Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
The Burgio Woman’s Club staged its second annual Ladies Night Out Cocktail Social on Sept. 19 at the Des Plaines Theater. Nearly 60 women turned out for the event, which was hosted by Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans President Ron Onesti.
The organization announced its new name, the Society Burgio for Women, at the gathering. The change was made to make the organization more welcoming to women who may not be direct descendants from the town of Burgio, according to society president Ann Parisi.
At the top of the program, Parisi thanked Onesti for his generosity. “Your hospitality and support mean the world to us and we have truly enjoyed being part of the JCCIA,” she said.
Event Chair Maria Sammartino Woltmann presented a video featuring the town of Burgio, which sits on a hillside in the province of Agrigento and boasts a history that dates back more than a millennium. “Hopefully, in the next two years, our members will make a trip to Sicily to visit the town of Burgio,” Woltmann said.
The society’s fundraising cause for 2025 will be the Defense Holiday Drive for the pediatric patients at the Lurie Cancer Center in Chicago. Dedicated to buying gifts for children being treated at Lurie’s pediatric oncology unit during the holidays, the drive is being spearheaded by 19-year-old Dylan Provenzano, a cancer survivor who traces his roots to Burgio.
