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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
December 2018
There were a number of events and fundraisers
which resulted in our having a very busy summer. Therefore,
when I started earnestly compiling the December/January
newsletter in the middle of August all of the summer events
were still fresh in my mind. This past summer was the best
One since we opened our museum in Albany. We have had
visitors from all over New York State in addition to people
from the following states: AZ, CO. IA, IL, KS, MA, MO, RI,
NC, FL, CT, NC, GA, XTA, NJ, OK, VT, and last, but not
least, CA! International visitors from Italy, Brazil and
Canada came as well to see our renowned museum.
I want to thank all of you for being
long-time members, for those who pay for your adult
children's membership, and would like to express gratitude
for the personal support of my family, friends and former
students. We have only a handful of people who are keys to
our success and they need the membership support,
encouragement and kind words - all of which are morale
boosters.
We worked tremendously hard to save Columbus
Day. We sent out informative material to key people in the
community and hosted a very successful celebration and
reception at our open-house on the October 8th holiday.
Also, the Post-Gazette (Boston, MA), the largest Italian
American newspaper in the New !England States, published a
series of my articles about Christopher Columbus and were
kind enough to give our museum some great publicity. Our
efforts did indeed inform the public and help saved Columbus
Day across the nation!
Two of our hard-working volunteers have moved
out of New York State to be closer to their children. They
will be greatly missed and difficult to replace. We ask you
to seriously consider joining our dwindling legion of
volunteers by helping us to carry out our important mission.
We really need you!
If you have not yet paid for your AIHA&M 2019
membership, please do so today. We want to keep you as a
member in good standing and need to inform everyone
concerned that the next edition of our newsletter will be
sent to paid up members only. We thank all of you who have
paid your dues in a timely manner and acknowledge with much
appreciation those members who also made a donation.
Tante grazie to our volunteers for all of
their efforts on our behalf during 2018! Your service to our
organization is sincerely appreciated. As we close out this
year, it is a time of reflection. It was a successful year,
but my concern is increasingly more focused on our future.
We are not able to attract many new members who are under
fifty years of age. I would love to have a Saturday Italian
School similar to that of many other ethnic groups. We still
maintain the goal of reaching and offering activities for
those thirty-five & under. Do you have any suggestions? Are
you willing to help us in this endeavor?
With the holiday season fast approaching, we
will soon be celebrating Christmas and the New Year. It is a
wonderful time of the year and we have a number of planned
events that we hope you will support. This newsletter is
filled with Italian Christmas traditions that I hope you
will utilize this year. Our customs add so much to the
Christmas season; they help make families stronger and help
keep alive our Italian heritage and culture. Grandparents
take note: you are in a unique position, call it a duty, to
pass on these time-honored traditions to your families! I
know it isn't easy to keep our Italian Christmas traditions
alive but I encourage you to adapt them to your particular
situation. For example, instead of offering seven fishes on
Christmas Eve, change the number of fish offerings to three
if that is more feasible. We also make shopping a bit easier
for you by holding our Annual Italian Christmas Market (held
after Thaiiksgiving) where you can purchase many items to
enhance an Italian Christmas.
On behalf of the Officers and Board of
Trustees, we wish you a blessed Buon Natale and Felice Anno
Nuovo!
Porf./Cav. Philip J. DiNovo
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE December 2017
Last summer my wife and I visited Barre, VT
which proclaims itself as the “Granite Center of the World”.
In 1914, almost one-quarter of the town’s population was
Italian. Skilled stone-cutters and quarrymen from northern
Italy settled in Barre in the 1890’s where their mark was
left, still to be found in the stone creations, architecture
and former institutions. The municipal population count is
presently around 9,000 people. As it stands today there is
no longer an active Italian American community other than
what is listed here and gleaned from the information I could
gather. How sad! The legacy in stone is beautiful but I had
hoped I would find our Italian culture present and vibrant.
I am now even more convinced that organizations like ours
are needed in order to keep alive our Italian heritage and
culture.
Regarding maintenance to our property, we were made aware
that the chimney on the museum needs to be repaired at an
estimated cost of approximately $3,000. It will take the
equivalent of 120 membership dues payments just to pay that
one bill. A friend of mine pronounced that I am very happy
that things are going so well since I had not mentioned the
subject of money in a long time. I know people don’t like to
hear about financial concerns so I have recently tried hard
not to mention such things. However, it is still an issue
because our low membership dues amount cannot keep up with
ever-increasing expenses. Thankfully, we are still in the
black, only made possible by numerous fundraisers which are
carried out by a handful of members. Needless to say, this
is very exhausting, even to dedicated and hardworking
individuals.
This being my 39th year as your President I have begun to
reflect that my time is limited. I am trying my best to
insure that our museum has a bright future, but it goes
without saying that I need your help. Please become a
volunteer, support our fundraisers and recruit new members.
As always, my sincere thanks go out to all of you who are
already doing whatever possible to maintain our status.
On a happy note I received a letter from a local Italian
American organization’s President in which he stated that
our museum is a treasure. More importantly, his organization
plans on working with us in carrying out our mission. I have
received a number of messages from across the United States
thanking us for all the great work we are doing to preserve
our Italian heritage. So many people have told me that they
don’t have anything comparable to our Association & Museum
where they reside and wish they lived in the area in order
to take advantage of our many offerings. More importantly,
it sounds as if they would also be willing to volunteer! I
often tell them any manner of support they can give is most
appreciated. It sure is uplifting to receive letters from
around the country stating how much they enjoy our
newsletter. Please take notice of the page in each issue of
our newsletter that lists all the people who have become new
members in the months before publication.
An obvious but no less important fact is that our future
greatly depends on the next generation. We need your help to
inform them of the value of their Italian heritage and
culture. Do you have any ideas how we might do that? Are you
willing to help? You are needed now more than ever!
We serve our community and connect you to your Italian
heritage, to people, places, things and culture that enrich
your life. We work very hard to unite you to the Italian
American experience. Our organization is a pillar that helps
ensure the continuity of our Italian heritage and culture in
the United States. Its connectivity, indeed its survival,
depends on each of us and we strongly encourage you to
become involved. Your membership in the AIHA&M means that
you are investing in the future. Keep in mind that with your
support we are the liaisons to the heritage and culture of
our ancestors. Invite family and friends to join so that
they, too, may have the opportunity to support the many
events on our calendar.
Again, to all of you who encourage us in so many ways to
carry out our vital mission: thank you!
Prof./Cav. Philip J. DiNovo
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