Dear Brothers & Sisters, I am deeply honored and humbled to be the President of the Sons of Italy Galileo Lodge. I am extremely proud of our valued members who take genuine interest within our community. My commitment is to ensure that all our members are informed, connected, and work together as we move forward and believe that what we do is for the common good of our community. We are a relatively young lodge to the Order of Sons of Italy Canada, who celebrated 100 years young in 2015. We were chartered as the Galileo Lodge Okanagan in June of 2012 and have been actively involved in representing Italians and Canadians of Italian descent within our community. The Sons of Italy will continue preserving and nurturing our Italian heritage which continues to thrive through a variety of community, cultural, social, and educational programs. During my two year term as President, I will have the pleasure of welcoming delegates from sister lodges across Canada as Kelowna will host the 13th Annual Sons of Italy National Conference. I am confident that our community, as well as our Lodge, has benefited from our services in the past 7 years. I encourage our members to always keep high spirits and continue to enjoy fellowship on our journey towards a better tomorrow. Regards, Eddy Nardin President
Dear Brothers & Sisters, As President I wish to thank the members who gave me this opportunity to expand the Italian Club “Sons of Italy, Galileo Lodge” in Kelowna. Nonostante i dialetti e diversita’ nella lingua italiana, vorrei incoraggiare i nostri soci a continuare a promuovere, sia il nostro linguaggio che il nostro bellissimo paese. Il nostro scopo, con la partecipazione e volontariato dei nostri soci, e’ di coinvolgere i giovani della prossima generazione. The diversity of dialects in the language can be a challenge but it is interesting to know our ancestry and I encourage you to pass it on. With the participation and volunteering of our members we can promote the Italian culture to the next generation. Our Italian Language Education program is extended also to non Italians who wish to learn a few sentences for travel to our lovely country. I look forward to continuing our SOI mission of developing and expanding our culture and family traditions. Faro’ del mio meglio a mantenere il motto della nostra associazione: Liberta’ – Parita’ – Fratellanza’. I will do my best to follow our motto. Fraternally, Renata Simonelli Past President