Letter from the President, December 12, 2024
Ciao e felice anno nuovo (Hello and Happy New Year!)
What a way to close out 2024 at the Sun Lakes Italian-American Club (SLIAC) annual Christmas Party & Raffle on Tuesday, December 10. We welcomed 112 members & guests with the East Valley Harmonizers Barbershop Chorus singing Christmas songs and a unique version of “My Wild Italian Rosa”. A great time was had by all and the raffle organized by Patty Pannullo and Joann Belack had great prizes and netted over $1300 for the club. Way to go Patty and Joann! Our 2 charities appreciate you.
Let’s keep the SLIAC train rolling while we start planning our 2025 monthly schedule. The January 9 dinner meeting will be highlighted by Giovanni Triscornia from Ethica Wines. Giovanni is an Italian wine expert who will discuss the different Italian wine regions. February will be highlighted by our 2nd annual “Traditional Italian Wedding Night”. Time to get that wedding dress and tuxedo out of mothballs. March will be highlighted by the annual Sisk Park potluck lunch & mini Bocceball tournament (a hit for the last 3 years). I can’t wait to see all the different kinds of Italian food and desserts that our members bring to this potluck. Mangia!
As I have said before, I am honored to be your President of the SLIAC. I am looking forward to 2025 and meeting more friends at our monthly dinner meetings. Don’t forget to RSVP early by Zelle or send check by mail. RSVP and payment deadline is January 2, 2025. All RSVP info, photos, recipes and club news is in the SLIAC website at iacsunlakes.com. Check it out!
Facciamo in modo che questo sia l’anno migliore di sempre (Let’s make this the best year ever)
Steve Ambroso / President SLIAC
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT, NOVEMBER 15, 2024
The November 14 meeting of the Sun Lakes Italian-American Club was attended by 114 members and guests. That is almost a 20% increase over our November, 2023 dinner meeting. Thank you to all who attended! I think everyone attending had a great time at the “Night of Italian Comedians”. I heard a lot of laughter after watching the 10 comedian videos. We might have to make it an annual event.
The upcoming Holiday Party, Raffle & singing by The Harmonizers is our big event of the year. Patty Pannullo & Joann Belack have done a fantastic job of decorating and gathering donations and gift baskets that will be raffled off. Please get to the Oakwood Ballroom early to check out all the items available for the Raffle.
Please wear your best Christmas outfits! We want to see a lot of Red & Green! The Holiday Party & Raffle is always the most attended event on the SLIAC calendar. Tickets for the raffle will go on sale starting at 4:45. There will not be any 50/50 tickets sold at this event…only tickets sold for the Raffle.
See you at the Oakwood Ballroom on Tuesday, December 10!
Buon Natale & Felice Anno Nuovo,
Steve Ambroso / President
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT, OCTOBER 5, 2024
Benvenuti a tutti (Welcome to all).
November means cooler weather! Doesn’t that sound great after a brutally hot summer? Traffic has shown an increase due to the influx of “snowbirds”, Holiday decorations are appearing at retail stores, and the Sun Lakes Italian-American Club had its first meeting of the year at our new location at the Oakwood Ballroom. What a success!…the food was great and we had a record October attendance of 93 members (including 16 new members)! The competition was fierce between members to see which table knew more Italian Trivia. Questions about Italian culture, food, and history made for a fun, spirited night.
The November 14th meeting will be the first time we have ever had a night of Italian Comedy with videos of Italian Comedians. Get ready to laugh!
Thank you to all members & guests who used Zelle to prepay your October dinner and annual membership. Also to those who mailed a check ahead of time. Oakwood catering requires us to give them an RSVP count one week before the dinner meeting. We no longer accept payment at the door on the night of the meeting. All of the deadlines, RSVP info, menu, and photos are available on our new website (iacsunlakes.com). Please check it out!
Remember…our goal at SLIAC is to see smiling faces, laughter, and the enjoyment of each others company. This is the fastest growing club in Sun Lakes for a reason. Looking forward to seeing you on Thursday, November 14.
Italian thought for the day…
La famiiglia e il cuore del tuo cuore (Family is the heartland of your heart)
Steve Ambroso
President
SEPTEMBER 1, 2024
SUN LAKES ITALIAN-AMERICAN CLUB (SLIAC) UPDATE FROM STEVE AMBROSO / PRESIDENT
Let me start by saying “CIAO A TUTTI” (Hello Everyone!) This has been an exciting and challenging summer for the Sun Lakes Italian-American Club Board of Directors & Committee members. We think we have made this fantastic SLIAC club much better and can’t wait to introduce you to the changes…
CHANGE #1
All our dinner meetings will be moving to the OAKWOOD BALLROOM at Oakwood Country Club as of our first meeting on Thursday, October 3, 2024. Address is 24218 S Oakwood Blvd, Sun Lakes (next to Stone & Barrel Restaurant.)
CHANGE #2
All dinners will be catered by Oakwood Ballroom staff with the food taken from the menu of the Stone & Barrel Restaurant. You will notice an immediate improvement in the quality of the dinners.
CHANGE #3
The dinners will be going from $23 to $26 as of the first meeting in October. I think everyone is familiar with the escalation in restaurant pricing over the last few years. We held onto the $23 pricing for the last 2 years, and Stone & Barrel food quality will be noticeably better than our previous caterer.
CHANGE #4
We will have a website as of September 10, 2024!
You will be able to access the website by going to www.iacsunlakes.com.
There is info about how to access the website later in this email. This is a huge development for our club. There will be Club News, RSVP dates, photos, and other info in the website. Let’s hear it from you about how we can make the website better.
CHANGE #5
RSVP info…Due to the change from Cottonwood to Oakwood Ballroom, RSVP requirements will change also. All RSVP’s must be made a minimum of seven (7) days before the event. Continue to make the RSVP with Linda McCabe at [email protected]. You will not be able to attend the dinner meeting if you do not RSVP and pay at least seven (7) days before the event.
CHANGE #6
Payment info…Annual membership has increased from $15 to $20. This is the first annual membership increase since 1996.
Dinner payments of $26 and $20 annual membership must be paid at least seven (7) days before the first event you attend. If you are attending the October 3 dinner meeting, this means you must pay $46 per person by September 26.
You can pay online by Zelle or mail a check to:
Joanne LaSalle
3840 E Horseshoe Pl
Chandler, AZ 85249
The check should be made out to SLIAC
You will not be able to pay the night of the dinner meeting. No cash payments will be allowed!