Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
Rose Mary Ranallo, president of the Women’s Division of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans since 2008, has a deep connection to the organization and has no plans to walk away anytime soon.
Her mother, Gina Acino Sclafani, has been a Women’s Division member since 1980, including a stint as president. Ranallo says her mother always encouraged her to get involved and she finally relented in the early 2000s.
“I finally came to a meeting and got hooked in with the lovely ladies,” Ranallo says. “I love the camaraderie with them and what the cause is, especially the scholarship program.”
The JCCIA’s Women’s Division was formed in 1968 by then-Congressman Frank Annunzio. Past president Phyllis Colonna Schoene estimates that the Women’s Division has bestowed more than half a million dollars in scholarship to young Italian American women over the last several decades.
The presentations are made at the division’s annual fashion show each April, the group’s signature fundraising event which has been spearheaded for years by Ranallo and more recently by event Chairperson Carmela Capriati.
Ranallo says she, Capriati and the other volunteers collaborate each year with Tracey Tarantino DiBuono of Zzazz Productions, on the event, which is held at Drury Lane Theater in Oakbrook. A leading fashion show production company, Zzazz brings professional models and orchestrates the show, which features new designs from high-end boutiques.
“We’re a group of ladies who work well together and everyone knows their job,” Ranallo says.
The event, which also features live entertainment and music, draws around 400 people each year, according to Ranallo. Having a big crowd is important because the event is the women’s division loan annual fundraiser,
“We raise money through ticket sales, through raffles at the event and a split the pot. There are also vendors who pay to have tables there,” Ranallo says. “But my favorite part is giving the money away to these students.”
Each year, between 70 and 80 high school girls submit scholarship applications, and a committee made up of past division presidents winnows the group down based on the students’ academics. Then a committee of members chooses winners from the finalists. These days, each scholarship recipient receives $2,000 and the division gives out as many prizes as they are able.
“It’s not a lot of money but I just love that we give to young women who will shape the future,” Ranallo says.
“It might just buy one book for them but every little bit helps,” she jokes.
On the second Tuesday of each month, the dvision hosts meetings for members aimed towards celebrating Italian heritage.
Division officers were installed for a two-year term at the JCCIA’s Christmas party in December. In addition to Ranallo, they are Caremela Capriati, first vice president; Anna Marie Castellese, second vice president; Theresa DeBiase, treasurer; Sharon DePrizio, secretary; Daniella Rizzi, corresponding secretary; and Lilia Leonardi Juarez, advisor.
Another major event the JCCIA Women’s Division puts on is the Impresa Awards Luncheon. Every two years, they get together to honor Italian-American women who are exemplary in their field. The most recent luncheon drew a capacity crowd to the Medinah Country Club and honored these nine women: Lisa Capitanini, a producer for NBC 5 Chicago; Linnea McHugh, of the Cook County Board of Review; Cav. Lyn Scolaro, Italian language educator and scholar; Dolores Sorrentino Sennebogen, Fra Noi food columnist and author; Sara Serritella, of the University of Chicago School of Medicine; Hon. Laura Bertucci-Smith, a Cook County Circuit Court associate judge; Lisa Turano, of Turano Baking Co.; Antoinette Ursitti, Chicago Police Department chief of detectives; and Tarantino DiBuono, of Zzazz Productions.
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“We ask the community for nominations and always do a lot of research to find people to honor,” Ranallo says. “Some ladies came to our attention from articles in Fra Noi.”
Near the end of the luncheon, Ranallo’s peers planned a surprise for her: She was given a Lifetime Achievement Award.
“I was shocked,” Ranallo says. “I just enjoy being the president, that’s why I am still president so for someone to think what I do is important makes me so happy.”
“They all tell me if I quit, they quit,” Ranallo says. “I can’t let the organization go away so as long as they want me, I will do it.”
