Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
As a leading member of the Italian American Women’s Club of Lake County in Northwest Indiana, Gina Geiss represents its values both personally and professionally.
Through the club, Geiss actively works to preserve the Italian-American heritage and culture, and serves her community by volunteering at nonprofit organizations. As an in-home beauty groomer, she further serves others by helping to improve the lives of disabled and homebound adults.
Geiss joined the club in 2014 and quickly moved through the ranks to become an officer in 2016. Four years later, she was elected president, a position she continues to hold.
Geiss, who lives in Schererville, Indiana, is a first-generation Italian-American whose parents and brother immigrated from Rome. She grew up in Chicago immersed in her family’s Italian heritage, but as time moved on, she saw that connection starting to fade, she says. She looked to the Italian American Women’s Club of Lake County to help her preserve that heritage.
“Once a certain generation is gone, things tend to be different,” Geiss says. “I spoke Italian everyday with my parents. And now with them gone, it tends to go away.”
After working as a production scheduler at a beverage company for 30 years, Geiss now owns an in-home grooming service that offers haircuts, shaves and other beauty services to those unable to do it themselves. Geiss says she enjoys serving those in need and finds it a very rewarding job. “I love it. I feel good about it.”
Geiss has been married to her husband, Dennis, for 27 years. The couple loves spending time with their 18 nieces and nephews, as well as their 24 great-nieces and -nephews.
“We have a lot of fun (with them),” Geiss says. “We are the fun aunt and uncle — that’s for sure.”
Founded in 1965, the Italian American Women’s Club of Lake County aims to uphold Italian heritage and prevent the loss of traditions over time, she says. “Our mission is to keep Italian heritage alive and pass it along to future generations,” Geiss explains.
More than 100 members strong, the club is based at Villa Cesare in Schererville, Indiana. Members meet on the second Wednesday of every month to enjoy a homemade dinner, discuss general business, and take part in activities like crafts, training seminars and presentations by guest speakers.
The club is open to women who are of Italian descent or married to someone of Italian descent. Villa Cesare is also home to Cesare Battisti Lodge #27, an Italian-American men’s club, and many of the Women’s Club members are married to members of the lodge.
Villa Cesare provides the club with space to gather and take part in activities. The Villa’s largest banquet hall is the main gathering area for meetings; there is also a patio, a gazebo, bocce courts and an in-house catering service, although the club’s meals are prepared by its members.
As part of its mission, the Women’s Club looks to serve the surrounding community in all ways possible, Geiss says. Members volunteer at local charities, food pantries, humane societies and other nonprofit organizations in the area, and at events hosted by Villa Cesare.
The club also gives scholarships to students who show academic prowess. To qualify, a parent must be an active member and the student must have exceptional grades and plan on pursuing further education art a college, university or trade school. This year, the club gave out two scholarships.
The Women’s Club doesn’t host its own public events, but members do pitch in each August at Villa Cesare’s popular Festa Italiana, operating a merchandise booth as a fundraiser for their own group and helping bake for the Villa’s biscotti booth.
The Women’s Club offers a variety of activities for members, thanks to an event committee that researches and plans various outings, like visiting wineries, going to plays and attending open markets, Geiss says. The club also holds Italian language lessons for any members who wish to better their skills.
When asked what her favorite part about the club is, Geiss says, “Everything. It feels like home.”
For more information about the club, visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/IAWCLUB/ which also can be accessed from the Villa Cesare website at villacesare.com.
