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ISDA Financial Life total member assets have eclipsed $381M, with millions more on the way from the fourth quarter of 2023. ISDA National President Basil M. Russo, National Controller Joann Blackwell, Sales Manager Jim Laick and ISDA Investment Manager Nick DePersis (along with Nick’s father, Ed) have elevated ISDA to a world-class organization, wh...

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Chicago’s Italian American community, represented by the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans (JCCIA), came together this week to address opportunities and challenges that are elevating and impacting our shared heritage. JCCIA President Ron Onesti convened the meeting and invited COPOMIAO President Basil Russo to speak on the transformative s...

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Mark your calendars and clear your schedules because the Italian American Future Leaders (IAFL) Annual Conference is just around the corner, and it’s going to be another unforgettable event! Apply here. Application deadline is December 8, 2023. The Second Annual IAFL Conference (IAFL2) will take place from January 12-15, 2024, once again held in Su...

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Dear friends, What a month! So many things, so many friends, so many events! It always happens in October, but this year has been extraordinary! It actually started at the end of September, when in Florence I had the honor of representing We the Italians and the Italian American community at the Made in Italy event organized by Maurizio Mancianti,...

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Hon. Basil Russo was formally inducted as a “Knight of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy” on Sunday, Oct. 8. The Order, established in 1951, is the highest-ranking honor of the Italian Republic. The official ceremony took place in Little Italy at Angelo’s Nido Italia, where Russo earned the Cavaliere dell’ Ordine al Merito della’ Repubbli...

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First Lady Jill Biden hosted a delegation of Italian American leaders Thursday evening at the White House to highlight a bellwether of cultural progress that has taken shape within the community. Dr. Biden, the nation’s first-ever Italian American First Lady, met with Basil M. Russo — president of the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian Ameri...

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George Bochetto — the attorney representing Italian Sons and Daughters of America in its fight to block the removal of Pittsburgh’s Columbus statue — presented legal arguments to the judges of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania on Wednesday morning. ISDA’s legal position, in part, stems from a 1955 ordinance that permitted the statue’s construc...

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Tomorrow, thousands of Greater Clevelanders will gather in Little Italy to attend our annual Columbus Day parade. The story of how the first Columbus Day celebration began in 1892 is a tragic example of the mistreatment of immigrants that needs to be told. Between 1880 and 1920, some 4 million Italian immigrants left impoverished towns throughout s...

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The Columbus Day Parade is marching back to Cleveland’s Little Italy neighborhood on Monday, Oct. 9, along Mayfield Road. Elaborate floats, marching bands, local artifacts, and city leaders will make up the parade, which steps off at noon to celebrate Northeast Ohio’s deeply rooted Italian American culture. As usual, Columbus Day Mass will be held...

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Basil M. Russo, in his capacity as president of the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations (COPOMIAO), wrote the First Lady in July requesting that she host an event to celebrate her Italian heritage and honor the 18 million Americans of Italian descent. On Sept. 25, the First Lady agreed and graciously invited a large del...

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