New JCCIA prez makes bold moves at annual meeting

The new president of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans hit the ground running at the organization’s annual meeting.

Speaking to a packed dining room at Casa Italia’s Banquet Center, Sergio Giangrande announced a dramatic rollback of dues in an effort encourage involvement on the part of both individuals and organizations.

Giangrande proposed a tiered structure to replace the $500 dues for organizational members.

• $100 membership now grants voting rights and inclusion of events in the JCCIA’s e-blasts.
• $250 membership nets voting rights, inclusion in the e-blast and an ad in the souvenir book for the Columbus Day Parade.
• $500 membership earns voting rights, inclusion in the e-blast, a $250 credit toward a parade float or souvenir book ad, and a pair of tickets to the Dante Awards.

Individual dues, which include no voting rates, were reduced to $35 from $45.

“We’re all stronger as individuals if we speak with one voice,” Giangrande said. “I want to gather as many organizations and individuals as possible under the JCCIA umbrella.”

Giangrande also catapulted the JCCIA’s scholarship program to a new level, announcing that annual interest income from the Nick and Helena Patti and Frank J. Vigilante scholarship funds would be concentrated into a single scholarship each year from each fund.

“That could generate scholarships as high as $15,000,” Giangrande noted. “Without touching the principle, we can create scholarships that really make a difference in the lives of our recipients.”