The sixth annual Wine Tasting, free to all members who had paid their dues by December 31, 2009, was held at Foothill Center on January 9, and drew a crowd of about 110. Chairperson was Sue Bacigalupi. As in 2009, no food was advertised in the announcement, but the Club provided cheese and crackers, meatballs, sausages, grapes, and cookies. Ed Knott provided the music, including a singalong.
At its January 13 meeting, The Board of Directors confirmed these officers for 2010:
President: Bob Iacopi
Vice Presidents: Kathy Pavacich and Bob Puppo
Secretary: Lorraine Cappellieri
Treasurer: Ed Flory
Other directors included Sue Bacigalupi, Peg Bougopoulos (who replaced Don DeVincenzi), Joe Civello, Nick Lickwar, and Myron Zaccheo.
Joe Civello presented a recap on sales of the cookbook, which turned out to be one of the Club’s most successful ventures. As of this date, we had sold 250 books at $15 each, and realized a profit of about 23%. More importantly, the cookbook helped promote Italian culture, and was well-received by all the recipients. Printer was Pacific Printing in San Jose.
The Board also decided to send out new member packets that included the 2010 Calendar of Events, a list of the Board of Directors, and a Welcome Letter.
The first in our series of four cultural events was held on January 20 at Foothill Center. Michael Rogers presented a slide show ont eh art of Leonardo da Vinci. About 53 Villagers attended. The Club provided water, coffee and cookies.
The second Cultural Series program was held on February 17 at Foothill Center. Michael Rogers again was the speaker, this time with an illustrated lecture on the art of Michelangelo. Attendance was about 50.
The St. Patrick’s Day Dinner on March 13 at Foothill Center continued its long run of sellout success, with a crowd of more than 100 members and guests. Chairperson Kathy Pavacich arranged a corned beef and cabbage dinner provided by Golden Harvest Catering, the ever-popular Irish Dancers, a trio of Irish musicians, and the fill-in music by Ed Knott. Prices were $25 for members and $30 for guests, which was more than enough to cover all costs.
At its April 7 meeting, the Board accepted the resignation of Ed Flory as Treasurer and approved Myron Zaccheo to replace him. The Board also decided to add two members because of the increased workload created by our expanding list of events during the year. After a search of prospective applicants, Bob Goodwin and Larry Martinson were selected as the new members, effective May 1.
Our 10th Anniversary Party on April 17th turned out to be an unqualified success for everyone, and further enhanced the Italian Club’s reputation for staging the best social events at The Villages. Chairperson Sue Bacigalupi and a large band of volunteers entertained more than 170 members and guests with an elaborate dinner available at serving stations located around the tables in The Clubhouse. The Club also provided both red and white wine at the tables, and decorations matched the wine motif. The Don Giovannis were the major entertainment, and did a wonderful job of providing lively music and singing for both listening and dancing. Reno DiBono welcomed the crowd with accordion music. All guests were given a souvenir tote bag. Highlight of the door prizes was a week’s stay at a condo in Hawaii, donated by David Bacigalupi. Prices were $40 for members and $50 for guests. These prices did not cover the costs, but the Club Board was very happy to absorb the deficit.
Our annual bocce party at Campo Di Bocce in Los Gatos on May 12 again attracted 32 players. There was spirited competition throughout the morning on the indoor courts, and then a lunch of pizza, pasta and salads. Chairman Bob Puppo ran everything smoothly, and was rewarded with requests to do it all again next year. Price was $27.
At its May 20 meeting, Joe Civello agreed to replace Myron Zaccheo as Treasurer, while Myron recovered from surgery. The Board also agreed to purchase a commemorative brick at the Piazza Piccola Italia in downdown San Jose. The idea of a bus trip to the wine country was discussed and abandoned. President Bob Iacopi announced that the Bylaws had been revised to accommodate the larger Board membership. The idea of adding another Board member was tabled. Consideration will be given to two other trips—one to the Santa Rosalia Festival in Monterey in September of this year, and another to Italy, sometime in late 2011 or early 2012.
The May 26 Cooking Class at Foothill Center attracted about 35 members. Maxine Amundson, Sue Bacigalupi and Bob Iacopi gave the cooking demonstrations of recipes in Tutti A Tavola, the cookbook of The Villages Italian Club. Nick Lickwar was Master of Ceremonies and entertained the crowd with anecdotes about Italian food and history. The Club provided samples of the three dishes, plus wine and water. Price was $15 per person.
June 13 BBQ & Bocce was sold out by the first of June. Joe Civello and a large babd of helpers ran a very organized event for more than 170 members and guests. As in the past, the Club provided sausage, steaks, pasta and green salads, bread, and dessert. Despite very high temperatures, everyone had a good time, especially those who won something from the very impressive slate or raffle prizes, as selected by Bob Puppo. Bob and Rika Goodwin organized the bocce games, which were fully booked from 3 p.m. until sundown. Not only was this a very successful event in terms of fun and games, it also contributed more than $1,800 to the Club treasury, primarily from the raffle. Dinner prices were $20 for members and $25 for non-members.
At the June 17 Board meeting, Nick Lickwar reported that the commemorative brick had been purchased at the Guadalupe River Memorial Plaza. Interest was expressed in a bus trip to the Santa Rosalia Festival in Monterey in September, but plans were eventually abandoned because time was too short to organize anything really effective; consideration will be given again in 2011.
The cookie sale at The Villages Fourth of July celebration–actually held on July 3—was the most successful in the Club’s history. Chairperson Virginia Gavin assembled a large crew of bakers and servers, and the booth was crowded all morning. Cannoli were offered for the first time in several years, and turned out to be a big success. The shells were purchased on-line from a company in Connecticut, Bob Iacopi made the filling, and Rika Goodwin did a marvelous job of assembling the cannoli on order. More than $550 was added to the Club treasury.
Membership closed at the end of June, with 349 members, very close to the 350 maximum mandated earlier by the Board.
At its July meeting, Chairperson Sue Bacigalupi announced that Opera Night had to be moved from October 9 to October 8 in order to accommodate the musicians’ schedule. Kathy Pavacich do a great job in negotiating the deal with the singers, now known as Opera Stars. It was also announced that the scheduled cultural program on wine had to be cancelled because our speaker, Mark Bartelt, could not honor his previous commitment. Joe Civello is looking into some kind of alternate program. The Board authorized the purchase of 20 more cookbooks to take care of sales during the 2010 holiday season. It was also decided to forego the Carnevale Party in 2011, and to replace it with a Spaghetti Western Night.
At its August 11 meeting, the Board voted to charge $5 for the annual wine tasting to be held in January, 2011, both to reduce the deficit and to discourage no-shows. The August 15 Ed Pasquale Golf Tournament was another sellout, with 78 golfer playing 9 holes, and then congregating at Foothill Center with another 28 members and guests to enjoy a dinner catered by Tony & Alba’s. Prizes were given for the golf tournament, and there was the usual array of other prizes, so everyone went home with something. Chairpersons were Myron and Carol Zaccheo and Sue an David Bacigalupi. Price was increased this year to $35 for golfers and $30 for golfers.
At its September 22 meeting, the Board voted to lift the 350-maximum for club membership, and to accept all applicants, at least for the time being. Membership would be $12 for 2011. Current members had until November 20 to cancel their automatic dues renewal on the December Villages statements.
Opera Night on October 8 attracted a smaller crowd than in previous years, but the 100 members and guests who did attend were treated to a nice dinner and a strong performance by Trio Amore Plus One, who turned out to be a Russian tenor who sang popular show tunes in English rather than operatic areas. Prices were $35 for members and $40 for guests.
As usual, the November 13 Membership Meeting was oversold, but Chairperson Virginia Gavin managed to squeeze 102 members into Vineyard Center to enjoy a catered meal from Tony & Alba’s Pizza and enjoy the movie “Family Flaw.” Price was only $12, and the Club gladly absorbed a loss in order to give our membership the best deal possible. Bob Iacopi gave his annual State Of The Union address, reviewing the 2010 events and providing information on the 2011 calendar.
At our last cultural event on November 17, Manuela Marani gave n illustrated lecture to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the unification of Italy. About 40 people attended the free show at Vineyard Center. The Club provided wine, water, coffee and cookies.
The December 11 Christmas Party attracted the largest crowd in the Club’s history—209. Chairperson Peg Bougopoulos and her hard-working committee arranged for a nice dinner with a choice of four entrees, prepared a slate of 17 door prizes including a two-night reservation at the El Dorado Hotel in Reno, and ran the event very smoothly. Jerry Saucedo did a great job with the music, and as usual, we had a long night of dancing. The Club provided three bottles of wine for each table, and gave a miniature bottle of Amaretto liqueur as a souvenir. Prices were $45 for members and $50 for non-members, which was more than enough to cover all expenses.
At the December meeting, the Board previewed the 2011 Calendar of Events and prepared a preliminary budget for the year.
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