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ITALIAN AMERICAN MARCHING CLUB

SPRING 2010 PARADE NEWSLETTER

SPECIAL IAMC EVENT AT THE WWII MUSEUM

The IAMC is co-sponsoring a very special event on Thursday, May 6, 2010 at the WWII Museum. From 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. that evening, author, Ms. Elizabeth Bettina, will present her new book It Happened in Italy which sets forth the amazing story of how thousands of Jews throughout Italy were saved from the Holocaust during WWII by brave Italians. Ms. Bettina will be joined by Ms. Ursula Korn-Selig, a Holocaust survivor who was hidden in Italy during the war. This is a FREE event that Italian-Americans simply should not miss. Please join us for this extraordinary evening.

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40^th ANNUAL ST. JOSEPH'S PARADE A GREAT SUCCESS!!!

St. Joseph provided us with great weather for our 40^th Annual St. Joseph's Parade. The turnout in the French Quarter was fantastic. The parade crowd, both locals and tourists, witnessed over 700 great looking guys dressed in tuxedos strutting their stuff through the Quarter. St. Joseph has promised to give us another great day next year!

Next year, we will parade on St. Joseph's Day, March 19, 2011! Mark it down on your calendars!

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PAY YOUR ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DUES NOW AND SAVE

Please note that your 2010-2011 ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DUES ARE NOW DUE! As you all are well aware, we make sure that our dues remain affordable to all who wish to share in our celebration of St. Joseph. Our membership dues schedule is as follows:

$75.00 if paid on or before December 31, 2010;

$85.00 if paid from January 1, 2011 through the day before Parade Day; and

$100.00 if paid on Parade Day.

Remember, all those 15 years of age and older must have their Membership Dues paid in full in order to participate in our St. Joseph's Parade. We have enclosed a self-addressed envelope to make it easy for you to send in your dues today. Please remit your check or money order made payable to "Italian American Marching Club" today. Now is the time to take advantage of the benefits of our organization. If you know former members, invite them back. If you know potential new members, invite them to join. We have also enclosed an Application for Membership for your convenience. Please feel free to make copies of this application for returning and/or new members.

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DAVID GRECO – OUR FRIEND AND OUR GRAND MARSHAL

David Greco served as the Grand Marshal of our 40^th Annual St. Joseph's Parade. David is the proprietor of Mike's Deli / Arthur Avenue Caterers and The Little Trattoria in the Bronx in the heart of LittleItaly in New York, New York. David also has his own full line of private label products that include cured meats, cheeses, olive oils, vinegars, tomato sauces, and pastas. David has been prominently featured on the Foodnetwork's "Paula's Party", "Road Tasted", "Emeril Live", and "Throwdown with Bobby Flay". The Foodnetwork describes David as the "Italian Food Expert". Do yourself a big favor and visit Mike's Deli at www.arthuravenue.com. It's worth the time. David ships all over the country. He will make you platters that you can't refuse!

A few years ago, David began making over 400 pounds of pasta con le sarde for our St. Joseph's Pasta Party. He truly understands and shares the passion and pride that we have in our Italian heritage. David made sure that everyone around him had a great time – all of the time. This past year, David brought his entire family to New Orleans to share in our celebration of St. Joseph. David's two daughters, Isabella and Ava Sofia, even participated as Maids in our St. Joseph's Parade. David was a phenomenal Grand Marshal!

This year, David again brought Bobby Lonero some help. Francesco Castiglione has joined us from New York for the past several years. Francesco was born and raised in Calabria, Italy. Francesco studied at The Conservatory in Italy. He is a classical pianist and a seasoned accordion player. Francesco and his fiancé, Janine Tedesco, entertained us with their beautiful singing during the Pasty Party and the Honoree Dinner. They then sang into the early morning hours at our Post-Parade Gala.

Last, but definitely not least, we also wish to thank our Honorary Parade Marshal, Lou Cordileone , for joining us again this past year. As usual, Lou brought his crew of "interesting" individuals to participate in our celebration. We look forward to David, Francesco, Janine, and Lou returning to participate in our parade for many years to come.

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PRE-PARADE PARTY

Under the direction of Board Member Marc Gilberti, our Pre-Parade Party was a great warm-up to our parade. This year's party featured excellent food and drinks courtesy of Café Zucchini, Rouses Supermarkets, Mike's Deli, Crescent City Brewhouse, Domino's Pizza, New Orleans' Original Daiquiris, Crescent Crown Distributors, Coke Products, Franky & Johnny's Restaurant, Zeke's Restaurant and our other fine sponsors.

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POST-PARADE GALA

Board Member Joe Cannizzaro did another fantastic job organizing and overseeing our Gala this year at the Hilton Hotel. As usual, the Hilton Hotel did a spectacular job. Our Caesar, Dr. William St. John LaCorte, completed his reign over our 2010 parade. Our beautiful Queen, Noel Alexandra Cannizzaro Martin, and our Maids were formally presented during the Gala to a packed house. We thank Angelo Brocato Italian Desserts and Perrone and Sons for providing us with yet more delicious food to keep us going into the early morning hours.

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HELP US REACH OUR PAISANOS

We are constantly updating our membership's contact information. We greatly need your assistance in notifying club members of our organization's upcoming events and in providing us with the current contact information for members who have relocated.

There are several ways that you can advise us of the current contact information for our members. First, you can complete the enclosed Application for Membership and return it to us. Second, you can also contact us through our websites – www.italianamericanmarchingclub.com, www.italianamericanmarchingclub.org, or www.italianclub.org. If you provide us with your e-mail address or the e-mail addresses of other members, we can forward notices of club events and club newsletters via e-mail. Finally, you can call our Membership Chairman, Sidney M. Cerami, at (228)342-4448.

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GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS

As you will note, our Business Card Directory is growing. You too can advertise your business in all of our 2010-2011 parade season newsletters for only $100.00 total. We plan to mail six to seven newsletters this season to over 700 members. We will also post our Business Card Directory on our official websites for the entire parade season. This is a tremendous opportunity for you to show your pride in your heritage and to get the word out about your business! For more information concerning our Business Card Directory, please contact George Cortello at 891-8573 or 831-2458.

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2011 FALL PICNIC

Our annual IAMC Fall Picnic is fast approaching. It's yet another great opportunity to relax and enjoy a day with your paisanos! The picnic is FREE to all members in good standing (2010-2011 dues paid and 2010-2011 membership card received). If you are not in good standing for 2010-2011, what are you waiting for?

We are in the process of finalizing the date and location of our Fall Picnic. All members are encouraged to bring their wives, girlfriends, children, grandchildren, etc. This is a family event! We will have music, our annual Bocce Ball Tournament, and our famous Meatball Eating Contest. For football fans, we will have a television set up to watch the Saints. There will also be a Space Walk and games for the children. If that's not enough, there will be FREE food, soft drinks, bottled water, beer, daiquiris, and ice cream. Of course, you can bring your favorite picnic food for your group.

We will have more information regarding the Fall Picnic in our next newsletter. There's really no reason not to make this year's picnic.

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IAMC WEBSITES

Please visit our websites at www.italianamericanmarchingclub.org , www.italianamericanmarchingclub.com, or www.italianclub.org. You can add these websites to your Favorites to make sure you have access to our organization's history, benefits of membership, photographs, recent newsletters, and contact information. There is even an application which can be printed so your friends can easily join our organization.

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DATES TO REMEMBER

March 19, 2011 - 2011 St. Joseph's Parade and Gala