As we look forward to cooler days and fall events, I hope you will consider becoming a member of the Benvenuto Lodge – Order Sons of Italy. The Lodge has been in existence since the 1980s and was started by Edmund and Anna Forte, both had been long-time educators, and promotors of Italian culture and history. I have been a member for over three decades, and my sons both were fortunate enough to receive a scholarship toward their high school education because of the generosity of the Lodge for children of Italian heritage.
The meetings take place the third Saturday of every month at noon, and usually last about two hours. Our location is at the St. James Church, 135 Myrtle Avenue in Havertown. The Lodge meetings begin with Lodge announcements and future news and are followed by a special event. We are now planning for potential guest speakers from The Mario Lanza Institute, the Italian Consulate, and local Italian restaurants. In addition we plan on offering performances from Italian musical groups, vocalists, field trips, and authors about Italian immigration. The Lodge has a holiday luncheon at Christmas and a spring anniversary celebration.
If you are interested in joining please fill out the attached application and bring it to our meeting on September 16. The fees to join are modest and the events are wonderful and fun. Mostly the Lodge is committed to promote everything and everyone Italian. It would be great to see you there and say Benvenuto to you which means Welcome in Italian! If you have any questions please e mail me at spigonaj@gmail.com.
Joanne Spigonardo
Business Development Consultant
Specializing in Sustainability, Higher Education, Career Management, and Public Relations
In her former roles, Joanne served as Senior Associate Director at the Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership (IGEL) at Wharton. Joanne was also part of the Communications Office. She held positions as business manager of the Wharton Seminars for Business Journalists and for the Wharton Alumni Magazine. Joanne also served as the media relations coordinator. When with Alitalia Airlines, Joanne worked as a sales representative.
Joanne graduated from The University of Pennsylvania with a BA and later graduated from the Wharton Aresty Institute of Executive Education. She has a strong background in development, management, marketing, and Italian language and culture.
As a Wharton Mentor, she coached new employees on professional development, and is active in Penn’s Grievance panels. Joanne was on the board of governors for the University Club. Joanne is chair of the Delaware County Penn Alumni Interview Program and oversees alumni volunteers. As an alum of Penn and Wharton, and also a parent of two Penn graduates, she is a strong advocate in promoting Penn.
At Wharton IGEL, Joanne had been in partnership with GreenBiz, Sustainable Brands, the Ethical Corporation, Pira Packaging International, Public Relations Society of America, the Green Sports Alliance, World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia, the Italian Consulate, the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, the Sonoma County Winegrowers Association, and the Nature Conservancy, as well as, many other NGO and government offices. She has brokered hundreds of corporate relationships for Wharton.
Joanne is the author of her book, White Widow, published on Kindle and Amazon. The book is a fictional novel about 19th-20th Century Italian immigrants. https://www.amazon.com/White-Widow-Joanne-Natale-Spigonardo/dp/B085DT65DB
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