From the President's Desk

From the President’s Desk By Nancy DiFiore Quinn

“And so with the sunshine and the great burst of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow fast in movies, I had that familiar connection that life was beginning over again with summer.” This beautiful quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald has always been a favorite of mine. I am hoping and praying that summer 2020 will be a good season for all of us and that much of what we are going through right now will be over and we can begin to move on with our lives.

Our beloved Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America has been working diligently to keep in touch with our members … and all Italian Americans. We have been holding weekly Facebook interviews with famous Italians such as Ambassador Armando Varricchio, Author Adriana Trigiani, Vocalist Giada Valenti, and several other interesting guests. Check out our Facebook page to see upcoming events.

Congratulations to the Grand Lodge of Maryland, who celebrates its 100th anniversary this summer!

The Grand Lodge’s first Executive Committee, which was installed in November 1920, included a woman in a leadership position.

We are delighted to welcome our first lodge formed in Italy. It is the Capitolo di Roma Lodge #3002, which is, of course, situated in Rome. They are a wonderful group of men and women who are looking forward to working with us on all our endeavors.

We have officially canceled the plenary meeting in Au gust, which was to be in Chicago, Illinois. I am saddened by this decision because I was looking forward to working with all our leaders from across the country. Due to the coronavirus, traveling so soon seems to be something that is questionable.

The immediate issue being addressed right now is mem bership. Our lodges have not been able to meet for the past few months, so collecting membership dues has been challenging. Please, if you are not a member of OSDIA, consider joining us. If you are a member and have not paid your dues, please take a few minutes to do so now. Let’s make a concerted effort to work on our membership numbers and to bring new members into our organization.

The Sons of Italy Foundation has completed their se lection of scholarship recipients for this year, and we are so proud of the caliber of students that have entered this competition. Please take a few minutes to get to know this year’s scholarship recipients on page three of this issue.

If you can believe it—with all that is going on in the world today—people are still determined to rid us of Columbus Day and our Columbus statues. The Com mission for Social Justice is working diligently to contest this prejudice all around the country. Unfortunately, as Columbus Day approaches, I am afraid that things will heat up again and we must be united to fight this injustice.

As I close this seasonal column, let me assure you that all of the leaders of OSDIA are doing their best to pre serve our Italian heritage and increase membership to our beloved organization. We are keeping a positive outlook with the knowledge that our lives will be back to a new normal real soon. Please stay well, stay safe, and take some time to find out a little more about the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America.