Message From the State Second Vice President

Brothers and Sisters,

Again, I'd like to apologize for not having an article available for the November issue of the Il Leone. I was not able to get the article completed as the Sacramento Lodge Shrimp Feed was on October 21st and my article was due on the 20th. The Shrimp Feed was a success, and everybody enjoyed the shrimp and clam chowder, and many people went home with some great raffle prizes.

In October, my monthly travels started in Fairfield where Northern Solano Lodge #2534 had their second Annual Shrimp Feed fundraiser. Mark and Lori Rossi and their members did a fantastic job and produced another successful event this year!

On the 27th of October I visited Cesare Battisti Lodge #1518 in Petaluma. President John Albini and all the members made me feel right at home. The dinner was sausage and sauerkraut. Chef Ed was outstanding in the kitchen, and I purchased 10 additional sausages, so I was eating sausages for the next week at both breakfast and lunch. They were planning their Christmas dinner for December 16th so please if you are in Petaluma area on Saturday December 16th stop by and support their Lodge.

The next day I was off to St Helena to attend the Saint Helena's first Prawn Fundraiser. What can I say, when you go to the center of Wine Country you know the wine and food will be outstanding. Thanks to President Kevin Coleman and company as the fundraiser was a big success. Again, thank you all for the wonderful event. To Chef Carlo, the pasta was magnificent along with the marinated prawns on the skewers.

On November 4th Londi and I traveled to San Francisco for the 100th anniversary of the Cornelia-Vita Nuova Lodge #1198 celebration with a grand history to look back on starting on April 24th, 1923. Maria Fassio Pignati started it off with the Italian national anthem. If you have never heard Maria singing the Italian national anthem you must! She is so marvelous. President of the lodge, Jennifer De Palma Chandler and her committee were outstanding. Davide Corriero, the Deputy Consulate General of Italy also was there representing the Consulate General of San Francisco. He gave an outstanding talk about how OSDIA has helped spread our Italian culture across the United States. It was a night to remember! Again, thank you to everyone that helped make the 100th anniversary a huge success.

Now that the Thanksgiving and Christmas season is here, I would like to give thanks and look back at 2023 to remember how grateful we all should be. A year ago, God looked down on us and found a buyer for our old Grand Lodge in San Francisco. I remember being there the last day we said goodbye to this building that we called home for over 60 years. It was so moving to stop and think about all the great events that had gone on there and how many people had yelled out "BINGO" at the weekend bingo games plus how many met their spouses and made new friendships there. I just stopped for a moment and said to myself thank you God for all the good memories that we have had in this marvelous building. And now a year later we have finally located our new Grand Lodge building with a new chapter for The Sons and Daughters of Italy.

I have learned in the past two and a half years the most important aspect to success is communication in any relationship whether it is in sports, finances, business, or personal lives we have to talk and express ourselves. Just as I am communicating with you through this article. So please feel free to call or text me at any time with any needs or concerns which I can help you with in 2024. I hope you and all your families have a fantastic 2024 and Buon Natale.