by Edward Bevilacqua

This week, at our monthly members dinner, which was attended by over 100 of our members (about 20%) we honored six of the students who were awarded scholarships. As the Club's influence grows within the Las Vegas Community, it is important that the Club helps the community.

As such, this is first time in the Club's 54 year history that Italian-American students whose parents are not members of the Club could win a scholarship. Our Scholarship Committee (Tony Ricevuto, Nick Montana and Sam DiBlasi) deserve another congratulations for expanding and reinventing our memberships. (NOTE: any member who like to make a donation to the scholarship fund is encouraged to do so).

Speaking of winning, consider joining the Bocce league. It is great fun and a great way to perpetuate our Italian traditions. The Club's program is one of the best in the country.

Sadly, I write that Benny Spano, key manager at the Club broke his leg while riding a bicycle on Wednesday. His has a metal rod inserted and will be out for a while. Our best wishes go out to him. We know that he will be missed.

We are waiting for delivery of our new blue membership cards; the 60+ new members in the past 30 days will be receiving them once they come in.

When considering where to go out for dinner this weekend, choose the Club. The food, atmosphere, entertainment are first rate. It's a great place to see your friends and meet new ones.

Our goal is to provide our members (and members of club's like ours) who care about their Italian culture, with important information about five areas including: fun, fashion, fitness, and food (we call them the 5 F's).

Though we will publish last-minute Club information, like the winners of the Club Scholarships, this e-newsletter is not intended to be a substitute for the Club's website (www.iacvegas.com) or our published newsletter, Ciao Tutti. It's a bit different --it's a collection of things that add value to our lives and give us pause from our daily routines: a light mix of cool stuff. Hopefully, we will provide another perspective (i.e. what's going on in the minds of some people in the motherland).

We strive for our members to look forward to receiving the email. And, we want to provide other Italian Americans with the opportunity to join our great and historic Club.