Message from the 2nd Vice President

Hello All, I am praying everyone continues to stay healthy and safe. It is hard to believe we are near the end of the 3rd quarter of 2020. Time is certainly flying by! I miss everyone and cannot wait until we can safely meet again.

By now I am sure all the lodges have received a copy of approved Local Lodge Covid-19 Election guidance from the Judiciary Committee sent from the Grand Lodge. Please take the time to read applicable Laws. Also follow the suggested procedures under Covid-19. Those of you members which have never served as a lodge officer, please consider stepping up, your lodge needs you!

Monday, August 31st I participated in the Town Hall Style Zoom Meeting between California Lodge members and OSDIA National Membership Commission. I was much impressed with the information that was presented and pleased on how many members participated in the meeting. The question often asked “What does National do for us” was well answered. For our Lodges. important information is available on the National website. National Membership Commission Chairperson, Mark DeNunzio, and his committee along with California membership committee member, Joseph Simoni did an outstanding job with this Forum. Thank you to both of you and the committee!

I want to share with you an article written by the Italian Cultural Society: Columbus Day is one of the building blocks of Italian American identity and community. Across the nation, in virtually every Italian community and in the thousands of Italian American organizations in existence today, generation of Italian Americans have celebrated Columbus Day as a day of national pride and identity. Italian Americans identify with Columbus Day as an Italian American holiday even though it is a National holiday to celebrate the immigrant roots of the nation. For the past few decades there has been a continuing assault on the holiday by native American groups and their allies to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day which is “Anti Columbus Day”. The movement to replace Columbus Day is, anti-Italian American. The need to protect Columbus Day by the Italian American community has resulted in a greater awareness by Italian Americans of the need to act to protect their identity and their heritage. Columbus Day has played a major role in building that heritage and needs to be protected. It is not in quiet assimilation that we become stronger but only in noisy celebration of our past, our heritage, and our national celebration of the Columbus Day holiday.

Important Notice:
Special October 5, 2020
live Columbus Presentation with: Carol Delaney and Rafael Ortiz, 4:pm Pacific Time
www.osia.org.

Fraternally Yours