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LETTER FROM PRESIDENT FRANK TRAVISANO
Waterbury Chapter
of UNICO National
B i r t h p l a c e o f U N I C O
I hope everyone has had a great summer and enjoyed their time
away from UNICO. As you know, my summer didn't go as expected but I
am thankful for the support of my friends and extended family and
truly appreciate the prayers, condolences, cards and well-wishes I
have received from
my UNICO family.
It seems so long since Ive written you all. I was extremely
pleased with our turn-out for our End of Year Celebration at Vasis.
I believe everyone had a great evening and it was nice to see so
many new and old faces. Im still receiving compliments from the
recipients of our donations...they were honored to be included and
appreciative of the support. Our first dinner meeting will take
place on Tuesday, September 22nd at 6:30pm at Junipers in
Middlebury. Cost will remain at $25.00 per person. A few new
members will be installed that night and we will be discussing our
plans for the
upcoming year. As you know, I solicited opinions regarding the
meeting location and schedule, etc. Based on the responses from the
members, the
following schedule will occur:
Dinner Meetings will be held at Junipers in September, October,
November, February, March & April. There is not a Dinner
Meeting in December, but the Christmas Party will take place at The
Country Club of Waterbury. The January Dinner Meeting, which is
also the CT-I District Meeting, will take place on January 26th at
Vasis Restaurant. This location, which is directly off Route 8, is
easier for UNICANS from other Chapters to find. The Scholarship
Dinner will be held on May 24th and the End of Year
Celebration will take place on June 28thboth at locations to be
determined.
I thank everyone for their feedback and hope that you enjoy what
we have planned this year. Speaking of which, we are still in need
for someone to
serve as Newsletter Publisher. More information is included
inside. Also, we are looking not only for fundraising ideas, but
for people to take charge
and serve as an event chair. All ideas will be considered. Thats
it for now, I hope to see you all soon. Again, thank you for your
support. ~Frank
www.waterburyunico.com
[email protected]
www.facebook.com/waterburyunico
Newsletter September 2015
Mrs. Marie A. Ponzillo-Travisano, age 62, passed away peacefully
surrounded by her family on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2015 in the
VITAS Hospice Unit at Saint Mary's Hospital after a brief
illness. She was the devoted wife of Frank J. Travisano. Marie
was
born on Nov. 7, 1952 in Waterbury, daughter of the late Louis
and Josephine (DelBuono) Ponzillo Sr. She was a graduate of
Kennedy High School, class of 1970, earned her bachelor of
science degree in home economics education from the University
of Connecticut, class of 1974 and graduated summa cum laude from
Central Connecticut State University with a master's
degree in curriculum design, supervision, administration and
public school law. Marie was a multi-faceted, dynamic woman
who worked with people on many levels throughout her life. She
was dedicated to the advancement and betterment of
people and the public education system and did it all with
fabulous style and flair. During her lifetime, she worked as an
educator, lecturer and in the fields of educational program
development, marketing management, public relations and grant
writing for nonprofit organizations. Marie was a beloved teacher
at Kennedy High School, Enlightenment and State Street
Alternative schools, and Crosby High School for 36 years. During
her time at Crosby High School, Marie directed "The Young
Parent Program." It was a groundbreaking, first-of-its-kind
dropout prevention program for teen mothers and young fathers
that grew into an award winning, nationally recognized program.
"Mama Ponz," as the kids called her, was an instrumental
and beloved part of charting a productive life course for
countless teens and their families. Many of the young mothers whom
she guided kept in touch with her
well after their graduation. As a lecturer, Marie spoke and
facilitated at numerous workshops on topics that included
curriculum design, grant search/writing,
community involvement in the public school system, fashion
design and interior design just to name a few. Marie was a proud
recipient of many honors and
awards including: the 1991 National Teacher of the Year in
Family and Consumer Sciences; a 1992 Medallion Award Winner, the
highest honor given by the
University of Connecticut; the 1990 Celebration of Excellence
Award given by the Connecticut Department of Education and
Connecticut Legislature; the 1991
Outstanding Educator Award by The Dolores Kohl Foundation; the
2001 Kids Are Great Award winner in education sponsored by the
Connecticut Children's Medical
Center, Waterbury Hospital and Fleet Bank; the 2007 Dr. Lawrence
Shea Outstanding Citizen Award by The Exchange Club; and the 2008
Images of Heroes Award
by The American Red Cross; as well as being a local, state, and
national winner of grants, awards and NEASC commendations for
programs she designed and/or
directed. She continued her dedication to her community as a
member of UNICO National and of the Waterbury Chapter of UNICO
National, where she, along with
Frank, helped to educate people and carry on her Italian
heritage, as well as raise money for the numerous UNICO charities.
Her family and friends were of utmost
importance to her and her time with them was precious. She loved
interior design, artwork and her beautiful flowers and her garden.
Memorial contributions in
Marie's name may be made to the UNICO of Waterbury, P.O. Box
933, Waterbury, CT 06721 to help fund a scholarship in Marie's
name.
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NEWSLETTER EDITOR
The Chapter is in dire need of someone to create our
Monthly Newsletter. While most information is pretty easy
to figure outupcoming events, meeting reminders, etc.a
bit of creativity and ingenuity is needed to make the
Newsletter informative and attractive. The person who
decides to take on this role should be proficient in either
Publisher or Word, be in-tune with the happenings of the
Italian Community and UNICO at large AND be able to
attend the Chapter Board Meetings to gather the
information. Basic training will be provided and guidance
offered but the person should be able
to develop articles as needed and use common sense when deciding
what information to include.
Sounds more scary than it actually is. If youre interested or
think you may want to learn more,
contact Francine Nido at [email protected] or 203.510.0276.
Francine has been creating
our Newsletter off and on for over 10 years and can give you all
the information you may need.
FUNDRAISING IDEAS
We are in need of another fundraiser to be held. As of now, the
only
fundraisers the Chapter holds are the Italian Corned Beef Dinner
and the
DuckDay Raffle Sale. We will support a new fundraiserwe just
need
someone to chair the event.decide on what to do, when to do it,
etc. It
can be held for a specific cause (cooleys anemia, jimmy v, etc)
or for
general donation to local charities or scholarship fund. The
Board has come
up with some great ideas such as Pasta Dinner, Pancake
Breakfast, Bus Trip, Meatballs & Merlot, Dinner Dance,
Comedy Night, Golf Tournament and Bowl-a-thon, but realize
that they cant do it alone AND know that having new faces
with fresh ideas can make things happen! All we need is
someone with energy, inspiration and dedication.
Think about it.get a fellow UNICAN to help.it cant hurt
and you might have fun.
Fundraising is
the gentle art of
teaching the joy
of giving.
Page 2 Waterbury Ch ap ter o f UN I CO N at i o nal
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UPDATES & KUDOS
Italian Mayor for the Day: Congratulations to this years
honoreeSemina DeLaurentisArtistic Director for Seven
Angels Theater! The Columbus Day Celebration will take place
on
Friday, October 9th starting at 9am with a Mass at Our Lady
of
Lourdes Church followed by procession to City Hall for Flag
Raising at 10am. Complimentary cake & coffee will be served
in
Veterans Hall immediately following the ceremony. A luncheon
will be held at 12Noon at Verdi Restaurant at Western Hills Golf
Course. The cost is
$25/person and the Menu is Salad, Pasta and choice of Chicken
Florentine or Scrod w/
Potatoes & Vegetable. Advance registration required. Sign-up
at Dinner Meeting or send
check (payable to Waterbury UNICO) to Tom Buzzelli38 Old New
England Road
Wolcott, CT 06716. Any questions, contact Tom at 203.879.5653.
Please make plans to
attend this annual celebration of our Italian-American heritage
in Waterbury!!! The
event is open to the publicplease tell your family &
friends!!!
Reminder: It is the responsibility of the Chairperson of any
event/
committee for photos, etc. at their events. These photos along
with the
appropriate text (names & ar ticle) will be sent to
[email protected] for review by Vice-President Gelada
who
will then submit them to the appropriate media outlets. A
detailed
instruction sheet will be given to each Chairperson in September
outlining
the requirements of ComUNICO & local newspapers.
The CT/MA UNICO Meet the National PresidentDr. Ann Walkowill
take place
on Sunday, November 22nd at The Elks Lodge in Torrington. More
information to
follow!!
Congratulations to our own Francine Nido who was sworn in as
District Governor for
CT-I at the 93rd Annual Convention in Newport Beach, California.
Also at the
Convention, our Chapter received recognition for Chapter
Achievement for adhering to
the standards prescribed by National.
The difference
between ordinary
and extraordinary is
that little extra.
Jimmy Johnson
Page 3 N ew sl etter
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Waterbury Chapter of UNICO National
PO Box 933Waterbury, CT 06721
Monthly Dinner Meetings4th Tuesdays6:30pmJunipers
RestaurantMiddlebury$25.00
September 22nd, October 27th, November 24th, February 23rd,
March 22nd* & April 26th
Monthly Board Meeting2nd Tuesdays6:45pmOur Lady of Lourdes
Church HallWaterbury
October 13th, November 10th, January 12th, February 9th, March
8th, April 12th, May 10th & June 14th
Memorial Mass
SundayNovember 8th10:30amOur Lady of Lourdes ChurchWaterbury
Reception to follow
Chapter Christmas Party
TuesdayDecember 8th6:30pmThe Country Club of Waterbury Cost
TBA
District Meetings
WednesdayNovember 4th 7:00pm Minturnese ClubStamford$30.00
TuesdayJanuary 26th6:30pmVasis RestaurantWaterbury$25.00
March Bridgeport, MayOakville/Watertown &
JuneAnsonia/DerbyDates/Cost TBA
SAVE THE DATES!!!!
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founded by Gerard J. Somma in 1939
with customers nationwide & overseas
located on Scott Road since 1957
www.sommatool.com
Manufacturers of tooling
for the Precision Turned Parts Industry
109 Scott Road Waterbury, CT 06705
JOHN A. SALERNO, M.D.
INTERNAL MEDICINE
573-0300
60 WESTWOOD AVE
WATERBURY,CT 06708
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS
Tim Clark, Realtor Cell-203-592-5201
[email protected]
Proud to be a member of Waterbury UNICO
94 Years of Service Above Self
The Largest Italian-American Service Organization
Founded in Waterbury, CT 1922
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SUPPORT OUR
SPONSORS
Integral Psychiatric Services
203-430-0315
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Monthly Meeting Schedule (Sept-June) Board of Directors 2nd
Tuesday 6:45 pm - Our Lady of Lourdes Church Hall
Regular Dinner Meeting 4th Tuesday - 6:30 pm - Junipers
Restaurant
Want information included in the next newsletter? Care to
receive the newsletter electronically?
Contact us at [email protected]
Memorial Section
Waterbury Chapter of UNICO National Check out our website
www.waterburyunico.com
Like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/WaterburyUnico
Contact us at [email protected]
In Loving Memory to our parents:
Charles and Louise Gerace
Ralph and Lillian Santopietro
~ With love from Bob &Marilyn
In Memory of my Grandparents:
Giovanni John and Theresa Meoni Gelada
Giocondino and Amelia Fusco DAmico Santopietro
~With Love, your grandson, Louis C. Gelada Jr.
In Memory of my parents:
William and Dora Samela ~From Bianca Daniels
