Note from Your President

NATIONAL PRESIDENT’S

RESPONSE TO 12/14/12

Dear UNICANS,

I am writing this email

with a heavy heart. It

saddens me to hear of

the shootings that took place in

Newtown, Connecticut that Friday

morning.

It is so sad that innocent children and

adults were victims of such a tragedy.

Newtown, Connecticut is home to some

of our members. We hope everyone is

safe and sound.

UNICO National will keep everyone

affected by this tragedy in our

thoughts and prayers.

God Bless,

David M. Donnini

President—UNICO National

I—Integrity: What exactly is

integrity? According to the

dictionary, integrity is “the

quality of possessing and

steadfastly adhering to high

moral principles or

professional standards, and

the state of being complete,

undivided, sound or

undamaged.” Integrity, then,

is having high principles and

keeping those standards

consistent throughout all the

different parts of the self.

One of the first places

integrity issues show up is in

our language patterns. When

we are “in integrity,” we

speak from a place of

wholeness. Our words match

our actions. As Dr. Seuss put

it, “We say what we mean

and we mean what we say.”

When we break from this

pattern and say things we

don’t really mean, we move

“out of integrity.”

Integrity is a key component

in the foundation of UNICO.

Collectively, we have to

adhere to the strong

principles we profess and we

need to stand together as

one to work for the

betterment of all.

I hope that you and your

family have had a peaceful

and blessed Christmas. I

want to extend my thanks to

you for a wonderful year of

service and send you wishes

for a prosperous and happy

new year! December was a

busy month for us with

UNICO hosting 3 well-

attended & supported

events. The tragedy in

Newtown shook us all to the

core, but also helped us to

focus more on the joy and

renewal this Season brings.

Let’s hope that this peace

follows us all throughout the

upcoming year.

Yours in UNICO!!

~Dr. Joanne D’Angelo

Save the Dates:

January 8th—Board of Directors Meeting

January 22nd—Dinner & District Meeting

In this issue:

Presidents Notes 1

National News 2

Chapter News 3-4

February 12th—Board of Directors Meeting

February 26th—Dinner Meeting

WATERBURY CHAPTER NEWSLETTER BIRTHPLACE OF UNICO—CELEBRATING 90 YEARS OF SERVICE—1922-2012

December 2012

Waterbury UNICO

PO Box 933

Waterbury, CT 06721

Unico.85@hotmail.com

www.waterburyunico.com

December Message from the National President

I am back in Los Angeles from my recent travels to East Coast. This past Wednesday I attended the New Jersey District IX meeting in

Hillsdale, New Jersey. The event was held by Gerry Heytink, District Governor. Sal

Benvenuti, our Executive Administrator, and our Office Manager, Pat Pelonero

accompanied me to the meeting. The meeting was well attended and many great things are

happening in that area. On Wednesday, November 29th, I drove to Millsboro, Delaware

with our Second Vice President, Ann Walko, and our Expansion Director, Tom Vaughan.

This was one of the highlights of my trip because we chartered a new Chapter and increased

membership. The Chapter is the DelMarva Chapter of UNICO National. The new President

is David Jones. There were 17 new Members installed. The event was held at the new

Chapter President's restaurant. Thank you to Mary Teresa Morrison, Maryland District I

Governor; Debbie Vaccaro, President Point Pleasant Beach Chapter; Rosemarie DeFiore

Patin, President Rehoboth Area Chapter and the members of both Chapters for sponsoring the new Chapter. I would like to thank

Tom Vaughan for an excellent job in running the event that night. I had the honor of installing the President and Members. This

Chapter is very enthusiastic and is already talking about joining UNICO National at the Eastern Regional in January. Friday,

November 30, the National Office held a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony honoring the Grand

Opening for our new office. It was well attended by many Local Dignitaries, National Officers,

Past National Presidents, and Members. It was a great event and it was a great way to showcase

our new office. The same day we also had a dedication in the memory of our beloved Past

National President Al Dante. Al's daughter, Lisa Bieri, along with her husband, Dave and son,

Dante were there for the ceremony. Past National President Chris DiMattio presented a plaque in

Al's honor which is now displayed in our new office. It was quite an honor to be part of this as

well. Al was a great UNICAN. Every time I hear his name, I can still hear Al saying,

"PORCHETTA". Lastly, I had the honor of attending the Pasta and Comedy Fundraiser which was

hosted by the Sparta Chapter of UNICO National. The event was hosted by Gary D'Uva, the Chapter President and Members. This

event was held for the benefit of a local 11 year old boy, Evin, who is in the fight of his life with cancer. There were over 250

people in attendance. It was great to see the Sparta Mebers in UNITY along with this local community for such a great cause. Don't

forget to register for the Eastern Regional which is January 11-12, 2013 in my hometown of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. In

closing, if your Chapter has an event, please contact the National Office and make them aware, so I can plan accordingly to try to

attend.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your families. Sincerely, David M. Donnini, UNICO National President

Eastern Regional Meeting

January 11—12, 2013

Woodlands Inn & Resort

Wilkes-Barre, PA

Room Rates

$109/night + Taxes

Mohegan Sun Casino is within

minutes of the hotel and the

hotel offers a free shuttle service

to and from the Casino.

CT-I District Meeting

January 22, 2013

Juniper’s Restaurant

Middlebury, CT

$25.00 per Person

We will host this meeting of the

other Chapters from CT-I

[Ansonia/Derby; Bridgeport;

Darien; Oakville/Watertown

and Stamford] led by District

Governor Giuseppe Pampena

Mid-Year Board Meeting

March 8-10, 2013

Embassy Suites

Convention Center,

Las Vegas, Nevada

Room Rates

$129/night + Taxes

Registration and Meal Plan

information to follow

JOHN A. SALERNO, M.D.

INTERNAL MEDICINE

573-0300

60 WESTWOOD AVE

WATERBURY,CT 06708

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

Tim Clark, Realtor Cell-203-592-5201

timmclark@optimum.net

Proud to be a member of Waterbury UNICO

90 Years of “ Service Above Self ”

UNICO NATIONAL

The Largest Italian-American Service Organization

“Service Above Self ”

Questions or comments about the newsletter?

Want information included in the next newsletter?

Care to receive the newsletter electronically?

Contact Don Mancuso at Mancuso11@gmail.com or 203.910.3437

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

www.unico.org

Waterbury Chapter of UNICO National

Check out our website– www.waterburyunico.com

Monthly Meeting Schedule (Sept-June)

Board of Directors – 2nd Tuesday 6:30 pm - Our Lady of Lourdes Church Hall

Regular Dinner Meeting– 4th Tuesday - 6:30pm - Juniper’s Restaurant

Looking to purchase a print of a photo taken by Spiegel Photography at our 90th Birthday Celebration ? Visit our photographer’s site at

www.spiegel-photography.com or contact him directly (203) 756-1113 or photowed@aol.com

With Deepest Sympathy Ernest A. “Ernie” Marino, 92 of Southbury, formerly of

Waterbury, passed away Wednesday December 12, 2012 at the Lutheran Home in Southbury. He was the husband of Marie (Augelli) Marino. Ernie was born in Waterbury on October 12, 1920 son of the late John and Mary (Scigliano) Marino. He served his country honorably in the Navy, during

WWII. He was a Building Contractor and the owner and operator of Marino Construction in Waterbury. He was a member of the Waterbury Chapter of UNICO National, Waterbury GOP Town Committee and a former Commissioner of Waterbury Public Works. He enjoyed playing cards, golfing and traveling the world with his beloved wife. Ernie held many offices in the Waterbury Chapter and was recognized for his years of service at our 80th Anniversary. At the time of his passing, Ernie was the eldest and longest-serving Waterbury UNICAN. We are grateful for his years of service and hope to

preserve the legacy he helped to define. His daughter Valerie is a current Chapter member.

UNICANS Provide Xmas Joy

Santa hats off to the effervescent Nicki Maiorano, who pulled off her first

Christmas Xtravaganza on December 16th, bringing some much needed

happiness to our area. Inspired this year to bring more joy into her Christmas,

Maiorano decided to blow up her usual donating to create something really

special. She had no problem recruiting family and friends to help her out — at

least 50 volunteers pitched in to set up and clean up at the Elks Club, where the

party was held, and even more friends served on a committee to decorate in the

weeks leading up to it. The event, put on by Maiorano Funeral Home Directors,

Nicki and Dawn Maiorano was held for 41 area children who were nominated

from various city services. Nicki Maiorano, said her family has donated to

organizations over the past couple years, but felt like something was missing.

"We were not filled with the joy of giving." she said. She said they just dropped

off the presents and left. About 16 months ago her sister Dawn, and a six

member committee began preparing for this event. "We started out hoping out

for twenty kids." she said. A total of 41 nominations came in from local charities

and city services and were invited to attend. When the children arrived they

received a Santa hat and stocking with their names embroidered on them. Once

inside, they were met by "elf volunteers" who

guided them around places like the "gum

drop forest" and the "candy cane forest"

where they had their photo taken. From

there they had lunch with Santa and were

given coats, mittens, pajamas and a present.

Nicki said they children were given a wish

list and they did their best to fulfill it. Nicki

added she felt such joy when the children

arrived. "When they walk in the door, they're

amazed at how everything looks. "It's just a

joyous occasion." she said.

HOLIDAY SERVICE Thank you to those who volunteered at the

WARC Christmas Party on December 8th and the

Red Kettle Drive on December 15th.

Your “Service Above Self” is

truly appreciated.

The Feast of the Epiphany, celebrated January 6 with a national

holiday in Italy, and the tradition of La Befana are a big part of

Italian Christmas celebrations. Epiphany commemorates the 12th

day of Christmas when the three Wise Men arrived at the manger

bearing gifts for Baby Jesus. The traditional Christmas holiday

season in Italy lasts through Epiphany.

Waterbury Chapter of UNICO National

PO Box 933

Waterbury, CT 06721

Chapter Christmas Party

Celebrating 90 Years of Service—1922-2012

Waterbury ~ Birthplace of UNICO National

At our Chapter Christmas Party on December 5th we

installed two new members—Mrs. Fran Durante & Mr.

John Lombard! They, along with 40 others, enjoyed a

great buffet meal at Juniper’s Restaurant complete with

fried baccala and polenta! The group also participated in a

carol sing, gift swap and donated toys for Catholic

Charities. Fun was had by all!!!