From the President's Desk

By Robert A. Bianchi, Esq.

Dear Sisters and Brothers: Again, I am honored that you have bestowed the confidence in me to take OSDIA in new and innovative directions while maintaining our love and respect for our traditions. I could not be happier with the team at the National Office; the Committees we have put in place; and for the leadership team that is creating fresh goals, agendas for new projects, and metrics to measure our results. Of course, it is all driven to bring value to those who are currently members and those who may be interested in what we have to offer.

These past few weeks since my election have been filled every day with imputing management processes in place, putting quarterly goals that can be measured into action, and putting organizational processes into place so that we can be consistent and seamlessly transition from administration to administration.

And, we have a team put together to create fun projects that not only will encourage membership but also be interesting to our current members so the Grand and Subordinate Lodges can use them to bring value to their members.

I am also ecstatic about what our Committees are now doing. We have tasked them to come up with plans to ensure that we are making measurable results. And, we have three new committees (along with the value of all of our other committees) that I feel are essential to the well-being of OSDIA—the Woman’s Action Committee, the Business Development Committee, and the Grand/ Subordinate Lodge committee.

You will be learning of my vision for these committees as we move forward. But suffice it to say, they will make sure we empower Women, Businesses, and Grand Lodge sectors of our organization. Additionally, we are also working on creating novel and innovative revenue streams and membership projects.

My brothers and sisters, as proud Italian Americans who share a vision to promote our culture and great heritage, we also have issues that need to be addressed, not only to stem the tide of losing membership, but also to make us rise again in all the values we share. We will do this by building VALUE. We will do this by COMMUNICATING better. We will do this by invoking our greatest asset: YOU!!!

We have so much talent already, but we have a lot to do, and we are always looking for those who wish to assist us in any way possible. So, if you know someone who can help, let’s bring them on board! I don’t care about the position they hold or even if they are a member of OSDIA. If they want to help us and have a skillset we can use, let’s do it!

I know that what we are doing is unique and new to OSDIA in so many regards. But to be clear, what we are not doing is abandoning our traditional ways of operation. To the contrary, what we are doing is implementing new ideas that are complementary to our traditional ways. These concepts are not at odds with one another, but rather, they are a force multiplier.

So, all hands-on deck as we move into the future, while maintaining our traditions and culture that we should all be proud of!

Lastly, it would be amazing if you could go to “Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America” on YouTube and subscribe to the OSDIA channel. We are looking to reach 1,000 subscribers before the end of the year. We would love to have you, your family, and friends help us make that goal a reality.

Thank you, and my blessings for you and your families so that you may be happy, healthy, and well!

Fraternally,