are doing well and staying safe. It seems to be getting harder each month that goes by. I am missing my Sisters and Brothers and all our interaction at meetings and social events.

I was fortunate to sit in on the National Membership Zoom meeting set up for California. I appreciate all of our Lodge Presidents and members that joined us. I think one of the best takeaways for me was being able to get ideas and communicate with Officers and members across the country. Once this time passed, we could see and speak with a National or Grand Lodge President, or hear a speaker from anywhere at our meetings using this tool. It would allow people who are not well or on a business trip or visiting out of state to still be a part of our meetings. How great would that be?

I also sat in on several Lodge meetings and Board meetings on Zoom. They were run well and nothing got out of hand with talking over etc. If your Lodge hasn’t tried at least a Board meeting I hope you will. Sending emails, newsletters, and phone calls are great but we need the structure of a meeting to let our members know we are all still there. With Zoom we can get speakers that perhaps we could not have done before due to geographical distance. You can look into possible speakers in the “Italian America” and perhaps the “Il Leone”. You could try getting one of our Officers to visit on Zoom and talk about their responsibilities in the Grand Lodge.

With the information from our Judiciary Committee, sent to our Lodge Presidents about elections for this year, I hope all of you are getting your slates together and out to your members. Elections for the proper leadership of our Lodges is essential. We need leaders that will lead. I know that sounds strange but our leadership is what determines how we will proceed and what we might accomplish. Think of that and if you are interested in running for an office don’t be afraid to stand up. The Grand Lodge will be happy to help in any way we can.

Your Grand Council will have met via conference call the end of September or the beginning of October.

Little notes in the history of Italy and Italians: On October 10, 1813, Italian opera composer Giuseppi Verdi (1813-1901) was born in Le Roncole, Italy. His 26 operas included; Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, La Traviata, and Aida, and are among the most popular of all classical music performed today! I saw Aida at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York when I was still in grammar school. It left me with a love of opera that still stays with me.

On October 12, 1492. After a 33 day voyage, Cristopher Columbus made his first landfall in the New World in the Bahamas. He named the first land he sighted as El Salvador, claiming it in the name of the Spanish Crown. Columbus was seeking a western sea route from Europe to Asia and believed he had found an island of the Indies. He thus called the first island natives he met, “Indians”. Even then there was no insult meant by the name.

On October 13, 1943, Italy declared war on its former Axis partner Germany after the downfall of Mussolini and the collapse of his Fascist government.

Till next month
Fraternally
Barbara