FIAO honors leaders, students during 37th Annual Gala

It was a day of honoring community leaders, exceptional students and Italian pride as The Federation of Italian-Americans Organization Brooklyn (FIAO) held its 37^th Annual Gala at El Caribe Country Club on March 30. Honorees and their families as well as various local organizations and businesses were on hand to celebrate the day with an award ceremony, food, drink and entertainment.

“The main purpose of the event is to celebrate the federation through the year, and at same time celebrate role models and youth while pursing higher education and supporting them with recognition of scholarship,” said Jack Spatola, chairperson of the board at FIAO. “It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved. It provided an opportunity to plan for the future.”

Board Member Dr. Sal Cumella was also pleased with the successful evening. “It was phenomenal. Every year, it’s the biggest event at El Caribe,” he said.

This year, Chief of Urology Department at Lutheran Medical Center Michael Giasullo was the proud recipient of the Humanitarian Award. Other honorees for the evening included Domenick Cama of Investors Bank, attorney Joseph Mure and Deputy Consul at the Consulate General of Italy in New York, Lucia Pasqualini.

“These are role models that truly change people’s lives,” Spatola said. “They bring honor. They spoke about their roots, their family values and character.”

In addition, high school seniors of Italian descent with exceptional grades who will be attending college this fall received scholarships. Those recipients were Giacomo Bonello, Peter Caleca, Rita Cinquemani, Anthony Gaudio, Sebastiano Giordano, Nancy Marangelli, Michael Pedulla, Lauren Simone, Adam Curco, Philip Carmosino, Justin Cinquemani. Daniela Gaudio, Michael Fiorito, Antonio Oliveri and Salvatore Pitino.

The other objective of the evening was to continue fundraising for and announce a state-of-the-art center that the entire community can use, and that will be “the first of its kind of New York,” said Cumella.

The 55,000-square-foot facility, located in heart of Bensonhurst, 18^th Avenue and Benson Avenue, will include an Olympic swimming pool, basketball court and gym, and will feature language and cooking classes. It is slated to open its doors this summer. “We’ve raised over$ 19 million for the center,” said Cumella.

“The event was excellent; we had a good time and raised a lot of money,” said Spatola. “It’s an all-around effort to offer vitality to the Italian America community and everyone in Brooklyn and southern Brooklyn.”

FIAO is a community based service organization that dedicates itself to improving the quality of life of individuals and families. For more information on future FIAO events, visit www.fiaobrooklyn.org.