March 2016

PRESIDENT'S CORNER

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As my time in office, as President of Roma Lodge 254 for 2015-2016, comes to a close, I would like to take

this opportunity to thank each and every one of you that have supported the council, the Lodge and myself

during these last twelve months. You have made a big difference by volunteering and helping out with the

various events that Roma Lodge has hosted during the last twelve months. We could have not done it without

you. Remember, Roma Lodge is made up of ALL Its Members. There is No One person that can do it alone.

It takes the "Collective" to assure that the right decisions are made for the benefit of the Majority of our

Membership. Discussions are paramount in order to reach an acceptable compromise amongst the various

opinions within our Club. The Responsibility that these orderly and respectful discussions take place, lies

with each and every one of us as Members. Abdicating this responsibility does not do justice to anyone. Our

Annual Roma Lodge's elections are scheduled for February 22 to be followed by the Friday Night Initiation

Ceremony following the meal on February 26.

Our Memorial Mass will take place on February 28th, at The Church of the Holy Family. This will be a

11:00 Mass. There is more information in a separate article, later in this newsletter.

Fraternally, John Luizzi, President, Roma Lodge #254

In memory of Teresa “Susi” Taylor, who passed away on February 03rd.

May God extend his blessings to “Susi” and the Taylor Family.

Website: www.roma254.org E-Mail: luizzi@verizon.net

LIBERTY EQUALITY FRATERNITY

Order Sons of Italy in America

Roma Lodge #254

3097 Magic Hallow Boulevard

Virginia Beach, Virginia 23454

(757) 468-2029

Roma Lodge Council 2015 - 2016

President John Luizzi 490-6448

Vice President Anthony Alfano 803-9206

Past President John William Del RussoSr. 479-0240

Orator Peter Langlands 435-9269

Recording Sec. Albert Marra 301-8797

Financial Sec. Paula Terveer 481-1199

Treasurer James Novelli 426-1970

Trustees John Cutrone Patricia Davis

961-6245 301-3683

Joseph Bruney Mario Minervini

537-1141 426-2964

Thom Petrella

(703) 629-7046

Mistress of Ceremony Mistress of Ceremony

Dee Clark Angie Hughes

340-8537 499-8667

Guard

Janet Jones

434-9192

Lodge Chaplain Gerald Hyatt 436-0477

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=== MEMBERSHIP ===

Member count as of 27 July is now:

176 members - 156 regular and 20 social.

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== Friday Night Meals ==

FOR UPCOMING FRIDAY NIGHT MEAL DATES

AND MENU ITEMS, PLEASE REFER TO THE

FULL-PAGE AD ENTITLED

“FRIDAY NIGHT MEALS ARE BACK” LOCATED IN THIS NEWSLETTER.

Note: For your convenience you can Email Pat at

- wdavis62@cox.net -

(See also Roma Lodge Weekly e-News for menu items)

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Birthdays

And

Anniversaries

BIRTHDAYS

Theresa Bourgard Angelo Costa

Adriana Grillo Adeline Luizzi

Adrienne Marra Al Marra

Mario Minervini John Nicosia

Frank Orsino Debbie Pitrone

Karen Renda Paul Siebeking

ANNIVERSARIES

Pat & Adriana Grillo (19th)

Marvin & Anna Mullins (54th)

Juan & Aida Perez (50th)

Roma Lodge Schedule of Events

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February - 22 RL General Assembly Meeting

Roma Lodge Council Elections

February - 26 Roma Lodge Council Swearing in Ceremony

March 14 OSIA of TW Inc. Meeting

March - 21 RL General Assembly Meeting

April 11 OSIA of TW Inc. Meeting

April 25 - 21 RL General Assembly Meeting

May - 09 OSIA of TW Inc. Meeting

May – 23 RL General Assembly Meeting

* We are looking at a new date, and format, watch your

E-News for more information.

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Culture Corner

Italy in March

Italy in March awakens from the Winter Submitted by ancos on Fri, 02/20/2015

Nature starts to bloom in Italy in March

Ph. flickr/bass_nroll

Italy is known to be one of the most famous tourist

destinations in the world. However, this also means that

thousands of tourist’s travel to the country to visit its

many well-known locations, its beautiful ancient

churches, cathedrals and museums. Because of

this, rates of hotels and all other tourist facilities shoot

up during peak season: visitors often end up paying

almost double than what they would off season, for the

same hotel room. The main tourist season in Italy goes

from late Spring and to the end of Summer: in this

period, you can expect hordes of tourists travelling to

the country to enjoy its sunny beaches and its beautiful

cities.

As with any time of year, March weather in Italy will

vary depending on the region. It also tends to be more

unpredictable than the Summer months. Compared to

warmer months like June, March sees quite a bit of

rain as well as chilly days. If your vacation itinerary

includes lots of outdoor sports and activities, then the

weather difference will certainly be noticeable. On the

other hand, if you are planning to be indoors or visiting

museums and churches for the majority of your trip, the

differences in weather would not affect your enjoyment.

Most of the famous sightseeing spots in Italy are located

indoors, which means that outside temperatures should

not overly concern tourists. Keep in mind the savings in

airfare and hotel prices may make a little rain more than

worthwhile!

To visit Italy in April and September, visitors

should make reservations well in advance, which is not

always possible, considering today's lifestyle and work

schedules. The next best thing to do is to travel in

March, when the tourist season is not yet in full swing

and visitors should be able to find accommodation and

flights more easily than during peak season. However,

the average weather may not be as great in March as

it is usually in Summer. If you are ok with this, though,

plan ahead your holiday in March, and you may get

pleasantly surprised by the many advantages you can

get.

The Marathon in Rome is held in March

Ph. flickr/Nazionale Anpas

Weather in March

March in Italy is still characterized by some cold and

chilly days and many regions would even have some

damp rainy days. However, particularly after the second

half of month, sunny days become usual: in Rome, for

instance, you can expect an average temperature within

the 60s Fahrenheit. Anyway almost any weather is

possible in March, which is why the month is known to

be pazzo (crazy): so, if you are planning on a lot of

travel outdoors or hiking, March might not be the

right time. However, those who are just interested in

visiting the many beautiful churches and monuments in

the country may find March to be a perfect time of the

year to do it.

March 21st is the first day of spring and clocks are set to

summer time the last week of March.

Northern Italy - In Milan, and other parts of Northern

Italy, average temperature would remain between

1 and 13 degrees Celsius (34 to 56 degrees Fahrenheit).

In March, precipitation is still frequent, but there is a

higher chance to have a sunny, warm day than to have a

snowy day.

In Central Italy - including Rome, the average

temperature is approximately between 7 and 15 degrees

Celsius (43 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit). Greater chances

for sunny days toward the end of the month will show

that the long Winter is finally over.

In Southern Italy and Sicily - March is quite mild,

with temperatures remaining between 11 and 16 degrees

Celsius (52 to 61 degrees Fahrenheit).

Where to visit in March

The best thing about Italy is that events and festivals

are held in different locations in the country all

through the year. So, even if visitors travel to Italy off

season, they still have plenty of things to do. Some of

the best places to visit in Italy in March are Turin,

Rome, Florence and Verona. These is where the most

relevant Spring Festivals are held in March. Beside

taking part to them, visitors can also visit the cities, all

beautiful examples of Italian art and architecture. Rome

and Florence are known all through the world as some

of the best cities in the world in terms of culture, art and

architecture. During the off season many of

their museums and sightseeing locations offer discounts

visitors.

Matching wine bottles and shoes, at Vinitaly in Verona, one of

the many events held in Italy in March

Ph. flickr/DiarioInViaggio

Festivals in March

March, 8th

is the Festa della Donna (International

women's day).

In Rome, the commemoration of the death of Caesar

is held every March, on the 15th

. Various cultural events,

including a marathon race, take place during the

celebration, its fulchre being Caesar's statue in the

Roman Forum.

The famous marathon in Rome is organized on the

third or fourth Sunday of the month. The marathon runs

its 42km stretch through many picturesque streets of the

city, Its starting point is at the Roman Forum, after

which runners will pass by some of the best known

monuments and locations of the capital, including the

Vatican. The finish line is, every year, by the

Colosseum. The marathon is quite popular and people

from all over the world take part in it, and there is even a

shorter route for casual runners.

Saint Giuseppe or Saint Joseph's feast day is

celebrated on the 19th

of March and is also known as

Father's Day. It used to be a national holiday in Italy

and traditionally bonfires were lit through the country on

the day. According to tradition, children give gifts to

their fathers on the occasion and, in many

places, nativity scenes based on the life of the Saint are

shown. Saint Joseph Day also have a typical

food: zeppole.

In Fermo, Marche, there's Tipicità, a festival about food

and traditions from the Marche region.

For those who like medieval festivals and events,

the Palio dei Somari, a donkey race, may be quite

interesting. The event is held in a picturesque medieval

village known as Torrita di Siena, in Tuscany, quite

close to the city of Siena. The event takes place on the

19th

March. A historic parade is also a part of the

celebrations.

Palio dei Somari in Torrita, Siena, one of the many events held

in Italy in March Ph. wikicommons/Edisonblus

Wine lovers would have a wonderful time in Italy in

March, since the largest and the most important wine

festival takes place in the month of March, in Verona.

The festival is known as VinItaly. During the festival,

can sample some of the best known wines of Italy,

including local ones made from the vineyards around

Verona.

Spring festivals are also quite commonly celebrated in

Italy in March. The Festa della Primavera is usually

held on the 21st of March in various different locations

in the country. Usually the festival has some cultural

events centered around music and performances.

Visitors are also invited to taste a lot of typical regional

food items during the festival itself.

http://www.lifeinitaly.com/weather/march

Volunteers always needed

especially for 2016

Many members seem to think that their physical presence

is required to volunteer at Roma Lodge. In truth, many

volunteers don’t even have to leave the comforts of their own

home! You can help out simply by using your computer,

printer, or scanner. For example, whenever we have a Talent

Show scheduled, there is a need to make and to print a

laminated custom karaoke song list to be placed on each

table. Another is to print event posters.

If you are able to type or to suggest, you can help out with

any number of Roma Lodge committees. And if you can

scan documents, there are plenty of aging documents that

need scanned and converted into PDF documents especially

for our lodge’s Historian Committee. We also have a

constant need for suggestions of how to improve our lodge.

For example, several years ago Mary Guernic suggested,

designed and decorated a ‘suggestion box’ that is still in use.

Also, the Roma Lodge Phone Tree idea came about from a

suggestion in 2007 by Isabel Amante.

We certainly appreciate those who show up at our frequent

“clean up” days at Roma Lodge or when we break out boxes

of items from our attic for various year-round functions, (the

latest being our Christmas decorations on Dec. 4th). But if

Roma Lodge members would like to participate in any

voluntary capacity from home or via suggesting new ideas,

the need is always there. Please call our lodge president for

the phone numbers of the chairpersons of any one of our

many committees. Thank you.

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MASS TO RECOGNIZE

DEPARTED ROMA LODGE

MEMBERS

A Mass commemorating all deceased Roma Lodge

members will be held at the Church of the Holy Family

on 1279 N. Great Neck Road in Virginia Beach at 11:00

a.m. on Sunday, February 28, 2016. Immediately

following the Mass, Roma Lodge patrons may gather in

the family room area adjacent to the church vestibule for

donuts and coffee.

**************************** Historian Committee meeting

held, more ‘Italian Pride’ in

store for 2016

The first Historian Committee meeting for 2016 was

held in the Cerino Room on February 11th

at 9:00am and

John Del Russo Sr. was selected for another year as

committee chairman (to 2/2017). One of the items

proposed at the meeting was to have another ‘Italian

Pride Night’ where, for $1, any Roma Lodge member

can bring in any shirt or sweat shirt and have the map of

Italy permanently affixed to it (size of decal

approximately 3” x 4”). This offer will be scheduled for

one of the Friday night meals this coming Spring. Stay

tuned to your Roma Lodge newsletter for the exact date.

Also, if anyone is interested in participating in our

lodge’s Historian Committee, contact Chairman Del

Russo at 479-0240.

********************************************* SUPER BOWL: ITALIAN STYLE

by John William Del Russo, Sr.

John “Johnny TV” Cutrone supplied the TV reception

and the finely-tuned antenna intricacies, Doreen Cutrone

supplied the ‘pick-em’ grid, and Pat Davis organized the

seating and supplied her own TV for Roma Lodge’s 8th

Annual Super Bowl Party held in our Cerino Room on

Sunday, February 7th. The total door take was $91 and

Doreen’s ‘pick-em’ grid (less the winners) yielded $25

bringing a total of $116.00 toward our Building Fund.

Thanks to all in attendance!

ROMA LODGE’S ANNUAL

“DAYTONA 500” PARTY

On Sunday, February 21, 2016, the Roma Lodge

Cerino Room will be featuring yet another DAYTONA

500 Party. Doors open at NOON. Be sure to bring a

covered dish. This event is open to all members and

their guests. No reservations needed. Donations

accepted at door as follows:

- $5 per member - $7 per guest

Children 6 & under (w/member): FREE

Children ages 7 thru 14: $4 each

All proceeds shall go to our Building Fund.

Beer and wine will also be served at ‘Friday night’

prices. This event is made possible by cooperation

between Roma Lodge and OSIA of Tidewater Inc. This

event will be hosted by John Del Russo and John

Cutrone.

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2016-2017 Roma Lodge Scholarship

Program Announced

Committee Chair Dr. Albert Marra has announced that

May 1 is the deadline for Roma Lodge scholarship

applications.

The program is open to children and grandchildren of

Roma Lodge members in good standing who will be full

time undergraduate students in 2016-2017. Applications

and requirements will be similar to previous years.

These will be published in the April newsletter and

posted on the Roma Lodge web site

(www.roma254.org)

Roma Lodge members are also invited to make tax-

deductible donations to the scholarship program.

Donations of any amount are welcome! Donors and

recipients will be honored at the annual awards dinner to

be held at the lodge on Friday, June 24. Please contact

Albert Marra (757-301-8797; email: amarra@odu.edu)

for more information.

OSIA TW Inc. Notes:

Thank you goes out to the wonderful volunteers that

spent 7 hours cleaning the kitchen; office help in filing

and documenting financial information; making phone

calls and setting up a spread sheet for rentals; setting up

the computer, key log, and getting the dishwasher

running up to a good standard; going to class to provide

us with a FOG certification for the city requirement;

monitoring the building to make sure none of the pipes

burst during inclement weather; working on a virtual

tour for rentals, investigating the ABC Laws and

policies, getting permits, selling tickets, assisting with

preparations and menus for the Carnevale, setting up and

taking down for events, going up and down the ladder to

the attic to put away or get items out; making sure that

accurate information is recorded for the members, and

the Board members that are attending the monthly

meetings.

As you can see, many volunteers are stepping

forward to help. We are doing our due diligence as

Board members, but we have come to a conclusion, in

order to sustain the building, we need volunteers. In

January’s Newsletter, a request for volunteers was made

for special committees. The committees are being

developed to allow you as members to be a part of the

decision making process and involvement. Please

contact Pat Davis at 301-3683 or email her at

wdavis62@cox.net and discuss becoming a member of

one of the special committees or what you can do to

help. We need your help, please volunteer.

At the last Board meeting, a summary of expenses

and income was discussed and Paula Terveer, Treasurer

for OSIA was asked to present the information to the

members. All the Board members feel the information

is critical and members should be aware of fiscal

responsibilities in sustaining the Roma Lodge Building

and operations. We notified the President of Roma

Lodge that the Cerino room is for the members and at no

time will OSIA of Tidewater rent the room. Members

are encouraged to use the room. A member must

contact the President of Roma Lodge; according to the

contract between Roma Lodge and OSIA, the Presidents

will meet and discuss what accommodations are needed

for member. At no time is Roma Lodge to sublease the

room or request payment of any kind, to include

donations from a member. A member is not permitted

to profit in anyway or charge any fee for guest during

their activity. Any violation will put Roma Lodge at

risk for violation of the contract and non-profit status.

As mentioned above, our special committee looked

into the ABC regulations and found out, we have been

operating in violation of our liquor license. We are

working on getting a policy in place for operation of the

bar, sale of alcohol, and training of those selling to

members. We will address these at the March meeting.

If you have any extra office supplies laying around

the house such as: envelops (business, regular or

medium manila envelopes), file folders, hanging file

folders, copy paper, or bulletin boards (either white

boards or cork boards), please contact us and we will

either meet you at the office or pick up the items. We

are trying to conserve any expense possible. Your

donations are greatly appreciated.

We are open to any questions or concerns you might

have, please contact us.

Board of Directors,

Patricia Davis, President John Cutrone, Vice

President Al Marra, Secretary Paula Terveer,

Treasurer Joe Bondi Doreen Cutrone Steve

Pelligrino John Del Russo John Luizzi, Directors *************************************************

Schedule of Events 2016-2017

22 February – Roma Lodge 2016 Election

26 February – Swearing Inn New RL Council

28 February – Memorial Mass (Holy Family)

18 March – San Giuseppe Dinner

17 April – MS Walk

29 May – Memorial Day Picnic

30 May – Wreath Laying/Monument

24 June – Awards/Scholarship Dinner

2 July – Independence Day Picnic

5 September – Labor Day Picnic

8 October – Columbus Dinner

28 October – Halloween Party

11 November – Veterans’ Day

2 December – Children/Adult Deck the Halls

15 January – Memorial Mass

11 February – Valentine’s Dinner

28 February – Italian Carnevale

Note: This is for planning purposes only.

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Roma Lodge Notes:

* Order Sons of Italy in America - Roma Lodge # 254

(This is our FACEBOOK PAGE)

You can check here for information concerning the Club and

various other items. (Photos, and up-to-date news).

Roma Lodge Elections

Don't forget our Council Election are coming up Feb. 22th.

Remember that nominations for any position can be taken

the night of the Elections. The swearing-in ceremony will be

on the 26th, following the Friday Night Meal. (For

Nomination information, please refer to the two previous

Newsletters).

Sick & Welfare

Because of personal matters, we now are in need of a NEW

Chairperson for this Committee. Please contact me if are

interested in taking this very important position.

Roma Lodge Weekly E-News

To better keep you informed of emergent Lodge news, we

offer our members a weekly e-mail news service. Since April

2009, we have been providing this service to our members.

Join in and send your e-mail address along with your name

to: luizzi@verizon.net

If any member (who does not have E-mail capabilities), and

desires to be kept in “the loop” for any type of emergent

lodge news (i.e.: meal cancellations, members passing away,

etc.), please call at 490-6448 and I will ensure that you are

called with any relevant lodge news.

* It has been a while, but we are trying to update our E-Mail

address list. Please contact me with a good Address, and we

will try and keep you updated more often. (Please, if you

write down, please print (it’s easier to read)).

NOTE: The deadline for newsletter articles Is the 2nd

Monday of every month. If you would like to receive this,

please use the following

My E-Mail - luizzi@verizon.net

Roma Lodge is not responsible for any typographical

errors or omissions in the newsletter

EDITOR-IN-CHARGE: John Luizzi

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