"The purpose of this organization is to promote the heritage, culture and traditions of Italian-Americans through social, educational and recreational events. The organization shall also advance the educational development of Italian-American youth by generating and distributing funds for collegiate scholarships."
May Club Meeting
Our next meeting will be on Wednesday May 25th at 6:00 PM at the Solon Community Center.
The monthly meetings are back to stay! We will hold them the last Wednesday of every month (except November and December) moving forward. Put it on your calendar.
Please note some important changes in start time and location for the meeting. We are back at the Community Center!! We will start at 6:00. We have to be out by 8:00 PM.
More Events Are Coming
Bocce. If the weather cooperates and the court survived the winter in good shape the season will begin the first week of May.
Club Picnic. We are excited about this. Burgers, dogs, games with some of the nicest people we know. June 11th,2 PM at the Grantwood Pavillion.
Steak and Stogie. It's back! Looks like we'll have one in June and one in August.
Golf Outing. Our biggest fundraiser and a very well attended event (we expect a sellout). July 29th.
There is more to come but we wanted to see how things play out before we plan the second half of the year. (Of course, we'll have the Stag Raffle!).
Should be a fun year!
Easter Egg Hunt Success
The Solon Italian Club would like to thank the community for being extremely supportive of our Egg Hunt year after year. The 36th was no different! Special thanks to Bob Yodice for chairing the hunt once again!
Sausage Making
The club had the privilege of showing members from the Solon Blue Ribbon Adapted Recreation Program how to season, mix, stuff, and case ten pounds of ground pork butt and turn it into delicious Italian sausage! A great time had by all!
Scholarships
Foundation Scholarships
The Scholarship committee has decided to award 6 scholarships worth $13,500 this year. We thank the Committee for their work.
Buon Compleanno!
Best wishes to the following members who celebrate birthdays in the month of May:
5/3 Vic Buzzelli
5/3 Tom DiCarro
5/4 Mike Tuscan
5/6 Jerry Fana
5/8 Gary Crimaldi
5/11 Tim DiCarro
5/13 Joe Grisola
5/19 Rodney Strata Jr.
5/20 Mike Durant
5/27 Don Scoglietti
5/29 Joe DeFranco
Nominations, Elections and Scholarships
Club elections are coming up soon. We will begin accepting nominations at the January meeting for Treasurer, Secretary and Trustee. This is important and worthy of your attention.
We will also begin collecting applications for scholarships soon. We will let you know requirements and where to find applications soon. Keep an eye out.
Club Cookbook
Jim D'Orazio is going to make an effort to compile a cookbook of recipes from Club members. There are some amazing cooks in the Club and it would be fun to learn some of the "secrets" of fellow Club members. Details to follow.
Meet Our Members
Meet club member Jim D’Orazio. Jim joined the Club in 2000 and has been an active member. Jim is currently a Trustee and he manages the Club’s communications. Jim has hosted a Steak and Stogie night and helped with many Club events. He enjoys playing in the Golf Outing every year and attending the Stag Raffle. And he heads a bocce team that’s going to make the playoffs someday. He says, “I really enjoy our events but my favorite might be attending the monthly meetings. It’s great to see everyone, the conversations are fun and the food is really good.” He says, “The Club is one of the best organizations I have ever joined. Great people that have become good friends. Great commitment to community with our scholarship program. I’m honored to be a member.”
Jim’s mother, Rosa, came to America in 1948 from Montenerodomo in Abruzzi. His father’s parents also came from there in 1894. Jim’s father, Fred, grew up in Little Italy and was a member of the ISDA and the Little Italy Retirees. Jim is retired from teaching marketing at Cleveland State. He has been married to Margaret for 43 years. They have three boys. Anthony and Maria live in Columbus. Mike and Callie live in South Euclid. Brian and Megan live in Minneapolis with their sons Remy and Aiden. Jim says, “I’m proud of my boys. They have grown to be good men. And I’m sure your grandkids are cute. They might be as cute as mine. But no kids are cuter than those little boys.” Apparently Jim is happy with those grandkids.
The Club wants to thank Jim for all he has done for the Club.
Where Are They Now?
We wondered how some of our past Scholarship winners were doing. Today we will feature Courtney Dunn.
Courtney Dunn will be graduating from OSU in December of 2021 with a BA in International Relations and a specialization in Security and Intelligence. She has taken on leadership roles where she had the opportunity to transform student life on campus as the Director of Student Advocacy for RHAC, a counsel helping over 14,000 on-campus students. She also was a Peer Leader for over 600 first-year students welcoming them to Ohio State. Courtney says, “I would like to graciously thank the Solon Italian Club for their generosity in providing me with a scholarship that helped me further my education. Thank you for your investment in me and for representing the pride that comes with our Italian Heritage. My best advice that comes from my Nonna: "Always be Kinder than You Feel." I believe kindness will take us further than most things.”
Columbus Day Parade
The Columbus Day Parade was held on October 11th. The Club was well represented and everyone had a great time. One of the best days of the year.
Bocce Season a Big Success
The playoffs were August 24th and they were exciting. Badda Bocce defeated Team DiCarro to win Tuesday night and Italia 76 defeated Slo Your Role to win Thursday night. Badda Bocce won the Championship by defeating Italia 76.
Congratulations to Tom Smith, Chris Stallano, Bill Sobonya, Vince Indriolo on being the 2021 Bocce Champions!
Welcome New Officers and Trustees
At the July General Meeting the Club proudly welcomed Brett Neff as our new President Sam Merolla as Vice President and two new trustees, Mark Bertolone and Dominic Lanteri.
President, Brett Neff. Brett has been an important Club member since he joined us. He has run the Solon Italian Club Foundation's biggest fundraiser, the Golf Outing, for a couple of years. He has already shown great leadership in these unusual times. We look forward to his leadership for the next three years.
Vice President, Sam Merolla. Sam attends almost every event and is the unofficial club photographer. He runs the Club's Facebook page and recently served as a Trustee. Sam is committed to improving communications among Club members.
Trustee, Mark Bertolone. A member since 2000 he runs the Stag Raffle and is the unquestioned best ticket seller in the Club.
Trustee, Dominic Lanteri. A member of the Sunshine Committee Dominic heads the Clambake Committee.
Congratulations to all the winners. We're sure they'll do a great job! The Club would also like to thank Past President, Mike Rhea for his efforts and leadership during his term. Thanks also to Past Vice President Joe DiNardo for his efforts. We appreciate the great job they did leading the Club.
Badda Bocce. 2021 Champions
Winners of the Man of the Year Award. Photo by Michael Steinberg
The D'Orazio all cleaned up.
The Boys with Grandma Rosie
Hey where's Donny
Great turnout of people readyto go.
The kitchen crew does have fun.
Upcoming Events:
We hope to see you all soon!
If you haven't paid yet please don't forget to bring your membership dues of $75 to next week's meeting. If you can't make the meeting just drop a check in the mail. You can send your check, made out for $75 to the Solon Italian Club, to:
