Profiles

The mere mention of New York City, Broadway and cabaret conjures a world of glitz, entertainment and glamor. Perhaps that’s why, despite the ascent of digital forms of entertainment, the cabaret tradition has continued to thrive in what Frank Sinatra so proudly sang about as the “city that doesn’t sleep.” As much as anyone, Marieann Meringolo represents this intimate art form. Meringolo’s name has appeared on the marquee at countless NYC venues, including the Friars Club, the Rainbow Room, Feinstein’s/54 Below, the Hammerstein Ballroom and Central Park’s Tavern on the Green. Her vocal talents are often compared to another Big …

Cherilyn G. Murer received the Top Women in Healthcare Legacy Award from PR News at an awards luncheon at The Yale Club in New York City in July 2019. The president and CEO of CGM Advisory Group, Murer is an internationally recognized advocate for the advancement of quality, cost-effective health care. As founder and president of Murer Consultants for 35 years, she advised multi-hospital health care systems, academic medical centers and large physician group practices on matters including complex regulatory, strategic and financial issues. When she sold the firm in 2017, Murer Consultants had more than 500 clients in 42 …

A standout nose tackle in high school and college, Ralph Serpico emerged as a pillar of the community he grew up in throughout his adulthood. From high school football star to Rose Bowl champion and beyond, Ralph “Babe” Serpico was a role model and force for good in his native Melrose Park. “You have a community of mostly working-class Italians, and they’re reading stories in the newspaper about my dad winning the Rose Bowl,” Melrose Park Mayor Ron Serpico says. “It was a big source of pride for everyone in the community.” Ralph got the ball rolling as a standout …

In the course of an exemplary 22-year career in the Army, Enrico Clausi has advanced from Second Lieutenant to Lieutenant Colonel while tackling everything from training soldiers and officers to mobilizing troops and equipment. Enrico A. Clausi was born in Chicago and grew up in the Italian neighborhood of Homan and Chicago avenues. “Even the garbage cans were painted red, white and green,” says Clausi. His father, Enrico, emigrated from Cosenza, Calabria, as a young boy. His mother, Antoinette Messi, was born in Chicago. He has one older sister. Clausi grew up surrounded with music. His father was a professional …

di Rosalia Trupiano L’identità italiana ha modellato la storia che conosciamo oggi. La forma dell’identità è in continua evoluzione, ma c’è un significato più grande per la coscienza — la consapevolezza di questa identità. Il carattere italiano non è affatto ovvio, in realtà, è definito in molti aspetti diversi. Questi aspetti possono essere descritti con tre simboli: il crocifisso, il pane, e la famiglia. Il crocifisso è un argomento che nella lunga storia d’Italia è diventato il simbolo storico e culturale che ora ha un valore legato all’identità. Il crocifisso non è più un simbolo esclusivamente religioso; è il simbolo …

The Rev. Michael P. Caruso and Larry Wert were the guests of honor when the Justinian Society of Lawyers hosts its annual installation and awards dinner on Sept. 12 at the Palmer House Hilton. For details, call 708-338-0760. The following officers were formally installed at the event: Natalie M. Petric (president), Judge Regina A. Scannicchio (first vice president), Dion U. Davi (second vice president), Bruno R. Massaro (third vice president), Michael D. Pisano (treasurer) and Brian T. Monico (secretary). The following profiles were provided by the organization: Fr. Michael P. Caruso, SJ — Award of Excellence The Rev. Michael P. …

The Sicilian American Cultural Association celebrated its 25th anniversary with a gala Medal of Merit luncheon on Sept. 8 at Belvedere Banquets in Elk Grove Village. All past presidents and Medal of Merit recipients were honored at the event, along with this year’s honorees, Joseph and Martha Monastero and Katherine Amari O’Dell. For details, call 773-454-4710. The following profiles of this year’s Medal of Merit recipients were provided by the organization: Joseph Monastero Joseph Monastero was born in Philadelphia on Sept. 21, 1930, and returned to Caccamo, Italy, in 1932. He completed Liceo Classico in Palermo, returned to the United …

A pair of Illinois Italian Americans were among this year’s recipients of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Attorney Enrico J. Mirabelli, corporate executive Sergio “Satch” Pecori and 90 others received their medals during a May 11 ceremony on Ellis Island. Mirabelli is a family law attorney with more than 37 years of experience. He served for 10 years on the Illinois State Bar Association’s Board of Governors and has served on the ISBA General Assembly and Family Law Section Council. Mirabelli has been honored by the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Corporation, John Marshall Law School, National Center for Exploited …

A karate enthusiast since early childhood, Angelina Roman has taken the sport by storm, earning a spot on the U.S. team before her 15th birthday. There’s a new force to be reckoned with in the karate world. From her first well-aimed kick in kindergarten, teen phenom Angelina Romano has pummeled her way to the top of the sport in her age bracket, winning the national championship and earning a spot on the U.S. team. Though the martial arts are now her passion, it wasn’t exactly love at first sight for Angelina. “My dad sat me and my sister down, and …

In her book “Lipstick Brigade,” Dr. Cindy Gueli brings to light the almost-lost history of World War II’s ‘Government Girls.’ It’s one thing to document history by encountering it through antiquities, long-lost archives and dead-end trails left for an informed imagination to reconstruct. Then comes the history that remains so real, it lives, breathes and speaks through the women who made it. In those instances, the historian blossoms into a dynamic preservationist: working to record, for all time, remarkable stories and deeds that hide in plain sight. That mission becomes all the more critical when the history-makers in question — …