FROM OUR PRESIDENT
ROSANN NANCI
President’s Message: AGM December 14 2021
Buona Sera
Can you believe we are conducting our second annual general meeting via Zoom? Who would have ever thought that we are still dealing with COVID-19. At least the Covid Vaccination program and booster shots continue to protect us so we can visit with family and start to have some semblance of normalcy – even though we need to be vigilant and keep to our COVID protocols.
This past year has been a frustrating one for us on the board of KCIC as we were expecting to be able to provide some events in the later part of this year, but of course one by one we had to cancel events. I know it has been frustrating for you as well, as we are all keen to get together and have some fun. I promise you, we will get there....
Our board has worked very hard to keep things going culturally as well as financially. We have been busy with our strategic plan, working through surveys, event plans, membership updates, etc. all in an effort to streamline and organize things so it is easier for our volunteers when things get back to our new normal.
Of particular note, this year we celebrated our 55th year! And while we weren’t able to celebrate in person, we were able to put together an online Zoomiversary in which all kinds of dignitaries were able to wish our club well – even the Prime Minister. Some of the highlights this year, we launched our Legacy Project, which is a video project that is meant to record the legacy of Italian Canadians who were instrumental in the development of Kelowna, and our own Club’s contribution to that history. We are very proud of this project as it moves through the various pioneer families and how the City of Kelowna was able to become one of the agricultural centres in the province. We are hoping for additional film to be available next year for viewing. For now you will have to go to our You Tube channel to see what we have done so far. It is an outstanding contribution to our City’s history, one which we are all proud of.
So many other events through La Nostra Famiglia Italiana, that there are too many to mention, but definitely look at our First Families series which are presented in June to celebrate Italian History Month, all that is on our website. I’d like to thank Gord Hotchkiss and Don Rampone for their tireless dedication to the preservation of our culture on behalf of the club. Thank you gentlemen, you are both so awesome, it is hard to put into words.
With all good things come the sad. We accepted the resignation of our long time board member, Mr. Giovanni Pomponio. Mr. Pomponio was on the board of directors for longer than myself, and I joined in 2013! His knowledge of the club’s history, his dedication to the board, and his deep dedication to the Club is to be commended. He and my dad, Emilio Nanci, know where everything is in that clubhouse, and I’ll tell you when we were renovating the kitchen that knowledge can very handy – especially when they showed us where the original cool room under the clubhouse is located so we could run wire and piping into the kitchen.... and don’t get me started on his dedication to the exterior maintenance of the clubhouse. He knows where every sprinkler head is located! We will miss Mr. P on our board as he always brought some interesting tidbit on what happened in the past. So a great big thank you Mr. P. hopefully once we get ourselves going again, he can begin volunteering in our dinners.
To fill Mr. Pomponio’s spot, the executive asked Jason Agostino to join the board for the remainder of Mr. P’s term which ends December 2022. Jason is a long time member of the club, is a successful business owner in Kelowna as the owner of Mervyn’s The Body Shop, and a drummer in a band called NFA The dance rock band.. We look forward to working with Jason and his diverse ideas which we believe will help guide our board.
Welcome aboard Jason.
I’d also like to pay special attention to our volunteers this year. Everyone who did a little something for the Club. Anything from the maintenance of the building, to letter writing, grant writing, research, acting as trustee’s, etc. You are fantastic and we truly appreciate all that you do! Thank you.
And finally, I would like to thank the current board of the KCIC. This is such a great group of people who work together not only on the board, but are often heads of their own committees. And the beautiful thing about these people is that they support one another with different projects. This spirit of comradery is rare in these types of environments. The board has worked tirelessly this year to keep things in the Club going, and have been pivotal in creating new guidelines and policies for our Club to move forward. I am especially proud of the work this group has done, and I look forward to working with them all over the next year as we hope to begin easing our way back to our new normal.
In closing I’d like to say a big thank you to the membership for your continued support. Through the survey many of you completed we heard what you had to say, that you miss coming to our events, and that you want to visit with your friends, and you love the food we serve. As soon as we are able, we will begin to bring those events back to you...
In the meantime, Take care of yourselves as we go into the Holiday Season. May the spirit of Christmas bring you and your family peace, love, and joy.
Buon Natale e Buon Anno a tutti
Grazie
Rosann Nanci
KCIC President
Buona Sera
Can you believe we are conducting our second annual general meeting via Zoom? Who would have ever thought that we are still dealing with COVID-19. At least the Covid Vaccination program and booster shots continue to protect us so we can visit with family and start to have some semblance of normalcy – even though we need to be vigilant and keep to our COVID protocols.
This past year has been a frustrating one for us on the board of KCIC as we were expecting to be able to provide some events in the later part of this year, but of course one by one we had to cancel events. I know it has been frustrating for you as well, as we are all keen to get together and have some fun. I promise you, we will get there....
Our board has worked very hard to keep things going culturally as well as financially. We have been busy with our strategic plan, working through surveys, event plans, membership updates, etc. all in an effort to streamline and organize things so it is easier for our volunteers when things get back to our new normal.
Of particular note, this year we celebrated our 55th year! And while we weren’t able to celebrate in person, we were able to put together an online Zoomiversary in which all kinds of dignitaries were able to wish our club well – even the Prime Minister. Some of the highlights this year, we launched our Legacy Project, which is a video project that is meant to record the legacy of Italian Canadians who were instrumental in the development of Kelowna, and our own Club’s contribution to that history. We are very proud of this project as it moves through the various pioneer families and how the City of Kelowna was able to become one of the agricultural centres in the province. We are hoping for additional film to be available next year for viewing. For now you will have to go to our You Tube channel to see what we have done so far. It is an outstanding contribution to our City’s history, one which we are all proud of.
So many other events through La Nostra Famiglia Italiana, that there are too many to mention, but definitely look at our First Families series which are presented in June to celebrate Italian History Month, all that is on our website. I’d like to thank Gord Hotchkiss and Don Rampone for their tireless dedication to the preservation of our culture on behalf of the club. Thank you gentlemen, you are both so awesome, it is hard to put into words.
With all good things come the sad. We accepted the resignation of our long time board member, Mr. Giovanni Pomponio. Mr. Pomponio was on the board of directors for longer than myself, and I joined in 2013! His knowledge of the club’s history, his dedication to the board, and his deep dedication to the Club is to be commended. He and my dad, Emilio Nanci, know where everything is in that clubhouse, and I’ll tell you when we were renovating the kitchen that knowledge can very handy – especially when they showed us where the original cool room under the clubhouse is located so we could run wire and piping into the kitchen.... and don’t get me started on his dedication to the exterior maintenance of the clubhouse. He knows where every sprinkler head is located! We will miss Mr. P on our board as he always brought some interesting tidbit on what happened in the past. So a great big thank you Mr. P. hopefully once we get ourselves going again, he can begin volunteering in our dinners.
To fill Mr. Pomponio’s spot, the executive asked Jason Agostino to join the board for the remainder of Mr. P’s term which ends December 2022. Jason is a long time member of the club, is a successful business owner in Kelowna as the owner of Mervyn’s The Body Shop, and a drummer in a band called NFA The dance rock band.. We look forward to working with Jason and his diverse ideas which we believe will help guide our board.
Welcome aboard Jason.
I’d also like to pay special attention to our volunteers this year. Everyone who did a little something for the Club. Anything from the maintenance of the building, to letter writing, grant writing, research, acting as trustee’s, etc. You are fantastic and we truly appreciate all that you do! Thank you.
And finally, I would like to thank the current board of the KCIC. This is such a great group of people who work together not only on the board, but are often heads of their own committees. And the beautiful thing about these people is that they support one another with different projects. This spirit of comradery is rare in these types of environments. The board has worked tirelessly this year to keep things in the Club going, and have been pivotal in creating new guidelines and policies for our Club to move forward. I am especially proud of the work this group has done, and I look forward to working with them all over the next year as we hope to begin easing our way back to our new normal.
In closing I’d like to say a big thank you to the membership for your continued support. Through the survey many of you completed we heard what you had to say, that you miss coming to our events, and that you want to visit with your friends, and you love the food we serve. As soon as we are able, we will begin to bring those events back to you...
In the meantime, Take care of yourselves as we go into the Holiday Season. May the spirit of Christmas bring you and your family peace, love, and joy.
Buon Natale e Buon Anno a tutti
Grazie
Rosann Nanci
KCIC President