Although we have a new President,

Maurizio Bertoldi, I am pleased to com-municate one last time with you, and let

you know what a privilege and a pleasure

it has been to serve the IAMC of Talla-hassee as President. The help given to me

by the wonderful members of the board

and of the various committees made my

task quite easy. I am very grateful to them, as well as many members of the

club, for their commitment and support,

for their hard work with a smile, but, most

importantly, for their friendship.

We have accomplished a lot in the last two years. We started new activities and

reinstated some from the past. The social

dinners and carnevale are only two exam-

ples of our undertakings. The enrollment of many new members is the best evi-

dence of our success.

The responses to the survey sent out

by Sharon Johnson, the past-secretary,

were very positive and informative. By following the suggestions of the members

we will be able to enjoy a better club year

after year. But we need your involve-

ment. If you are talented in fundraising, have organizational capabilities, are ex-

perienced cooks, or new ideas, please join

our committees. It is great fun.

We know that the day, the time, the place of our functions may not be con-

venient for everybody every time. But

we listen to you, try our best, and hope you find events

to enjoy. We

will try some of

the things that you suggested.

Carnevale, for

example, was our first ap-

proach to start an

Italian festival in Tallahassee. To

the member who

suggested “ to

move forward to do so,” I say: if you have any kind of

experience in doing that, please, do not

hide; come into the open and help us to make a special Italian day in Tallahas-

see. We must start now for next year.

And, for such a task, every member

needs to be a volunteer.

Thank you to all for the two very en-

joyable years. I hope to see you at the

next social dinner. Arrivederci a presto.

Ariella Monti-Graziadei

Immediate Past-President

Volume 18, Issue 2 The Newsletter of the Italian-American Club of Tallahassee

President’s farewell message

Aprile-Giugno 2009

Announcements

& upcoming events

Social Dinners

(all begin at 7:30 p.m.)

Mom & Dads, June 5

Anthony’s, July 10

Bella Bella, August 7

Pot Luck Dinner and

Italian Movie, July tba

Gelato Party, Sept. tba

Columbus Day Event

& Bocce Party, Oct. 10

Christmas Party, Dec. 6

Please patronize our

advertisers; they sup-

port this newsletter.

Officers and Board Members elected

2

Member Profile: Elizabeth McKinnon

3

Pictures from Carnevale

4

Pictures from

The Pig Roast

5

New President’s Message to the Club

6

Calendimaggio

Festival In Assisi

7

Membership form 8

Inside this

issue:

LA GAZZETTA

La Gazzetta wants to hear from club members

We have feature this edition of brief items, It’s About You, on accomplish-

ments by IAMC members. If you or a

family member or friend have engaged in a special activity, earned an honor,

graduated from college, gotten married,

had a child, please share the happy news

with us and let us offer congratulations on behalf of the club.

We would also like to have members

volunteer or nominate others for Member Profiles, or write about their Italian heri-

tage or recent trip to Italy. Our email

and post address is on the back page.

Ariella Monti-Graziadei

Ricci, Rambana represent

lawyer association in D.C.

Members Elizabeth Ricci and Neil Rambana lobbied Florida pol-

icy makers in Washington, D.C. in

March on behalf of the American

Immigration Lawyers Association.

The two practice immigration law

in Tallahassee at Rambana & Ricci, P.A. Ricci concentrates on admin-

istrative immigration for families

and businesses and Rambana con-

centrates on deportation defense.

Italian-American of the Year Another way to recognize the accomplishments of members is to

nominate them for the IAMC’s Ital-

ian-American of the Year award. Contact Maurizio Bertoldi

(mbertoldim@yahoo.com).

Advertise in La Gazzetta If you have a business of service

you would like to advertise in La Gazzetta, please contact Frank

Baglione (fmbaglione@aol.com;

386-8933).

Italian Classes at TCC Beginners Italian classes will be

offered at TCC in the fall semester.

The class meets Tuesday evenings.

Contact the college for details (www.tallahassee.fl.edu).

Maurizio Bertoldi was elected

president of the Italian-American Club of Tallahassee at the group’s

annual meeting on May 3.

This is the second time Maurizio

has held the office. He was the

club’s founding president in 1991.

Maurizio succeeds Ariella Monti-

Graziadei who recently completed a

two year term as president. The election and annual meeting was held

at the IAMC May Pig Roast hosted

by Ariella.

Other officers elected were Frank

Baglione, vice president, Elizabeth Ricci, secretary, and Giovanna

Fechter, treasurer.

Board of Directors elected at the meeting were Donna Allocco, Maria

Bertoldi, Sharon Johnson, Beth La

Civita, Elizabeth McKinnon, Patti

Sanzone, and Mary Beth Zini.

The Annual Meeting of the IAMC is traditionally held at the club’s May

Pig Roast, the biggest event of the

year. This year the event set an at-

tendance record with 85 guests who enjoyed the offerings of roast pork,

chicken, and a variety of side dishes

and desserts provided by members.

Roasters were Stan Chapman,

Joseph Peloso, and Ben Johnson.

Officers elected while pig roasts

PAGE 2 LA GAZZETTA VOLUME 18 , ISSUE 2PAGE 2 LA GAZZETTA

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Outgoing president Ariella Monti-Graziadei and VP Frank Baglione

President-elect Maurizio Bertoldi

A special tribute was paid to out-

going IAMC president Ariella Monti-Graziadei for her tireless efforts in

planning, introducing, and hosting a

variety of new events, and for her

outstanding leadership over the past

two years.

Music by the Nea-

politan

Nights, all

club mem-bers,

played

popular Italian

tunes.

It’s about you …

PAGE 3 LA GAZZETTA VOLUME 18 , ISSUE 2

Elizabeth Sarno McKinnon’s grandparents came to

the United Stated in 1892 from Chiusano Di San Domenico, province of Avellino, in the Campania Re-

gion near Naples. In 2007, over one hundred years

later, Elizabeth and her husband, David, were able to

make the pilgrimage back to her family’s Italian roots.

Elizabeth’s grand-

father, Antonio Sarno, was born in 1875,her

grandmother

Giuseppa Rizzo, was born in 1880. Like

many from the small

town with a popula-tion of 2,500, they

came to America near

the turn of the cen-

tury, arriving in Bos-

ton, Massachusetts.

The family lived in the “North End” Ital-

ian section of Boston,

an area that has main-tained a strong Italian

culture up to the pre-

sent day.

Elizabeth remem-

bers that her grandfa-

ther had a grapevine in his backyard and like many Italian immigrants made

his own wine. She also recalls that she and her siblings

would sneak into the cellar with some Italian bread, pour wine into a cup that was hanging on a nail, and

then dip the bread into the wine for a sweet treat. The

wine press is still in the family house today.

When Elizabeth and David visited Chiusano, they

went to the town hall for a copy of her grandfather’s

birth certificate. Both were impressed with the town, built on the hills of the Campania region. “I thought it

was beautiful,” she

said, “and I thought of how it must have

looked to my grand-

parents. Several gen-

erations later, it would be wonderful

and easy to live in

such a town.”

PAGE 3 LA GAZZETTA

Member Profile: Elizabeth Sarno McKinnon

Chiusano is one of the best wine producing regions

in the Campania region, and is also known for its olive oil, cheeses, chestnuts, and pasta. Its most famous

landmark is the castle on the peak of Monte San

Domenico, overlooking the Avellino valley.

Elizabeth was born and raised in Boston. For 30 years she worked for

the Hartford Insurance

Company there before

coming to Tallahassee eight years ago. Her

husband David was

also a claims adjuster for the same company.

They were brought

together by a powerful

force of nature, Hurri-cane Andrew, which

drew their services to

south Florida in 1992. The McKinnons

enjoy taking road trips

exploring the region. They both cook, with

David as grill master,

and are avid readers.

David follows FSU Seminole sports, being

a proud season ticket

holder for both football and basketball.

They have been members of the IAMC for three

years, with Elizabeth being elected to the Board of Di-

rectors in May. Their favorite events are the wine tast-ing, carnevale, and the social dinners that allow them to

meet and enjoy the company of other club members.

Elizabeth recently researched and wrote a book on

her family history, including information on one of her cousins, a Jesuit priest who taught at the Gregorian Col-

lege in Rome.

Elizabeth and David McKinnon in front of the Santa Maria degli Angeli

Church in Chiusano Di San Domenico near Naples.

VOLUME 18 , ISSUE 2LA GAZZETTA PAGE 4

Carnevale

www.ToursInTallahassee.com Guided Walking, Driving, Multi-group Tours

Let us connect you to Tallahassee’s New and Old Hot Spots Learn about this area’s Deep South customs, people and architecture

Fun for all ages, great for meeting attendees, social clubs, newcomers Call 561-0317 or 212-2063, tours@historicfloridaconsulting.com

Special Sunset Guided Walking Tours around downtown’s Historic Park Avenue District, Chain of Parks, a great stroll before or after dinning, and watch for more information about the Guided

Historic Ghost Tours of Downtown Tallahassee, held annually in October, Booo!

Clockwise from top: Hans Plendl e due amiche; Beth La Civita, Stan Chapman; and Mary Beth Zini. Next page: Maria Bertoldi, Beth La

Civita, and Rose Catalano; the pig’s head; Denise Tansey and Carmen

Sebastiano; men tending to the pig; Corrie Spalla and Nina Cinelli; the

pig’s tail; Stan Chapman and Debi Peloso. Buon appetito.

VOLUME 18 , ISSUE 2 LA GAZZETTA PAGE 5

P

I

G

R

O

A

S

T

PAGE 6 LA GAZZETTA VOLUME 18 , ISSUE 2

Above: Linda and Ron Proto at the Annual Pig Roast. Pictured

below are outgoing Secretary Sharon Johnson and past president

Ariella Monti-Graziadei (both will still serve on the Board).

President’s message

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Custom Food Orders, and Cooking Classes

It’s an honor and pleasure for me to be

named as the 2009-10 President of our club, replacing past President Ariella Monti Grazia-

dei, whom I want to thank on behalf of all of

you. She has done a superb job in enhancing the quality of the club. Ariella will continue

her commitment to club as a member of the

Board.

During the pig roast on May 3rd that took

place at Ariella’s residence, the perfect site

and already a tradition since it was offered during the club’s first year in 1992, I decided

to assume this office for the second time. At

that meeting, we also elected a new secretary, Elizabeth Ricci, who gets to fill the lovely

shoes of the hard working Sharon Johnson.

At the same time, four new members for the Board were elected by you to enrich the

planning for exciting and interesting future

events. About eighty people, including sev-eral new members, attended and contributed

to the pig roast party making it very success-

ful. Thanks to all of you.

With new activities being planned, and the

enthusiastic support of all the members, I

would like to paraphrase the words of a fa-mous American president: ask not what your

club can do for you, rather what you can do

for your club.

Working together we can continue the suc-

cess of the IAMC.

Maurizio Bertoldi President of IAMC

Calendimaggio festival held in Assisi

PAGE 7 LA GAZZETTA VOLUME 18 , ISSUE 2

Calendimaggio is a spectacular event held each May to celebrate the return of spring. The festival, which traces

its roots back to Roman times, is held in Assisi, the Italian city best known as the birthplace of St. Francis.

In the Middle Ages, the Parte de

Sopra (upper town) and the Parte de

Sotto (lower town) held jousting and knightly contests of strength and cour-

age. At that time the contests were

serious fighting over who would have control of the city. Today, their rivalry

is still strong, but more friendly, as the

two sides compete through the pageants they put on to celebrate the love and

romance of spring.

Every year on the first Thursday, Friday and Saturday in May, theatrical

performances take place in the streets of

Assisi as hundreds of participants in lush Medieval and Renaissance cos-

tumes take the audience back to another

era, with pageantry, music, dancing, processions, flag-waving and archery

demonstrations, and opulent floral dis-

plays. On the last torch lit evening the

part of town whose pageant best repre-

sented “spring” is declared the winner.

Calendimaggio in Assisi is stunning

medieval festival. Photos by Rosemary and Bob Connelly. www.livecheapmakeart.com

Place Address Label Here

Name: __________________________________________________________________

Spouse’s Name: __________________________________________________________

Street Address: ___________________________________________________________

City, State, Zip Code: ______________________________________________________

Home Phone: _____________________ Office or Cell Phone: ____________________

Email Address: __________________________________________________________

Annual Membership Dues : Family Individual Student

Full Year (July to July) $40 $20 $15

Three-Quarters (October to July) $30 $15 $10

Half Year (January to July) $20 $10 $ 5

Please send application to IAMC, Post Office Box 12354, Tallahassee, FL 32317-2354

Membership Application Name: __________________________________________________________________

Spouse’s Name: __________________________________________________________

Street Address: ___________________________________________________________

City, State, Zip Code: ______________________________________________________

Home Phone: _____________________ Office or Cell Phone: _____________________

Email Address: ____________________________________________________________

Annual Membership Dues : Family Individual Student

Full Year (July 1 to July 1) $40 $20 $10

Three-Quarters (October to July 1) $30 $15 $10

Half Year (January to July 1) $20 $10 $ 5

One-Quarter (April to July 1) $15 $10 $ 5

Please send application to IAMC, Post Office Box 12354, Tallahassee, FL 32317-2354

Membership Application

LA GAZZETTA

VOLUME 18 , ISSUE 2 LA GAZZETTA PAGE 8

The Italian-American Club of Tallahassee

was founded in 1991 with the goal of

celebrating the Italian heritage. Both

those of Italian and non-Italian ancestry are

welcome to join the club.

The IAMC seeks to:

promote the Italian cultural experience; provide the opportunity to learn about the history and

customs of the Italian people and the distinctive

qualities of Italian culture and traditions; welcome newly arrived Italians to the community; and

engage in charitable work.

La Gazzetta, the IAMC quarterly newsletter, is designed to

educate, entertain, and inform members about Italian

culture and the experiences of Italian-Americans.

ITALIAN AMERICAN CLUB

OF TALLAHASSEE

Post Office Box 12354

Tallahassee, FL 32317-2354

Frank M. Baglione, Editor

Email: fmbaglione@aol.com Please email the editor for information on

submitting articles, photos, and art work.

Place

Stamp

Here