An institutionally significant event was held in New Jersey, where the New Jersey Association of OMRI Knights hosted an exclusive luncheon in honor of Carabinieri General Alfonso Manzo, Military Advisor to the Italian Permanent Representation to the UN, and Italian Army Colonel Luca Vitali.
The meeting was attended by members of the New Jersey Police Department, the business and institutional world, and representatives of the Italian American community, demonstrating the strong ties between Italy and the United States and the value of transatlantic relations.
Association President Giulio Picolli “Today we are here to celebrate two individuals whose work gives us great pride and satisfaction.”
In his speech, General Alfonso Manzo stressed the importance of the Italian presence in international institutions and thanked the community for the warm welcome:
“An honor to be able to welcome such prestigious figures and strengthen our commitment to enhancing Italian pride around the world.”
Also taking the floor was Silvana Mangione, Deputy Secretary General of the General Council of Italians Abroad (CGIE) for non-European English-speaking countries, who presented the greetings of the CGIE, which is chaired by Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani, and stressed the strategic role of the armed forces:
“Our armed forces protect world peace and the weakest in areas affected by war and disease.” he also recalled an often little-known aspect of the Carabinieri’s work: “The Carabinieri carry out two fundamental tasks that many people do not know about: the search for and return to Italy of works of art stolen over the centuries and the protection of biodiversity.
The luncheon was attended by a number of prominent guests, including:
Cav. Ralph Contini, Ex Presidente di UNICO
Cav. Dino Clemente e Sig.ra Anna Clemente
Cav. Thomas Bellavia e Sig.ra Teresa Bellavia
Prof. Mildred Mihlon, Presidente della Felician University
Cav. Tony Brusco
Cav. Settimo Guttilla, E&S Foods
Senatore dello Stato del New Jersey Joe Pennacchio
Joe Guttilla, Jerry Guttilla e Sandro Guttilla
Vincent Trovino, Joe Forgione, Frank Sclafani
Cav. Alessandro Sità , CEO di Sita Foods
Sig. Antonio Gianfrancesco e Sig.ra Rosina Gianfrancesco
Sig. Felice Zummo e Sig.ra Rosalinda Zummo
Sig. Francesco Bernardo e Sig.ra Rosella Bernardo
Sig. Matteo Vandoni, CEO di Amerifilm Converters
Sig. Joe Berardo, CEO di CHT Group Investment
Sig. Gino Lia e Sig.ra Gina Lia, Presidente di Ieri Oggi Domani
Sig. Tony Condemi, Condemi Motor Company
Dr. Davide Ippolito, CEO de ilNewyorkese
Cav. Silvana Mangione, Vice Segretaria Generale CGIE
Sig.ra Anna Malafronte, NIAF
Sheriff Frank Schillari, Hudson County
Sig. Riccardo Picolli, CEO di INFOCOP
Chief John Russo (Rutherford PD), Chief Giacomo Sacca (Elizabeth PD), Chief Andrew Caggiano (Montville PD), Chief Louis Bordi (Vorhees PD), Chief Edward Kerr (Spring Lake PD)
Mitch Sklar, Executive Director di NJSACOP
James Rizzo, Presidente del Board di BCB Bank
Mr. James Sheehan, Program Manager UASI
Col. Ray Guidetti, ex Chief della NJ State Police
Chris Musto, Director Security
The event provided an important opportunity to strengthen the dialogue between the Italian community in the United States and Italian institutions, demonstrating once again how deeply rooted Italian identity and culture are in the American social and economic fabric.
The article The New Jersey Association of OMRI Knights honors General Manzo and Colonel Vitali comes from TheNewyorker.
