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Sons of Italy Elects Vincent Sarno National President
Press
Contact: Kylie Cafiero, (202) 547-2900 kcafiero@osia.org
 WASHINGTON, D.C. - August
25, 2005 The Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA), the oldest and largest national organization for men and women of Italian heritage, elected Vincent
Sarno as its 31st National President during OSIA's 49th Biennial National Convention in New York City August 16-21. During the convention, OSIA also celebrated its 100th anniversary.
"I
believe in inclusion not exclusion,"
Sarno said during his acceptance speech. "This
is not a one-person job. We all need
to work as one toward a common goal:
the success and growth of OSIA."
The
convention was held at the Grand Hyatt
New York. About 300 OSIA national delegates,
national trustees, state presidents
and OSIA Board officers and their spouses
were present to review OSIA's last
two years' activities, elect a new
slate of national leaders and set OSIA's
cultural, philanthropic and administrative
agendas for 2005-2007.
Among
the dignitaries who saluted OSIA during
the convention were New York Governor
George Pataki, New York City Mayor
Michael R. Bloomberg, Deputy Consul
General of Italy to New York, Paola
Munzi, New York State Attorney General
Eliot Spitzer, Nassau County Executive
Thomas R. Suozzi, and New York State
Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli.
Albert
De Napoli, Esq. of Walpole, MA was
re-elected national president of the
Sons of Italy Commission for Social
Justice (CSJ), OSIA's anti-defamation
arm. The CSJ fights the stereotyping
of Italian Americans by the U.S. entertainment,
advertising, and media industries.
It also promotes the achievements and
contributions of Italian Americans
to the U.S. through research and public
education programs.
The
Hon. Robert A. Messa of Philadelphia
and a former OSIA national president,
was elected president of the Sons of
Italy Foundation (SIF), the philanthropic
arm of OSIA. The SIF supports scholarships,
medical research, cultural preservation,
disaster relief and other special projects.
Through the SIF, OSIA has donated more
than $90 million to these causes.
The
OSIA convention also honored Geno
Auriemma,
who coaches the Huskies women's basketball
team at the University of Connecticut,
received the 2005 OSIA Sports Award.
Justice Frank J. Montemuro,
Jr., a
jurist on the Pennsylvania Supreme
Court and former OSIA national president,
was honored with the OSIA's 2005 Sellaro
Award.
The
convention closed Saturday, August
20 with the Marconi Gala at the Waldorf=Astoria.
Astronaut Michael Massimino received
OSIA's 2005 Marconi Award, OSIA's highest
honor given to a man or woman of outstanding
achievement.
Established
in 1905, OSIA has more than 600,000
members and supporters and a network
of more than 700 chapters coast to
coast.
OSIA
works at the community, national and
international levels to promote the
heritage and culture of an estimated
26 million Italian Americans, the nation's
fifth largest ethnic group, according
to the U.S. Census Bureau. To learn
more, visit OSIA on the Web at www.osia.org.
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