"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."
Holiday General Meeting
Holiday Club Meeting. December 1, 2021
Our next meeting will be the Wednesday after Thanksgiving, December 1st, at 6:00 PM at the Solon Community Center.
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 so a brief meeting and food will be served at 6:30.
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.
Stag Raffle Big Success
The Stag Raffle was a great success and tremendous fun. The 195 attendees were treated to good food, ample liquid refreshment and great fellowship. It was great to see some faces we haven't seen in a while. Once again Mark Bertolone did a remarkable job running a well organized event. Much thanks to the members that helped with set up, Tom Romeo, Tom DiCarro, Mark Cancasi, Anthony D'Angelo, Angelo Carcioppolo, Brett Neff and Ron Lanci. Thanks to Al Giammaria for calling numbers and Dennis Castiglione for organizing the Texas Hold 'Em tournament.
This remains one of the most popular and best run events we do every year. See you all next November!
Christmas Card Contest
We had some outstanding entries for our first ever Christmas Card Contest. The cards are at the printer's and we are sure you'll love them. Much thanks to Ron Lanci for making this happen.
The Winners:
Winner age group 4, 5 and 6
Kira Lanci age 5
Granddaughter of Ron Lanci
Winner age group 7, 8 and 9
Kylie Hamilton age 8
Granddaughter of Ron Lanci
Winner age group 10, 11 and 12
Gianna Merolla age 11
Daughter of Sam Merolla
Judging was done by Ellen Flint of Flint Creative Marketing
Meet Our Members
Meet Club member Lou Bellante. Lou has been in the Club since 2008. Lou says, “After moving to Solon, I heard about the Solon Italian Club and thought about joining it, but time flew by. Eventually a friend invited me to come to a meeting with him. That’s all it took. I joined the Club immediately.” Lou has helped out other members with their events including Home Days, Kitchen, Egg Hunt, Columbus Day Parade,Golf Outing, Dinner Dance, and Stag Raffle. He also served a term as Trustee. And he’s the bocce stat man.
A Mechanical Engineer by education Lou is an entrepreneur. He started a Plastic Molding Manufacturing Business in 1977 and sold it in 1996. He also owns and manages some commercial real estate to this day. Lou moved to Solon in 1976 with his wife, Lucille and daughter Kim. He has 2 grown grandchildren Amber and Jonathan, and 2 Great grandchildren Camden and Aspen. Unfortunately, Lucille passed away in 2009. He is now with his current wife Teresa (a great bocce player and spring roll maker).
The Club thanks Lou for all he has done for the Club
Sausage Making is Delayed
Sausage making, originally scheduled for October 30, is being pushed back to after the first of the year. You have heard about supply chain problems. Well they are hitting the pork industry and Raddell's could not guarantee that they could supply 400 pounds of meat. Don DeRoia will come up with a new date when he is sure we can make it the great event it's always been.
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.
Buon Compleanno!
Best wishes to the following members who celebrate birthdays in the month of December:
12/8 Gabriel Ricci-Braum 12/9 Peter D’Attoma 12/14 Ken Badalamenti 12/14 Louis Catania
12/18 Joe Gambino
12/21 Ray Dinallo 12/25 Ron Ricca 12/25 Chris Savelli 12/25 Bob Yodice 12/31 Al Benedict, Jr. 12/31 Bill Russo
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:
