January 2023

President’s Message:

Hello and Happy Holidays to you all. As always, I hope that this “Holiday” edition of our newsletter finds you all, happy, healthy and safe! I feel like I was just talking about summer time and all of the activities that we were involved in. Vacations, bocce and our outdoor fun. In the blink of an eye, we are looking at the 1st day of winter, a winter storm on its way but most importantly, the birth of our lord and savior, Jesus Christ. It’s Christmas time y’all! I hope that you’ve all had a chance to get your trees up, decorations put out and your gifts purchased. Hopefully your Christmas dinners are planned and your guests invited. For those of you that are traveling, I wish you a safe trip, lots of fun and a safe return. We also get to bring in the New Year, just a week later. 2023! Where did the time go? Well, they say that time flies when you are having fun, so I guess for me, I had a fun year! I hope that you all did too and here is to a Fantastic 2023 for everyone.

Christmas Dinner:

On Sunday December 11th, we got to celebrate a “Club Paesano Christmas” once again. With over 200 members and their families, we gathered at the club to bring in the Christmas season. What a great turnout! It was nice to see so many members and their families, gathering together and enjoying the evening. Many smiling faces and laughs. The children enjoyed games and play time while waiting for the arrival of the “Big Man” himself, Santa Claus. We started with a terrific dinner that our caterers made especially for us. Everyone I talked to loved it. We said thank you and good-bye to our old board of directors, and welcomed our new board members in. 

I’d like to thank Dino Gavazza for his 2 years on the board and his hard work and dedication to our club and our cause. I would also like to welcome Carlos Barajas who was elected in and will be our newest member of the board. I know Carlos, and the amount of positive energy he brings. I really look forward to working and having him on our board. We were fortunate enough to bring in 3 new members to the club as well. We welcome Kelly Barasch, Lori Caldwell and TamRea Calcagno- Foster to our membership. I had the opportunity to speak to all of them and they are all willing and eager to help and be involved in our club. They all want to do as much as they can. I am happy to call them all “Paesano’s”. We also nominated and announced our “Member of the Year”, Congratulations to Doug Burchak. This is always a tough vote as there are so many Paesano’s that help the club and put themselves out there for us, but this year I couldn’t think of anyone that deserved it more than our friend Doug. There’s not enough space in this newsletter to describe all of the hard work and time that this man has donated and dedicated to our club. Not only “Club Paesano”, but the “Paesano Bocce Club” and “Cedarville Lodge & Park” as well. He exemplifies the true meaning of membership! As always, we got to sing our Christmas carols including the ever popular and Don Filippi/ Mario Pompei endorsed, “Dominic the Christmas Donkey”, and real fan favorite “The 12 Days of Christmas” That one always seems to get the crowd going and always a great way to burn some dinner carbs, LoL! The night could not be complete, without the arrival of old “Saint Nick” himself. He had all of the little ones excited and anxious to sit on his lap and tell them what they wanted for Christmas! Special thanks to Chris Calcagno, for being “The Man” every year! What a fantastic night and a great way to bring in the Christmas holiday and spirit. Can’t wait to do it again next year. Thank you to all of you that came in early to set up, help out during the event and stayed late to tear down and clean up. We are a club of volunteers and every little bit helps. Thank you!

New Officers and Board of Directors:

Our New officers and Board of Directors are: Officers: Rick Cervi- President (2 years) Jim Calcagno- VP (2 years) John Kern- Treasurer ( Forever) Jim Siri- Secretary (2 years) John Benagni- Sergeant at Arms (2 years) – Board of Directors: Geno Benagni (2 years) / Dominic Giusto (2 years) / Carlos Barajas (2 years) / Mario Pompei ( 1 year) / Doug Burchak (1 year) Chris Siri (1 year).

I want to thank all of the members that have served on the board for the last 2 years. I really feel that we accomplished some great things. I’m proud of what we’ve done so far, but know that we can do more and will do more to keep our club moving in the right direction. We already have plans in the works for the upcoming year and I really look forward to working with our newly elected board and any and all members that would like to be involved in making a difference and getting some new ideas accomplished. Please feel free to speak to me or any of our board of directors if you want to be involved or want to see some new ideas implemented. I am honored and humbled to be your President again and I will do my best to always put the club 1st and to make the membership proud to be Club Paesano members. I thank you. 

Fun Committee:

The Fun Committee got together in Canby, to bring in the Christmas season. On Friday December 16th, a group of us met at the Christmas Fair at the Clackamas County Fair Grounds. We met up and had a chance to get some last-minute shopping done. They had a nice variety of vendors there, selling some neat and interesting items. Some great gift ideas. They also had a local rum producer out of Sandy OR. that some of us indulged in. Free SAMPLES! LOL! It was very good. They also had a very nice light display outside. For a smaller venue, they did a fantastic job. Mario’s daughter Miranda, who owns “Gimme Some Sugar”, had a booth set up and provided us all with a beautiful and delicious platter of cookies and sweets that she makes herself. Everything was so good, and it was so nice of her to do that for us. She also provides a variety of different food items, and drinks. If you love fudge, give hers a try, it’s fantastic! We capped the night off with dinner at the “Wild Hare Saloon” in Canby. A great night had by one and all. Another good opportunity to get together with your fellow CP members outside of our official events at the club, and to get to know one another better. We are already working on our next event which will take place in the next month or two. I will be sure to keep you all updated. Our Monday Night Social is alive and well. It’s been a fun time to spend with other members and again a great opportunity to get to know one another better. If you haven’t been to one yet, put it on your calendar and come on out. We allow members to bring in a non-member on the 1st Monday of the month. Hopefully a future member, but it can be anyone you know. Just remember, this is another way to get to use your club and all it has to offer and to be social with your fellow CP members. After all, we are a social club. It’s all about the “FUN”!

Superbowl Sunday Party:

Our Superbowl party is back and will be held on Sunday February 12th. Doors open at 12 noon.  Come on out and cheer on your favorite team, that will hopefully take home the coveted “Lombardi Trophy”. I know that there are a lot of options out there for you, but Club Paesano can boast that we have one of the best parties in town. We offer an “All you can eat” buffet with a nice variety of foods. Football squares, side bets, raffles and probably the cheapest drink prices around, plus you will watch the game on 3 huge screens with an audio system to be able to hear all of the game and the halftime show. You get all of this for the low, low price of $10. It’s the best deal in town! Our Superbowl event is open to the public too, so please feel free to invite your family and friends as well. The more the merrier. If you would like to help set up, food prep,

make the football squares and side bets, run the raffle etc. please let me know. Hope to see you all there!

Carnevale Dance:

On Saturday February 18th we will have our Carnevale Dance. No time like the present to start making your plans to attend. They would also make a great last minute Christmas gift for someone. Tickets are available and for sale now on our website. Go to www.clubpaesano.org to pick out your seats and tables before they run out. Our dances are so much fun and the best deal in town. Dinner, dancing with live entertainment and very reasonable drink prices. Where else can you go and get all of this for $25. Again, our 4 major events are open to the public, so please invite your families, friends, co-workers and associates (21 years and older). It’s a great way to spend a night with family friends and your CP family. Get your tickets soon.

Heritage Night:

Last March, we had our 1st ever “Heritage Night”. It was something that I had been wanting to do for a while. We finally pulled it off and it ended up being a huge success. The reason for doing this was to give some of us newer members some insight into the history of our club, and how it came to be. We got that and more. We had key speakers that came in to give us our history lesson, and to fill us in on the heritage of Club Paesano. Some of our original members came out to speak with us. Augie Giusto, Richard Calcagno, Pete Rebagliati, Marc & Kathy Battilega and Anna (Fazio) Nassib, all gave us a speech on our history. It was great and very informative. We also had a sit-down dinner to go with our night. Greg DeMiestri and his brother-in-law Dennis, volunteered to make us a 6 course meal which was amazing to say the least. Everyone there raved about it and enjoyed it so much. Seeing the night was such a success, we are planning on doing it again and making it an annual tradition. The plan is to do it in March again. As soon as we get the date locked in, I will let you all know. If you couldn’t make it last year, please try to attend this year. You’ll have a nice night out and learn something about our Club Paesano Heritage. This is a members only event. More details to follow.

Important event dates for the 2023 year. 

Super Bowl 2023- Sunday February 12th

Carnevale Dance- Saturday February 18th

Heritage Dinner- March (Date to be announced)

Spring Dance- Saturday May 6th

Concert in the Park- Saturday August 5th

Members BBQ- Sunday September 10th

Halloween Dance- Saturday October 21st

Christmas Dinner- Sunday December 10th

Cedarville Shares:

If you are interested in owning a piece of this beautiful Lodge and Park property, please contact Steve Petruzelli at [email protected] or 503-620- 3447 to purchase Cedarville Shares. Property located at 3800 W Powell Loop, Gresham, OR 97030. Cedarville Share.

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.

Bocce League News:

At this time of the year, we don’t really have a lot of bocce happening, but there are still a few items to talk about. If you are currently a part of the league, I know that you can’t wait till June to start playing again. No time like the present, to start thinking about your teams and perhaps trying to get some new people to come out to play and hopefully join our league nights. Last year we were able to extend our league to 4 nights. Monday thru Thursday. We would love to get a Friday, Saturday and Sunday too, but for now we’ll concentrate on extending into Friday night. If you are a Club Paesano member and are interested in playing or forming a team, please go on our website to sign up, www.paesanobocceclub.com or please speak to one of our bocce board members. Mario Pompei, Doug Burchak, Dino Gavazza or myself. We can give you all of the info that you need and answer any questions that you may have. Our leagues are open to the public, so anyone can play. You can bring family, friends, work associates, etc. Bocce is a sport that absolutely anyone can play. Young and old, athletic or not, all genders, any experience, and skill levels. It’s for anyone and everyone. We are fortunate enough to have our own courts on private property, with plenty of parking and bathroom facilities. If you have some interest, but are not quite sure and want to try it out, please let one of the board members know. One of us can meet you out there and give you some lessons and let you throw the balls around so you can get the feel of the game. As most of you know, this last year we completed construction on our 2 newest courts, giving us a total of 4 “World Class” bocce courts. Our next goal is to get these courts covered with a roof. The roof would allow the leagues to continue playing all year long, promote more leagues, facilitate more tournaments and invite players from all over the country to come to our Club. Not only would it be a huge deal for the “Paesano Bocce Club”, but it would definitely benefit Club Paesano and Cedarville Park as well. To be able to construct this roof and to make this a reality, the bocce club needs to raise the funds to start it. We are always looking for donations and new ideas to raise the money. We are currently selling “Personalized and Business” advertising signs of different sizes to hang around our courts and our fences that face the “Spring Water Corridor”. This is especially a great way to advertise a business because of the foot and bike traffic on the trail. We are selling personalized pavers that will go around the courts. Hoodies, Tee’s, hats, beanies and towels are also for sale and would all make perfect Christmas, birthday, or anytime gifts. These items are all great and can create some revenue for the roof construction, but we really need some bigger dollars to start rolling in, no pun intended. If you have a company, or work for a corporation, that can donate or is willing to sponsor some of the construction or a tournament, please let us know.  Anything would help. The sooner we can raise this roof, the sooner we put “Paesano Bocce Club” on the map and really become a force in bocce to recon with!

Thoughts and Prayers:

Let us pray for and keep all of our members in our thoughts. Extra prayers go out to Sebastiano Rebagliati, Ken Gemma, Joe Castellano, Kathy Fazio, Jim Sells (My Father in Law), Katie Kaoru Kawaguchi Ibaraki (Geno Benagni’s Mother in Law) 

If you want to add someone for our thoughts and prayers, please let me know and I will add them to our list.

LaCarota Question:

Well, well, well, it looks like the King is back baby! After taking a couple of questions off, and with the constant and steady answering of one James “The Brawler” Burch, the ex champ makes a mighty comeback to regain his coveted title as the “Wine Winner” of the year. Congratulations goes out to the Champ, Mario “The Massachusetts Kid” Pompei, who came to play and is never out of the game for long. Once again showing that you can’t win if you don’t play! Being that we are about to celebrate one of the greatest events ever, Christmas, my question will be based around it and Italy. It’s another 2 part question. Here it is:

Please give me the name of the city that holds Italy’s most famous “Christmas Village” and what is the name of the Italian “Christmas Witch”? All correct answers will be entered to win our ultimate prize, the bottle of wine.

Final Thoughts:

We are once again at the end of another year gone by and looking forward to a new year and all of the great things that it may bring. We are all at different stages of our lives, and are all wanting, needing and hoping for different things that may help us. The most common things being, our health, our families and our happiness. Some of that may come to us in different forms, but whatever it might be, I hope that it brings every one of us the joy that we all need. Christmas is a great time to celebrate with family, have big dinners and to buy fancy gifts for others or yourselves. Hopefully we all get those gifts that we truly need, peace, love, health and happiness. Let’s not forget about the meaning of this holiday and why we have it. The birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let’s try to remember all and try to give to someone that may go without. Let’s truly embrace the true meaning of Christmas. I always look at Club Paesano and its membership as a great gift! I’m looking forward to being with you all for the next 2 years and hopefully a lot more to follow. Please take care of yourselves and have a Merry Christmas and all the best of the New Year! 

Boun Natale and Felice Anno Nuovo

Salute & Cheers

Rick

President’s Message:

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving with all of your family and friends. The bouquet of roasted turkey, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie, in the kitchen and dining rooms of most of our homes. Unless you decided to go Italian with manicotti, meatballs and tiramisu, lol! It’s that time of the year, where we welcome in the holiday season. The leaves are falling and the air has a crisp nip to it. We’ve been lucky enough to have had an extended summer without a lot of moisture.

Hopefully everyone had a chance to take advantage of it and got all your outdoor projects done for the year. Here’s to a mild fall and winter to come!

Christmas Dinner:

Our annual Club Paesano Christmas party will be held on Sunday December 11^th. Doors open at 3pm. The night will start out with a cocktail hour, dinner and Christmas carols. We will have a swearing in of our newest members. Old board members will exit, and new board members will be welcomed in. The night will be topped off with a visit from Old Saint Nick himself, if you are all good! You will all be receiving a call from one of our members to RSVP. This Christmas party is free for members, their spouses or partners, and any child living in the family home who is 21 yrs. old or younger. Additional guests will be allowed for an additional fee. It’s always a fun time and a great way to bring in the Christmas season and spirit.

“We will be setting up and decorating the hall for the dinner, at 9am. If you are available to help with the set-up, please come and help out. The more members that come, the quicker it will get done.

New Board of Directors/ New Members/ Member of the Year election:

As you all know, not only do we have a great Christmas dinner, but we also take some time to welcome in a new Board of directors, while saying thank you to the members who are leaving. We also welcome in our newest Club Paesano members that are voted in and honor a new “Member of the Year”.

We have some great candidates for all. Most of the outgoing Board of directors have decided to come back for another term, but there are openings for a few new board positions.

If you want to have a say in who your new board of directors, new CP members and member of the year will be, please show up for our next membership meeting and cast your vote. If you want your voice heard, then you need to show up. It’s the only way to make your vote count unless you can’t make it and arrange to cast your vote by proxy.

In case you couldn’t make our last meeting, here are your members and the positions that they are running for, along with the names of our newest member applicants and our members that were nominated for “Member of the year”

President: Rick Cervi

Vice President: Jim Calcagno

Treasurer: John Kern

Secretary: Jim Siri

Sergeant at Arms: John Benagni (New nominee)

Board of Directors:

Mario Pompei (1yr remaining)

Chris Siri (1 yr remaining)

Doug Burchak (1 yr remaining)

Domenic Guisto (New nominee)

Geno Benagni (New nominee)

Carlos Barajas (New nominee)

Debra Ceglie (New nominee)

Chelle Ordway (New nominee)

New Club Paesano Member applicants:

Kelly Barasch – (Paul Barasch)

TamRea Calcagno Foster – (Jim Calcagno)

Lori Culdwell – (Domenic Guisto)

Member of the year nominees:

Doug Burchak

John Benagni

Jim Calcagno

Chris Siri

Outgoing Board member:

Dino Gavazza – (Thank You!)

Fun Committee:

The Fun Committee has decided to once again assemble a “Christmas Outing”. Last year we got together for the indoor Christmas Bazaar in Vancouver. This year we would like to get a group of members together to go to the “Winter Fair & Holiday Market” which will be held at the Clackamas County Fairgrounds. The date will be Saturday December 10th. At 6pm, or whenever you can get there. The event runs from 5pm till 10pm. We figured that 6pm would be a good time for everyone to get their daily chores done and have enough time to enjoy the festivities. As I say, if 6pm doesn’t work for you, just try to get there when you can. Hopefully we will all meet up and venture through the market as a group, as most of us will be meeting there, but I’m sure that we can all meet up eventually. When you get there, you can text or call me and I can let you know where most of us are. It sounds like the market will have a lot to offer, including gifts, food and drink. I will include a link to their website so you all can check it out and purchase tickets as well. Last year, most of us went out to dinner after we were all done at the event. A great time had by one and all. A fantastic way to get into the Christmas spirit with some of your fellow CP members! This event is open to all CP members, their families and close friends. The website is www.clackamascountyfair.com/winter-fair-and-holiday-market

My cell number to contact when you get there is 503-891-7374

Let me know if you are planning on coming so we have a rough head count. Call, text or email me. [email protected]

Our Monday Night Socials continue to be a hit for those of us that attend. 

Food, football, drinks and dice. It’s a nice way to spend a Monday night with some of your fellow CP members. Come out and try it especially if you’ve never been to one. You might become a regular!

Paesano Bocce Club News:

Our bocce league is officially over for the year and will resume next June, but there are always some tournaments that take place at other clubs and venues. In early November, The Peppermill Casino in Reno NV. hosted a major bocce tournament. They set up one of their convention halls with 12 courts set up on carpet. This year, there were 60 teams that competed from up and down the west coast. The majority of the players came from Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada. The teams there were tough. I’m proud to say that the “Paesano Bocce Club”, had 3 teams go there to compete. It was a couple days of intense competition. Our very own Club Paesano members had teams in the event. Mario Pompei, Doug Burchak, Benedetto and Antonio Mititiero were on teams that competed. Kelly Barasch, who is also a Paesano bocce member, competed on a team as well. I’m Proud to say that Benedetto and Antonio’s team ended up finishing in 5th place out of 60 teams. A very strong showing by their team! Congratulations guys and way to represent Paesano Bocce! Even though we are currently in the off season, it’s never too early to start thinking about next year. If you are interested in learning or playing in next year’s season, please go to our website or contact a current bocce member for more information www.paesanobocceclub.com

Our current bocce club board of directors will be happy to answer any questions that you may have. Our current board members are: President- Mario Pompei/ Tournament Director- Brad Cotton/ Treasurer- Rick Cervi/ B of D’s – Doug Burchak and Dino Gavazza. Our biggest goal right now is to build a roof to cover our 4 new “World Class” bocce courts. We are looking at many options for fundraising for our new roof. It won’t be cheap, so we are looking for people that would be interested in helping us raise some funds to be able to raise the roof! A “Fundraising Committee”, If you have some ideas and would like to be involved, please let us know. We would love to have the help and some fresh ideas. We have some items for sale that would make great Christmas presents. We currently have advertising signs, for both businesses and families. Personalized brick pavers that will be laid around our new courts. We also have Hoodies, Tee shirts, hats and bocce towels. Of course, we would take any monetary donations as well. The quicker we raise the money, the quicker we raise a roof, and can extend our seasons to all year round. How great would that be? If you would like any one of these items before Christmas, please contact me as I have all the items with me. A great big thanks to our Bocce family for making this one of our best years ever!

Cedarville Lodge & Park Rentals:

If you are interested in owning a piece of this beautiful Lodge and Park property, please contact Steve Petruzelli at [email protected] or 503-620- 3447 to purchase Cedarville Shares. Property located at 3800 W Powell Loop, Gresham, OR 97030. Cedarville Share.

Cedarville Shares:

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.

Thoughts & Prayers:

Special thoughts and prayers to all the members that we lost this year.

Please continue to pray for the speedy recovery of our very own Joe Castellano and Kathy Fazio. My inlaws, Jim and Jerry Sells. Any of our members, family or friends that are sick or recovering from an illness. The homeless and the people throughout the world that are in need. Please let me know if you need me to add anyone you may know that’s in need of our thoughts and prayers. Thanks

LaCarota Question:

Well it looks like Mario is getting some fierce competition for the “Top Dog” position in the LaCarota question wine winning! Jim “The Beast” Burch has now won the last 2 bottles.  He is a constant competitor that has answered at least 95% of the questions, which just goes to prove that, “You can’t win if you don’t play”! To keep with the holiday spirit, my question will be about “Thanksgiving” and our dear friend, the turkey, so here it is.

It’s a 2-part question. #1- Which state is the highest in turkey production, in terms of “birds raised”? #2- Also, which state is the highest in turkey production, in terms of “pounds produced”?

All correct answers will be entered to win the coveted bottle of wine! Good Luck.

Final Thoughts:

As we celebrate Thanksgiving and enter the holiday season with our families and friends, let’s not forget about the reason for the season. It is a great opportunity to spend time alongside your favorite people, eat and drink until you can’t, watch football and play some games. Some travel, and shop, but most importantly it’s a great chance to sit back and reflect. Reflect on how lucky we really are and how good most of us have it. A roof over your head, food in the pantry, a couple of dollars in a safe place, but most importantly, a family and friends that you can call your support group.

There are plenty of people around this world that don’t have that and could only dream about having such things. Let’s all take a minute to give thanks, love and to respect all that we have been blessed with. Here’s to a season of health, happiness and love! Take care.

Salute,

Rick

                                                                  LaCarota                                     Nov. 2022

President’s Message:

Hello everyone! As always, I hope that this month’s newsletter finds you all healthy, happy and safe! Feels like it’s been a couple months. It has been. I was fortunate enough to be able to spend the whole month of September in Italy. I was with my parents in their hometown of Picinisco, in the province of Frosinone. My dad still has his family home there, where he was born, so we’re lucky enough to be able to have a place to stay. Italy is beautiful, and a trip there is highly recommended. Whether it’s your 1^st trip, or your 10^th trip there, it’s always a site to see and to marvel! As Italians, we have a heritage and a history to be very proud of for sure! I know that we’ve had a lot of our members go and visit this year. Some are still there. Enjoy guys! Hopefully everyone can experience it at least once in their lives.

Member’s Appreciation BBQ:

I wasn’t here, but I hear that our member’s BBQ went well. We had a decent turnout, and the weather was great. This was our annual event to say thank you to all of our members out there that volunteer their time and are dedicated to our cause. The people that show up without being asked. The people that have our club’s best interest at hand. This is just a small thank you for all that you do. I never want spending time to help out, be a forced issue. It should be natural, and something that you want and like to do. It’s a part of being a “Social” and a “Volunteering” club. You have to want to do it. We all have busy lives and other things to do, but just remember that this club doesn’t survive without the help of its membership. Thanks to all of you that attended.

Halloween Dance:

A FANTASTIC EVENT! That is what I will describe this event as. The night was beautiful from start to finish. There was a spirit and a great vibe that flowed throughout the night. From the time that our doors opened till the time that the Design Band played their last song, it was fantastic! Honestly it was one of the best dances that I’ve been to, since I’ve been attending. 1^st off, I must give thanks to all our CP members that came in to do whatever they could, to make our event the best. The members that came in to help make the sauce for our famous Spaghetti & Meatball dinner. Thank you all. 2^nd I must give a lot of love and thanks to Deb Hart, and her charity foundation, the “Pink Sista’s”, for partnering with us, and working so hard, to make this dance a complete success. They worked hard. They promoted and sold tickets. They came in that morning to decorate and set up their auction items. They even had a distillery to make them their own vodka to taste and sell. “Three old men” distillery made them their own vodka called “Courage” and gave them 100% of their profits. What a great cause and what a great group of guys! As always, our food was terrific, and our band, the “Design Band” were on point. They played what our crowd wanted to hear and had the dance floor packed from start to finish. What a great group of musicians. I hope to have them back soon. We almost had a “Sell out” at around 280 paid partiers. We will tally the final numbers for the next meeting. If you missed it, I’m sorry. You missed a great night. Our next dance, the “Carnevale Dance” will be held Saturday February 18^th, 2023. Plan to be there!

Christmas Party:

Our annual Club Paesano Christmas party will be held on Sunday December 11^th. Doors open at 3pm. The night will start out with a cocktail hour, dinner and Christmas carols. We will have a swearing in of our newest members. Old board members will exit, and new board members will be welcomed in. The night will be topped off with a visit from Old Saint Nick himself, if you are all good! You will all be receiving a call from one of our members to RSVP. This Christmas party is free for members, their spouses or partners, and any child living in the family home who is 21 yrs old or younger. Additional guests will be allowed for an additional fee. It’s always a fun time and a great way to bring in the Christmas season and spirit.

New Board of Directors & Officers: and Member of the Year:

As you all know, the end of the year brings the end of certain board position terms, and the chance of nominating and voting for new board members. Our Officers and board members that are at the end of their terms are, Jimmy Calcagno – Vice President / Domenic Guisto- Sergeant of Arms / John Benagni – Board of Directors / Geno Benagni- B.O.D / Dino Gavazza- B.O.D / and yours truly, Rick Cervi- President. These Officers and Board members are all eligible to run again for a 2^nd term if they are nominated. Any members with 2 yrs of membership are eligible if nominated as well. If you are thinking of running or would like to nominate a member for a board or officer position, you will have a chance to do so at our November’s membership meeting. All nominees will be placed on our ballot and voted on at our December’s meeting. We will also be taking nominations for our “Member of the Year”. When nominating this person, just like our Board members, please think of a person who truly exemplifies the true meaning of being a “Paesano”. A person who truly gives their all and loves being a member of our club. I know that there are a lot of members like that. It’ll be a hard choice!

New Member Applicants:

November is also the time to introduce potential new members. If you have a candidate that you think would become a great member, a person with energy and who is willing to help and appreciate our club, you can sponsor them.  Please have them fill out our application and bring them to Novembers members meeting. You will get the chance to introduce them, and they will get a chance to tell us about themselves and the reason that they would like the chance to become a member. If the board approves of them, then we will vote for or against them on our Decembers meeting. Please make sure that they understand that this is a “Social” club, and that we can’t exist without volunteers and support.

Paesano Bocce Club:

Our 2022 Bocce season has sadly closed, with our “Fall Season” coming to an end last week. With the great weather, our Fall league lasted for 8 weeks. We started our “Summer Leagues” the 1^st week of June. It was an exciting start to our newest season as we graduated to 4 league nights. Monday’s being our “Advanced” league to Thursday’s being our “Rookie” league, with Tuesday and Wednesday nights filling in the rest. We have built our league up to 133 members now. Returning, advanced players all the way to our newest players that had never even rolled a bocce ball before. What an exciting time for our Bocce club. I saw so many happy people out there. Laughing, joking and having a good time, but putting on their game faces when it came time to play.  There was so much comradery with chances to teach and learn. So many great memories, and showtime moments. I wish that we could have had cameras at times. There is so much excitement and commitment for our next season in 2023, that hopefully we can expand even more. We have 4 nights going, why not shoot for the whole week and get 7 league nights? If you have any interest in playing next season, please talk to a member of our bocce board or go to our website at www.paesanobocceclub.com to sign up.  As you know, our goal is to cover our 4 “World Class” courts. With our courts being covered we could play and extend our seasons all year long. We could bring in more leagues and tournaments, inviting players from all over the nation. We need money to get that roof up. We are currently selling Bocce club apparel, Tee’s, hoodies, hats, towels and personalized brick pavers. All would make great Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers. We are selling advertising signs of all sizes, for personal or businesses, that will be hung on our fences that are viewed by many from the “Spring Water Trail”. If you own a company or work for a company that would like to donate money for a tournament or to help build the roof, please let us know. Of course, any monetary donation of any amount would be greatly appreciated. I’d like to give special thanks to our Bocce board, and to all that came out to help build our 2 newest courts. Without you, it could not have been done. Larry Cereghino. Doug Burchak, Dino Gavazza and our Bocce President, Mario Pompei. Special thanks for all that you do!

Fun Committee:

The Fun Committee is still rolling along with our Monday Night Socials. A great night of food, drinks, games and a lot of laughs. If you haven’t been to one yet, you owe it to yourself to come at least one time. Why not spend a few hours getting to know your fellow Paesano’s a little better and getting a Monday night out. We are currently working on some future events for our “Fun Committee’s” Night out. Christmas is around the corner and I’m sure that the area has a lot of fun activities to attend. We will keep you informed of any activities that we get confirmed.

Cedarville Shares:

“Same as last Newsletter”

Cedarville Lodge & Park Rentals:

“Same as last Newsletter”

Thoughts & Prayers:

Special Thoughts and Prayers this month for the passing of one of Club Paesano’s founding members, Ambrose Calcagno (Debbie Calcagno Guthrie’s Father and relative to many). His service is going to be held this Saturday October 29^th at St. Thomas More. 10:30am for Rosary and 11am for Funeral. Also, the passing of Robert Rinkes (Jayne Pompei’s Father, Mario Pompei). Jack Benagni ( John and Geno Benagni’s Father). The speedy recovery of our own Joe Castellano and Kathy Fazio. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of them. If you have anyone that you would like me to include or mention, please email me at [email protected] and I will add them to our prayer chain.

LaCarota Question:

Last month we had a new winner, (other than Mario) take home the coveted bottle of wine. The “Holy Grail” that we all look forward to winning. Our winner was none other than Jim Burch. I’m sure that Jim is a distant 2^{nd ,} just because Mario keeps adding to his wine cellar collection. I must hand it to Jim though, in 2 years of doing these questions, Jimmy has answered at least 95% of the time. The true meaning of, “If you don’t play, you can’t win.” Thanks for always playing Jim!

So, let’s get to this month’s question. It’s a simple one at that. My question is this. What’s my Dads birth place? That’s it. All correct answers will be entered to win a bottle of wine. If you don’t answer, you can’t win!

Final Thoughts:

As I was lucky enough to spend some time in Italy, I had time to reflect on our Italian heritage as I was surrounded by it. I got to spend time with my parents and their relatives. I was fortunate enough to hear more stories about the old days. The years that they spent growing up, going to school, and living through a war. German soldiers occupying their homes and being displaced to other towns, living in a camp for almost a year. They never complained. They felt lucky to be alive and they enjoyed the little things that they had. Most of all, they appreciated the time that they had with their families. They turned a pound of pasta and a jar of sauce into a party, getting together with their neighbors and friends to enjoy the life that they had. No riches, no fancy toys, just themselves and their families. It all makes me a truly proud Italian! We are proud and strong people. When times get tough, and you think that you have it bad, just take a moment to remember our ancestors and our people that paved the way for us! The way for us to have a better life! As we enter the holiday season, please remember to enjoy and cherish your families and what you have. Here’s to good health, happiness and love. Take care.

Salute,

Rick

President’s Message Rick Cervi

As always, I hope that this edition of “LaCarota” finds you all, “Happy, healthy and safe”. I don’t know about you guys, but does it seem like this summer has just flown by? I feel like July had just started with the big holiday, some special birthdays and events, then the next thing you know, we are in the 3rd week of August. Not quite sure why, but it seems like time keeps speeding up? Another good reason to stop and smell the roses. Take time out for yourself and your family. Take vacation and time to relax. Recharge and enjoy what we have been given. Whether it’s being with family, by yourself, enjoying a new item that you always wanted, or just finding your inner peace, please enjoy and cherish it all! Let’s get on with the newsletter.

Bocce News: this year! It’s been one of our best. Our league nights came to an end with a Championship Sunday. The day included the playoffs of each night, with a champion of each night crowned. We had 4 nights going this year and hope to expand it to 5 nights next season. The day was capped off with a potluck, and we all enjoyed terrific dishes that our players made and shared. What a terrific group. Full of energy, enthusiasm and a certain level of competitiveness. There was a great mixture of all, but the most important part, was the smiles, the laughter and the fun that our players showed throughout the season. Bravo! But wait, there’s more! We can’t end it just yet. Our players want more and have demanded it and because our bocce board aims to please, we are again going to be offering our “Fall League” starting this Sunday, August 28th at 9am. We will be playing an “El Sacco” style play. In this format of play, everyone’s name will be thrown in a hat (divided evenly by skill level), and you will end up playing with 3 different players every week. It’ll be the luck of the draw. Points will be tracked on an individual basis, giving you points per win. You will play 3 games to 12, then be given the chance to shoot, or hard lag 4 times to accumulate even more points. At the end of the season, the player who tallied the most individual points, will be crowned the champ! The season will run until “Mother Nature” says it’s over, so weather is going to determine the length of the season. The cost to play will be $25 dollars for existing members, and newcomers as well. Hopefully this will draw new players to join next season too. So, if you are an existing member that would like to extend their season, or a newbie that would like to check it out and learn the game, come on out, we will take care of you. Balls and scoreboards provided, but you can bring your own bocce balls if you have them, too. Again, much thanks to our Board of Bocce for all of their extra hard work and making this season a successful one, both mentally and physically. Mario Pompei, Larry Cereghino, Brad Cotton, Doug Burchak, Dino Gavazza, and myself, Rick Cervi. We are always trying to raise money for a roof to cover our 4 beautiful courts. We are selling, “Personal and Business” advertising signs, personalized pavers, and merchandise. We will always except a monetary donation as well. If you have any ideas for fundraising, have your own business, or work for a company that would like to donate to the cause, please let us know.

Concert in the Park: We just enjoyed another “Concert in the Park”. Our 6th Annual now. We had roughly 330 attendees. Not bad considering all the other events happening throughout the city on a Saturday night in August. People are wanting to get out and socialize once again and it looks like we are pretty much there. The event started at 4pm, and ran till Midnight, with the band stopping at 10pm. In typical Italian fashion, a lot of us stayed and partied till the end. Thank you to all of our Club Paesano members that showed up to the event. I want to pass along my deepest thanks to all of you that stepped up to help set up, cook and to make sure that everyone felt welcomed; to those that worked during the event, and those that tore down and cleaned up. To Geno and John Benagni, for helping us with our technical difficulties and making sure that our POS kept running. As always, special props go out to Marc Battilega and family for reliably manning the kitchen and food. These events don’t just run themselves and can’t be successful without hard work and contributions by all of you!

Festa Italiana: What a busy month! On Sunday August 21st, Cedarville Park & Club Paesano hosted the Festa Italiana. This was our 2nd year hosting and providing the Festa a good venue. Special thanks to Cedarville Park for making our beautiful setting available. It was a fantastic day of Italian celebration with great food, drink, music, dancing and fun! All were welcome to come to this event. We also had our Paesano Bocce Club running its annual “Festa Bocce Tournament.” A lot going on that day. You couldn’t have asked for better weather! It wasn’t official, but I was told that we could have had as many as 500 people through the gates. Wow, that’s a huge jump from last year! Hope it helps to energize the Festa. No one, including myself, wants to see it go away. We’re Italian and need our own Italian Party! Thanks once again to all the Paesanos and their wives, who volunteered.

Club Paesano’s Membership appreciation BBQ: Our CP Member’s BBQ will be held on Sunday September 11th at noon. This BBQ is to show appreciation to our members and all the extra hard work that they have put into our club. Coming to meetings, setting up, tearing down and clean up. To the members that volunteer their time and efforts for the greater cause and that make this Club run like a well-oiled machine. Please come out and enjoy a nice lunch and some laughs with your fellow CP members. A great chance for our newer members to get to know and speak with some of our older members too. This BBQ is for our members in good standing, their spouse, partner or a guest and is for adults only. Weather permitting, it will be held outside under the Pavilion. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, it will be moved indoors.

Halloween Dance: Our next big event! Doors open at 5:30pm and the party will go until 11pm. Tickets are now available and can be purchased on our website at www.clubpaesano.org . I have a feeling that this dance may be a sellout, so I would recommend getting your tickets early if you plan to attend. Our charity partner, “Pink Sista’s” founder Deb Hart, is already promoting and selling tickets. She founded her charity years ago after surviving breast cancer. The “Pink Sista’s” was created to give survivors of breast cancer an avenue to have some fun and to be active. They offer weekend retreats, boating, paddle boarding, floating the river, etc. All this being offered to survivors at no cost. What an incredible charity, and a wonderful lady, Deb Hart. I got to know Deb better this summer, as she also played and created a “Pink Sista’s” bocce team. October is also Breast Cancer Awareness month, so I believe that we will see a lot of support. The cost is $25 per person, which includes our spaghetti & meatball dinner and live music and dancing from the “Design Band”. Bring your family and friends. Please promote and spread the word. No time like the present to purchase your tickets. As always costumes are not mandatory but encouraged. Get your tickets while you can!

Cedarville Shares: If you are interested in owning a piece of this beautiful Lodge and Park property, please contact Steve Petruzelli at [email protected] or 503-620- 3447 to purchase Cedarville Shares. Property located at 3800 W Powell Loop, Gresham, OR 97030. Cedarville Share.

Cedarville Lodge is available for rent: 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.

Fun Committee: The Fun Committee had our “Night Out” Saturday August 13th. It was held at “Kuya’s Islander Cuisine” in Gresham. Fred Asa, the owner of the restaurant and his staff prepared a wonderful buffet for us, featuring Filipino and Hawaiian foods. If you have never been to his restaurant, I highly recommend trying it out. It was a wonderful evening of good fun and laughs, fantastic food and some great wine. There were about 32 of us all together that showed up to enjoy the night. Hopefully the Fun Committee will put together another outing sometime in the fall. There is no limit to how many get together we can do, the size of the group, or what we can plan. Big, small, dining, wine tasting, hiking, music, it doesn’t matter. If you have an idea or a plan that you would like to see happen, or would like to champion, by all means, bring it to the table. The Fun Committee is here to help run it, or you can take the bull by the horns and run it yourself. It doesn’t matter. The whole purpose and goal of the Fun Committee is to HAVE FUN! Just let me, or one of the other FC events coordinators know. We will be starting up our “Monday Night Socials” again Monday September 12th, after the Labor Day holiday. If you haven’t been to one, it’s a great way to get to know and spend some time with your fellow CP members. We talk, laugh, watch football, (or whatever else anyone wants to watch), eat, drink and play some games. Members step up and volunteer to make food for one of the evenings, and we offer a cheap bar. The food has been fantastic and we all chip in doing something. What a great night of comradery. It’s not mandatory as a member to attend, but I strongly recommend trying to come when you can. Starting on the 1st Monday in October, and every 1st Monday of the month moving forward, we will allow a member to bring one “Nonmember” to our Monday night—possibly a potential member down the road, but it doesn’t have to be. It can be someone who you enjoy being around and hopefully will enjoy your fellow CP members too.

New Membership: We are at that time of the year where you should be getting applications for new members filled out and handed in. If you have someone in mind that you would like to see become a member or would like to sponsor them, applications need to be handed in no later than October’s general members’ meeting. We are looking for energetic people, who will represent the club and will be proud to be a part of us. We want to make sure that they are a good fit for us, and that we are a good fit for them as well. Bring them out to our events, have them volunteer and if they like what they see, then get them a sponsor and have them fill out an application. We need “Active” members! I don’t want to have someone join, then never show up. We are not looking and don’t need people like that. If you do have someone in mind, please make sure that they fully understand this. Our members should be proud of being a CP member, want to have fun and a social time, but also be willing to put in a little work every now and again. If you have any questions, or need to speak to me about it, please email or call me anytime

Rossi Farms: On Sunday August 7th, Joe Rossi invited us all to celebrate our Italian culture and heritage by hosting their “D’Italiano Celebration”. It was held at his house, the original one where his dad Aldo Rossi (our First President) held the very 1st Club Paesano board meeting—and the many following that. Joe was gracious enough to not only host the event, but hosted food and beverages for our Club Paesano members. The food, Italian beer and wine were available all The Fun Committee had our “Night Out” Saturday August 13th. It was held at “Kuya’s Islander Cuisine” in Gresham. Fred Asa, the owner of the restaurant and his staff prepared a wonderful buffet for us, featuring Filipino and Hawaiian foods. If you have never been to his restaurant, I highly recommend trying it out. It was a wonderful evening of good fun and laughs, fantastic food and some great wine. There were about 32 of us all together that showed up to enjoy the night. Hopefully the Fun Committee will put together another outing sometime in the fall. There is no limit to how many get together we can do, the size of the group, or what we can plan. Big, small, dining, wine tasting, hiking, music, it doesn’t matter. If you have an idea or a plan that you would like to see happen, or would like to champion, by all means, bring it to the table. The Fun Committee is here to help run it, or you can take the bull by the horns and run it yourself. It doesn’t matter. The whole purpose and goal of the Fun Committee is to HAVE FUN! Just let me, or one of the other FC events coordinators know. We will be starting up our “Monday Night Socials” again Monday September 12th, after the Labor Day holiday. If you haven’t been to one, it’s a great way to get to know and spend some time with your fellow CP members. We talk, laugh, watch football, (or whatever else anyone wants to watch), eat, drink and play some games. Members step up and volunteer to make food for one of the evenings, and we offer a cheap bar. The food has been fantastic and we all chip in doing something. What a great night of comradery. It’s not mandatory as a member to attend, but I strongly recommend trying to come when you can. Starting on the 1st Monday in October, and every 1st Monday of the month moving forward, we will allow a member to bring one “Nonmember” to our Monday night—possibly a potential member down the road, but it doesn’t have to be. It can be someone who you enjoy being around and hopefully will enjoy your fellow CP members too. Like I said, it’s not mandatory, but I hope to see some of you there. evening. He invited in an accordion band for our listening and dancing entertainment. Joe showed us around the house where the meetings were held, and how he has been restoring the house to its original form from when his dad, Aldo, was around. It was a treat to take a “CP” group picture on the original bench where the initial members sat in 1955. What a great night. Special thanks to our own Greg DiMiestri and his brother in-law Dennis Grieng, for preparing and cooking all the great food that we had that night. If you couldn’t make it, I strongly recommend coming next year, should Joe decide on making it a yearly event. Joe Rossi, I personally thank you, and Club Paesano thanks you too!

Thoughts and Prayers: This month’s Thoughts & Prayers go out to Joe Castellano. He’s going to be having a bone marrow transplant. He’ll be out of commission for a couple months. Let’s do our part and pray for his rapid recovery and to help with Cedarville Lodge as well. For Kathy Fazio and her ongoing battle; for Carlo Ponta. Jim & Jerry Sells (my in-laws) and any other member, family or friend of a member. Let’s pray and keep them in our thoughts. If you would like to have some extra prayers for someone you know, please email me their name, and I will be happy to add them to our prayer chain.

La Carota Question of the Month: The ex-Champ came back to stake his claim to our coveted bottle of wine. The “Holy Grail”of LaCarota! The “Comeback Kid”, the “Mauler of Massachusetts”, our version of Sampson (with the great hair). Our very own Mario Pompei made his comeback and put another wine bottle on his shelf. How many is that now, 2 cases? Well, the man just proves it again and again. You can’t win if you don’t play! This month’s question will be an easy one and maybe, lure some of you to the front of the line to compete for a shot at the crown. Being Club Paesano just hosted another great Festa Italiana at our beautiful park, my question will tie both “Festa” and “Club Paesano” together. The question is: “Name our two current Club Paesano members that were at one time the President of the Festa and the other member who is now the current President of the Festa Italiana? In other words, you must name the former, and the present Prez. All correct entries will be entered to win that beautiful bottle of wine. Please send your answer to me at rchabs23 @hotmail.com. Seeing I won’t be here for our next meeting, I will pick a winner at our October meeting.

I’m Off to Italy: Seeing I will be gone most of September, there will not be a “LaCarota” newsletter next month. Sorry about that. We’ll have one in November.

Final Thoughts: As I stated at the end of “LaCarota” question, I won’t be at our next membership meeting. Our VP Jimmy Calcagno will be running the meeting and will do a great job. Go easy on him, LoL! I will be on vacation. I will be going back to the ‘Mother Country,’ the place where all of this started and the reason, we are all here — Italy! I look forward to spending time with my parents, and relatives. Every time I go, I can’t help but to be in awe. Like I said, for most of us, the place where it all began. My parent’s town alone is 1005 years old. 1005 years of existence. Are you kidding me? Like my parents, and many of our older members, they packed whatever they had to come over here for a better life. They gave up their way of life and left their families to make a better life for themselves and their families. Not speaking the language and in most cases, never getting any financial help, they put their heads down and went to work. They were humble and never complained. They never had a government making things so easy for them, as our immigrants do now, but they made it. They took $50 and a suitcase, and turned it into a good living, a house and a beautiful famiglia! Something to be so proud of! As the son of Italian immigrants, I’m so proud of what my parents did, and what all Italians who came here have accomplished. I can go on and on, but will end it with this, be proud of your Italian heritage, and never, never forget your roots and where you come from! “Sempre Italiano”. Take care of yourselves and your families. I’ll see you in October. Salute

Club Paesano’s Italian Heritage Dinner! A walk down memory lane. Great presentation by Anna Nassib (Fazio) It all started in 1955 as Club Paesano. In 1975 Paesano members purchased Cedarville lodge for $60,000. Lots of memorabilia on display. Loved hearing the old stories from all the old timers, especially Richard Calcagno. “He told us all the little dark secrets no one knew about! We know now! Fantastic dinner provided by Greg Demaestri and his brother in law Dennis Grieng. Mike Farley for the drink of the night, “The Tirasimu”! So yummy! Giovanni Kern at the front desk! Thanks to all volunteers for helping out!

And a great Big mille grazie to Rick Cervi for putting this all together and Diane, Rick, and Adriana Cervi for the Fantastic set-up! The lodge never looked so good! And thank you Joe Rossi for providing some of the pictures! Here are some pictures of the evening.

Celebrate National Law Enforcement Day and Adopt-A-Cop Month

January is Adopt-A-Cop month. Club Paesano is member of the Gresham Area Chamber of Commerce and Proud to be participating in this month long Gresham Area Wide Celebration.

Several Club Paesano Members showing our support to Law Enforcement and Officer Brian! If you see Officer Brian, Thank him for his Service and let him know you are a Club Paesano Member!

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Gresham Farmers Market

Hello All. Saturday morning July 31^st, Club Paesano, was able to set up an informational booth, at the “Gresham Farmer’s Market”. We had a canopy and table set up, to advertise, and answer any questions, about “Club Paesano”, Paesano Bocce”, and “Cedarville Lodge & Park”. We were also able to advertise and sell tickets to our upcoming “Concert in the Park”, Saturday, August 7th. As most of you know, the “Farmer’s Markets” are very popular in the Portland area. A lot of people visit them, so our booth was visible to a great amount of people walking by. We had so many people stop to ask us about our clubs, both “Club Paesano” & “Paesano Bocce Club”. We had some inquiries about the Lodge and Park rentals too. The day was a total success! We were able to sell tickets, advertise our upcoming events, and sign up some new players that were very interested in playing Bocce. This was a new experience for us, and one that we will definitely be taking more advantage of. Best of all, it was free for us to do! Special thanks, to Bocce Club President, Mario Pompei, and Shannon Chissom, for coming out and helping to promote our wonderful clubs, and facilities! Another huge step in the right direction!

Thanks

Rick