NEWS Bollettino Highlights In Touch Calendar Winners

Grand President's Acceptance Speech by Michael Rossi Good morning and thank you for this wonderful day. Reverend fathers, officers, and members of the Central Council, brothers and sisters of the Italian Catholic Federation, and friends. Words can hardly express the joy I feel on being elected your Grand President. It is said, "The highest reward for a person's toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it."… A person works their whole life to achieve success and to make something of themselves, and I think I'm there. This means a lot to me. But I hope it also means a lot to you. I promise to do my best as your Grand President to insure that the ideals and aims of the Federation are always my motivation. You see, this is not just an honor for me, but a commitment from me to you. Before I begin, I want to thank a few people who have worked hard for the Federation and made it possible for me to be here. First, I want to thank the delegates who have consistently elected me to serve on Central Council. You have shown me your friendship and support. Without you, I would not be here. Thank you to my fellow Central Council members who elected me to this high honor. You have worked side by side with me, encouraged me, and supported me for eight years, and I thank all of you for your confidence in me. Without you, I would not be here. Of all the central Council members I admire, I want to say congratulations to Past Grand President Leonard Rossi for his leadership over the past two years. Thanks to your leadership, we now have a new Spiritual Director and a Field Operations Director. Thank you Leonard! Leonard, Karen and their family have become good friends thanks to our association with the Federation, and it truly has been a pleasure working with all of them. Leonard, I enjoyed being your Grand First Vice President, and I would do it again if given the chance. And where would a Grand President be without a Grand First Vice President at his side. Jim and Janice Jones have become very close friends through our membership in the Federation. We travel everywhere together, and talk a great deal about the future of the Federation, and spend a lot of money at Starbucks. Jim, you will make a great First Vice and I really look forward to working with you. We love you guys. There are three special people on Central Council without who I would not be here. First is Jody Balestrieri who saw in me some potential, and sparked my interest in running for Central Council. Larry Marsalli nominated me, and I was elected. Thanks for getting me off to a good start. I especially thank my dear friend Nettie. Without her, I would not be here. She encouraged me to take chances and make a difference in the Federation. Mother Teresa said "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are endless." Nettie, thanks for the kind words. I would not be here without my Branch 391, Saint Martin of Tours in San Jose. They support me and encourage me in ways they don't know. Just by their friendship and hard work I am truly inspired when I spend time with them. I'll never forget Marie Figone who first nominated me for Branch president fifteen years ago, and the rest is history. I would not be here without the help of my district supporters, the outstanding people of the Santa Clara Valley District. They lift my spirits and make me want to work harder for the Federation. Thank you for the hospitality room, the financial support, and your continued friendship. I saved the best for last. I would now like to introduce my family. First, my lovely wife Marcie, the love of my life, my traveling companion and my best friend. You are as much a Grand President as I am, for without you, I would not be here. You represent me, you encourage me, and you will make a great first lady. So here we go; are you ready? I definitely would not be here if it were not for my parents, John and Donna Rossi. Whether they know it or not, they made me what I am today. They put me through school, taught me respect and values, taught me about hard work, heritage and family, and gave me my religion. Jay Leno said "You're not famous until your mother knows about it." I hope I make you proud. Thanks for everything, and I am going to use all of your life's teaching to do my next job. My children could not be here today because they are both working. Mike and Kristy, I wish you could be here, but you have responsibilities. It is said, "The greatest gift you can give your children are the roots of responsibility, and the wings of independence." Through the years, I have seen the wonderful things our members do for their Church and their community. The apostolate reports say it all…countless hours of devotion and charity, millions of dollars in aid to your fellow man, and a true love for your faith and heritage. I applaud you. You have brought joy to thousands of Cooley's Anemia patients, seminarians, college students, developmentally disabled, our parishes, and our communities. This is what it's all about. If this is not what God wants us to do, then I don't know what is. We are making a difference in our small part of the world. The Central Council committees are there to help you fulfill your mission in the ICF. One of my first tasks as Grand President will be to form these committees so they can carry out the programs of the Federation. You see, a President is only as good as the people on his team. Central Council has a lot of good and talented people, and I will rely heavily on them to ensure that the ICF is a better organization for everyone. The Convention Directors committee will be chaired by Steven Fuentes. Steve is a talented young man who will work hard to make sure Conventions are a great experience for the delegates. He is already working on next year's convention. We say farewell to past Convention chairman David Botta. Dave has worked tirelessly for the past eight years to bring you these wonderful conventions. He never ceases to amaze me with what he accomplishes. We will miss his energy on this committee. I hope this has been as wonderful for Dave as it has been for us. Thank you Dave! No organization like ours would flourish without tooting our own horn. The Public Relations Committee will be chaired by Nettie Descalso Del Nero. Nettie's task is to get out the good word about the ICF, who we are, and what we do. More people should know about us. She will also see that the Bolletino and the website become better tools to reach out to our members, to communicate better with them, to educate them about the programs of the ICF, and to let them know what's happening in the Federation. Nettie, start tooting. The Membership committee will be chaired by Roselynne Jarrett. If you met her, you would see by now what a wonderful young lady she is, with lots of energy and ideas. She shared with me her plans for the committee, which include an emphasis on family memberships and developing programs that appeal to families and children. She will use the Bolletino as a tool to spread her message. I look forward to a swarm of ideas. The Task Force committee will be made up of Past Grand Presidents and be chaired by Richard Valli. Their most important task is to develop a five year plan for the ICF. Where are we going, and what will the ICF look like in five years, and maybe ten years? These individuals will harness their years of experience and love for the Federation to help this wonderful organization to know where it is going. Any business owner, or even an individual, would tell you that you need a plan to develop your future. The new Grand First Vice President, Jim Jones, will take over the Deputy Program from me. Jim will see that deputies get the assistance they need from Central Council to help them help their districts and branches. But he can't do it alone. He needs all of you to pitch in and make our Federation stronger. I've seen what Jim faces, because I've been there. We need to focus on the things that are important: our religion, charity, heritage and family, and ignore the temptation to fight with one another. We are all brothers and sisters. We are all made in the image of God, and we should use our body and soul for the greater good of our ICF family. All of us also face the leadership question…who will be our next Branch President? I challenge you to find the diamonds in the rough; those that are hidden in your membership and in your churches. Encourage them and nurture them, lest they get away. We need to reach out and take a chance on new people. After all, several people took a chance on me, and it worked out just fine. I know it doesn't always work out, but you have to take risks to get the reward. Don't be afraid to try something new. Whether you know it or not, the Ways and Means committee helps keep our dues lower than they otherwise would be. You see, the primary responsibility of the committee is to use creative means to earn money for the Federation. So, we have a golf tournament, a Convention raffle, and a Calendar, each of which earns thousands of dollars for the Federation to support our many programs. I've asked Leonard Rossi to chair this committee. Leonard has chaired the golf tournament for several years, each year becoming more successful than the last. I've asked Nina Malone to chair the Heritage committee. She is a natural to chair this committee. When you hear her sing, you know that she puts her heart into everything she does, and I know she will put her heart into our precious heritage. Even though the ICF is a little smaller today, you have responded with overwhelming support of our charity and religious programs. Thanks to you, they are as strong today as they ever were. The new committees will see that the programs of the ICF continue to support you in the many hours and dollars that you contribute. To carry on these wonderful programs, I've asked Joe Polselli and Maria Di Paolo to co-chair the Apostolate and Charity Committee. The primary responsibility of the committee is to annually recommend candidate organizations as our National Charity. For several years, the committee has worked closely with the Cooley's Anemia program at Oakland Children's Hospital to promote outreach to ease the pain, and research to find a cure, of this deadly disease that afflicts Italian, Mediterranean, and Asian children. These two young members have a lot to offer the ICF, and will work great as a team to advance the religious and charitable programs of the ICF. Dante Galeazzi will chair the Scholarship committee. His task will be to see that members and branches continue to support this program, and that the word gets out to the students to apply for our generosity. Our young people are our future. I've asked Ario Gregori to chair the Gifts of Love program. He takes over from Al Teglia who recently became Life Member Emeritus. Thank you Al for creating this wonderful program to help those in need who have no where else to turn. If you pay attention to the stories of the people we've helped, then you will truly know the joy of being a member in the Italian Catholic Federation. Al will remain on the committee with Ario to help carry out our good works. There are other committees of the ICF that I didn't mention, but know that whoever runs the committee will be working for the good of the Federation. I expect all committees to serve you well. It is said, "It's a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it." I thank God for the blessings He has bestowed on me in my life. I have my health, my family, my Church, my friends, and the Italian Catholic Federation. I am a happy man. In closing, I will remind you of my promise to do my best and always let the ideals and aims of the Federation be my motivation. This is my commitment to you. I know the following quote from George Bernard Shaw has been used many times, but it is my favorite and it sums me up very well: "I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations." Thank you my brothers and sisters. God bless you. Now let's burn the Federation torch as brightly as we can. Michael Rossi Grand President Italian Catholic Federation, 675 Hegenberger Road, Suite 230, Oakland CA 94621 tel: 888/ICF-1924; 510/633-9058; fax: 510/633-9758; Email: info@icf.org Website designed by HYPERSPHERE