August 2024 LaCarota
President’s Message:
Ciao amici soci del Club Paesano.Spero che questa newsletter vi trovi tutti felici, sani e sicuri, as always! If you read my newsletters then you know exactly what I just said! LoL! My goodness my favorite season is just flying by. I know that I said the exact same thing last month, but my, my, we’re already approaching the end of July! Writing LaCarota seems like it’s every other week anymore. I hope that you all are keeping well and getting the most of these long summer days. It’s been a hot summer so far, but this week is supposed to be more comfortable, only in the 80’s. Let me know if you’re doing anything exciting that you’d like to share with the rest of your members here in the LaCarota. We’re always glad to hear of a good situation, vacation or just a great day! I’d be happy to post it here in next month’s issue. Well, whatever you’re all up to, have loads of fun, be careful, and send some pictures!! Most of all, ENJOY!
Concert in the Park;
This year’s Concert in the Park will be held on Saturday August 10th. Our gates will open at 4pm, and the party will go on till the last person leaves the park! Our band will be the “Design Band” and our charity partner will be “Calabarzon”. As you all know this is our outdoor event which will be held in our beautiful park. Surrounded by trees, our “Fred Siri” amphitheater will be looking great! This event is “Kid” friendly, so bring your whole family. No need to stay home because you can’t find a babysitter! Bring your children’s friends too, so they can all have fun. We use the whole park, so there will be plenty of room for them to run around and have a great time. Our ticket prices are $25 – table seating, $20 for lawn seating (bring your own low back chair or blanket) and will both include our famous Spaghetti & meatball dinner. Children under 6 yrs. of age will be free. There may be other food to purchase and as always, we will offer a “No Host” bar for all of your favorite libations. The Concert is just about 3 weeks away. Get your tickets now, so you don’t miss out on getting your favorite spot. Being an outdoor event, we will have plenty of room for guests, so please invite as many people as you can! Family, friends, co-workers, acquaintances, and even people you’ve just met. We’re a big family here, so let’s make it an even bigger party. The band will have you out dancing in the park till 10pm, then you can come over to the “Cantina” for our after party, where you can hang out with your favorite beverage and fellow guests. Again, my fellow CP Members, let’s make this a huge event and one that will have them talking about for a long time. Let’s make it a party that our guests will want to come back to, year after year! Tell your families and friends and be sure to post and share to your social media accounts. Do your best to spread the word. With all of your help, this event will be our best ever!
*UPDATE*. We are currently at 110 tickets sold. We really need to start a big push to get us over the 300-guest mark. We can accommodate way more than that so “SELL, SELL, SELL”! I want you all to have a great time, but we also have to do our part to make this a successful event. This is our only event that we ask our members to volunteer at besides setting up and tearing down. As this is an outdoor event and there are a lot of cogs that turn the big wheel, we will need you all to volunteer some time to make it roll. If you are planning on attending, then we expect you to work at least a 90-minute shift. There are plenty of jobs to do and many different shifts, so please expect to work one. Kelly Barasch has volunteered to be our “Volunteer Coordinator”, and will be reaching out to you to sign you up for your time slot. Please let her know what job you’d like and when you would like to do it. The earlier you get on the list, the better the chances of you getting the shift you want. If you would like to work multiple shifts or have a spouse, partner, family member or friend that would like to volunteer with you, that will be great and we can definitely accommodate that! If you need to contact Kelly, her number is 971-806-9524, or email her at [email protected] Please don’t hesitate. This is all for the good of our club! I want you to volunteer, but also have a chance to enjoy the evening as well! Let’s make it a great one!
Paesano Bocce Club:
Our Paesano Bocce leagues are going well and it’s hard to believe that we are already heading into our 1st round of league playoffs next week. It feels like we just got underway. Each night, from Monday to Thursday, have been going so well! Every night is competitive, tough and most important, FUN! It has been a joy to watch. There have been a few of us that have been out there every night and all say the same thing, “it’s been GREAT!” Everyone, from our beginners of Thursday night to our veterans of Monday night, seem to be getting better and better! I tell you; we have a fantastic thing going on here. The league has already grown tenfold and we are already looking to expand into our “Fall League” and next year. We already have new people asking how they can join and want to be a part of it next season. It’s great to be a part of this and I encourage you to take part if you haven’t done so yet. You can go to our website at www.paesanobocceclub.com or speak to one of our board members for more info or if you’d like to go out and play a few games to get acquainted with bocce. Last weekend we had a full two days of bocce, with Saturday being our N.W. Challenge. Our friends from up north in WA, came down to compete against us from Oregon in a “Ryder Cup” style play. Well for the 1st time in 10 years, our Washington brothers and sisters actually beat us. It was close, with a lot of games that could have gone either way, but at the end of the day, they did what they needed to do to win the day! Congratulations to them! They’re a great bunch of people and are like family to most of us now. Like good siblings, we need to let them have a win now and then. We still want them to play with us! LoL! The next day, Sunday, we played our annual “Aldo Rossi” Tournament sponsored by our very own, Nick Rossi. Thank you, Nick, for doing it year after year. We couldn’t pull it off without your support! We still had players from WA, and our own members teaming up for a very hard-fought tournament. The competition was excellent and it made for a very entertaining day. At the end of it all it was “Pallino or Bust” that took 1st place! I had the good fortune to be on the winning team that day. Brad Cotton, Joachim Cretien, Christopher Caligere, and myself had the honor of hoisting the coveted “Aldo Rossi” Trophy! It was a hard-fought win, but it felt great at the end of the day. “Vino Rossi” Featuring our members, Nick Rossi, Larry Cereghino, Mike and Chance Rossi, took 2nd place. “Andiamo”, featuring Mario Pompei, Doug Burchak, Kelly Barasch and Vince Moore, tied for 3rd and 4th. John Benagni and Danny Taylor were also part of that tie with their own team. What a day! We have a few more tournaments coming up plus our league playoffs and our Championship Sunday on Sunday August 11th. If you’re not doing anything and would like to watch some good games and cheer on some of your fellow Paesano members, come on out and show your support! As you all know, Paesano Bocce Club has now become a “501-C3” and can accept contributions, whether monetary, labor, material, etc. and we are looking for sponsors for tournaments and to help us “Raise the Roof” over our 4 “World Class courts”. We’re starting to get everything in order and we will be going to the city of Gresham soon to get things started. If you can help us out in any way, please go to our website, or even better speak to one of our board members. We’ll be glad to answer any questions that you may have. At our “Concert in the Park”, Paesano Bocce will be one of our Charity partners too. We are going to raise money for our roof and are in need of donation items for our raffle and will also be in need of people willing to help with running the booth. There will be shifts, so you can still enjoy the concert and help us out too. Any items will be appreciated. Vacation rentals, sporting tickets, tools, gift baskets and cards, etc. If you have something to donate and can donate some time, please get a hold of Kelly Barasch at 971-806-9524 and let her know. I’d also like to give a huge shout out to these great people for all of the hard work that we have all put in throughout the season to make everything run smoothly! President – Mario Pompei / VP- Treasurer- Rick Cervi/ Chief of Maintenance- Doug Burchak / Secretary- Kelly Barasch/ Consiglieri – Larry Cereghino. THANK YOU!! Don’t miss out on the fun. There’s still time to get out there and play. Our “Fall Leagues” will be starting up in September and will run till Mother Nature says no more. Go to our website to register. We’ll see you on the courts!
Cedarville Lodge & Park Rentals:
If you or someone you know are in need of a beautiful venue to rent for an event, please think Cedarville Lodge first. The club’s bookings are finally starting to pick up again, after this pandemic, but we can still use a little help. Please contact our Venue Director, Maria Duong, at 503-577- 8471 and she will be more than helpful and gracious in getting you all the info that you may need, and to also help you with coordinating your event.
Cedarville Park Shares:
Need a good reason to purchase Cedarville Shares? Get Astronomical savings on Park Rentals and save Thousands!
If you are interested in owning a piece of this fantastic place and would like to purchase shares, please contact Steve Petruzelli at 503-620-3447 or email him at [email protected] . The Cedarville Board of Directors is holding a shareholder’s meeting on Wednesday November 22nd from 7pm till 9pm. Information about the Lodge and what’s been happening will be discussed. If you are a shareholder, you should plan on attending. Also, to our new members you can purchase at any time.
Club Paesano Dues:
Our Club Paesano membership dues were due in June. If you haven’t paid John Kern as of yet, please make plans on paying him soon. You can mail him a check, or pay him at our next meeting. John will accept Credit cards, cash or checks. John’s a busy man, so please don’t make him chase you. If you need to pay your dues or any other payments, please take care of it. Thank you.
Club Paesano Membership;
If you have someone that is interested in joining our club and has been out to our events and understands what it truly means to be a “Paesano”, then you need to have their membership application into the CP Board no later than the end of September. If you will be sponsoring them, then you need to get them an application. Go to our website to print one out or contact me before our next meeting and I will personally hand you a printed copy. We are looking for energetic people that have ideas, and are willing to help us continue with our Italian heritage and to keep our club going strong for years to come. Please make sure that they understand what is expected of them, and how much we have to offer! Have them come out to our events, like the upcoming Concert in the Park and more, to make sure that we are a good fit for them and them for us! They have to have that desire to be here, and enjoy our Italian traditions and history. We have brought in a good number of members these past few years, so let’s keep it going. Help us to get to that 100-member mark!
Italian Farmers Picnic:
On Sunday August 4th from 5pm- 9pm, Joe Rossi will be hosting his annual “Italian Farmers Picnic. This will be his 3rd year of hosting this wonderful event, which will be held at his home. The address is 3701 NE 122ND Ave, Portland. Joe has been so gracious in opening up his home to all of us, and providing us with great food, drink, music and fun! Our very own Greg DeMeistri will be cooking and keeping us fed with his great Italian dishes! Keeping in the Italian tradition of family, friendships and love, Joe is inviting all of us Paesano members to come and enjoy at no cost to anyone. If you haven’t been to the last 2, I strongly advise coming to this one. Don’t miss out on a Fantastic Time!! Joe would also like us to extend the invitation to any and all Italians we may know. Like he says, the more the merrier! Thank you, Joe, once again for being such a gracious host to us Paesano’s and the whole Italian community. Let the good times roll!
Thoughts & Prayers:
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Domenic Giusto’s mom Irene. She had a stroke yesterday and is currently at Providence hospital. In last month’s newsletter Greg DeMeistri’s mom, Lynda, wasn’t doing well. Since then, she has passed away. CP would like to give Greg and his family our condolences. Please pray for Doug Burchak’s dad Jay. He’s had a rough time of late and could use some extra love! Please pray for all of our Paesano members and their families too. If you would like me to add anyone to our prayer chain, please let me know before the end of the month so that I can get it in the newsletter on time.
LaCarota Question:
Last month we didn’t draw a winner, so we will do it this month. If you answered last month’s question, then you may have a good chance at winning two bottles of Vino at our next meeting, which is Wednesday August 7th at 7:15pm. Just wanted to make sure that we all remember. So now that we are heading into the month of August, my question has to do with the month and what happens in Italy this month. So here it is. My question is, “What is the big event that takes place in Italy every August?” There you go, another softball question. I’m giving you all a chance to catch up to the “Vino King” Mario “The Mauler” Pom-Pei’! All correct questions will have a chance to win the coveted bottle of Vino! You can’t win if you don’t play, so get them in! Good luck.
Final Thoughts:
As we wind into the “Dog Days” of summer and everything that we all have going on around us, I ask you to take a few moments to think about Club Paesano. I’d like you to think about your time as a member, and how it has been for you no matter how long or short. I ask you to think about what it’s done for you and what you have done for it. Do you see it going in the right direction? Do you think that we could change things up? Maybe go a different course with things and bring in new ideas and events. Perhaps you are of the mindset that things are good the way they are, and that we shouldn’t change a thing. In the next few months, I’d like to hear some feedback about your thoughts. I’ve spoken with some of you about it at times, but I would like to hear from everyone if you have an opinion about it. I feel that the club is doing well, but like everything in life may need to make a small or large adjustment here and there, whether a small tweak or a major overhaul. I believe that our foundation is strong and I would love to keep us going in the right direction. Just remember, that this club can’t survive without its members, and your volunteering. It’s a club that is based on work given by our members. It’s very important to me to keep you all involved in whatever way you can. I have all the confidence in the world that this club is the best in the Pacific Northwest, and we all want it to stay that way. Keep up the great work, and let me know your thoughts. “Saluto tutti voi e le vostre famiglie”!
Ciao,
Rick