NEWS Bollettino Highlights In Touch New on the Website Calendar Winners

Grand President's Message by Michael Rossi July is a time to relax, enjoy your vacation and take some time for yourself. Marcie and I are already enjoying some hard-earned vacation time… but it will be back to work before we know it. As I relax and look back on my first year as Grand President, let me share with you some of the great things that have happened in the ICF. Thanks to the effort of many dedicated ICF members, the following is good news: * We have two new branches in Morgan Hill and Tucson. Through the hard work of past grand presidents, central council members, and devoted members, we have made tremendous strides, and I believe, more are on the way. * The Deputy Program has helped numerous branches to solve their problems. Alas, we have lost a few branches, but God bless them for all the work they accomplished throughout their years of existence. The brighter side is we have saved a number of branches and shown them our dedication in helping them through hard times. * We have more branch heritage chairpersons than ever. You can expect to see a heritage table at Convention. * We are donating more time and treasure to charitable causes, even though our membership is smaller. In the Bollettino this month you can see what your generosity has accomplished for the Cooley's Anemia patients at Children's Hospital in Oakland. Expect to see a workshop at Convention on this subject too. * Speaking of membership, the trend is changing as we may soon see a net increase. Let us know if you need help with a membership drive. * Our Bollettino and ICF.org website have more features than ever. I hope you like the color on many of the front pages. * We are planning the first ever Bingo at this year's Convention. Don't forget to also support the golf tournament, calendar sales, and convention raffle ticket sales. Speaking of Convention, the Orange District will host a great Convention in Garden Grove, CA, this year. Try to make it if you can as all members and guests are welcome. I hope your summer is a good one. I look forward to seeing you at the Convention where we will not only look at these accomplishments, but plan for a stronger and more successful future for the Italian Catholic Federation. Michael Rossi Grand President Italian Catholic Federation, 8393 Capwell Drive, Suite 110, Oakland CA 94621 tel: 888/ICF-1924; 510/633-9058; fax: 510/633-9758; Email: info@icf.org Website designed by HYPERSPHERE