The Grand Lodge of Illinois/Wisconsin, Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America Celebrating its 94th Annual Columbus Banquet on Oct. 6 at the White Eagle Banquets in Niles. Margurite Rowley, Columbus Banquet Chair, welcomes the guests and introduced the Master of Ceremony for the evening, the Honorable Anthony Calderone, Mayor of Forest Park. The MC introduced the Grand Lodge Officers, the Deputy Consul of Italy, the Columbus Day Queen, and the award recipients as they entered the hall.

Highlighting the evening were the presentations of the 2018 Columbus Patriot Award and the 2018 Humanitarian Award. In addition, the Illinois Sons of Italy Foundation awarded seven scholarships to Italian-American students who are continuing their education.