Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Trieste Lodge,

 

My first term as your president has now come to and end it is a great time to reflect on what we have accomplished within the last ten months. Firstly, I am very appreciative of the support our members have given in supporting our many events throughout the year, as well as your support of our monthly meetings. It has been great to see many new faces and long-time members reappearing. It is with your support that we continue to thrive as an organization. I would also like to thank all existing members that have sponsored new members to join our lodge. I commend everyone, especially under the circumstances that we have endured as a result of the pandemic. We have shown the community at large, that the Sons and Daughters of Italy Trieste Lodge in Hamilton, is here to stay.

The board has had to navigate through unchartered territory for quite some time, but I am happy to see that the enthusiasm has never waned within our lodge. In my opinion, the Soppressata Contest and Elimination Draw proved that we as people, desire to be together. We had an overwhelming turnout, which has affirmed that we all are passionate about our culture and providing more for those in the community. Within this newsletter, you will see that Br. Steven Zecchin has provided a proposed list of charities for us to approve and distribute at the beginning of the next term. I am proud to announce that we will be donating a total of $10000 to various charities within our community, that desperately need our support. Finally, I would like to thank the hard work and dedication from my executive team throughout the year. Everyone has been very helpful in their own way, and I am extremely appreciative of your continued commitment to our success.             

 

A special thank you to my good friends Joe Mongiardi and Lewis Merolli, for ensuring the smooth operation of our lodge and all its events. I must say I am blessed to have these two individuals by my side, working to ensure that not only our lodge functions and operates as it should, but that I am well prepared and supported in every endeavor that we work towards. Without their support and help, we would not have made it through the last few years of the pandemic so seamlessly. 

 

On the weekend of May 27th to May 29th, the Order Sons of Italy Canada celebrated their annual convention, along with 3 delegates that attended the convention from our lodge. We continue to encourage and work closely with our grand council and congratulate the new executive which includes Br. Carmine Filice as National President, Brother Livio DiNello as National Treasurer, Brother Richard Mossuto and Sister Jessica Petrunti as National Trustees. Our June General Meeting will be a busy one as we hold our annual elections. Please attend the meeting and cast your vote! We will also have a special presentation that evening from Sam Cino and Joe Baiardo regarding the internment, which is fitting as our meeting coincides with 82nd anniversary of the event. 

 

As many of you know, we have had great success with the Spaghetti Supper Dinner Take-Out series that we have been working on over the last year, and we are happy to announce that we will have one more before the end of this term! On Thursday June 23rd, in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Hamilton, we will be hosting a Spaghetti Take-Out dinner with all proceeds going to provide military trauma kits for Ukrainian Soldiers. Each takeout will consist of spaghetti and 3 meatballs for $15. There will not be extra meatballs available for purchase. Please refer to the advertisement in the newsletter for all information. 

 

Finally, please mark down in your calendars the date of our 100th Anniversary Celebration at Confederation Park on Sunday September 11th. All information will be provided as we move closer, but we are very much excited to create such a unique event that will bring all of us together, inclusive of our families and friends. Stay tuned throughout the summer months for details! 

 

In closing, I would again like to thank all our members for making my first term as President a very successful one, and I wish you and your families a very safe and hopefully warm and sunny summer. 

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Fraternally Yours,

 

Lucas Costanzo

President, Trieste Lodge #4