
Professor Philip J. DiNovo is the Founder and
President of the esteemed American Italian Heritage
Association and the American Italian Heritage Museum
in Albany, New York. He has also been knighted by
the Italian Government and is a respected figure in
America’s Italian community
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
March 2023
More than ever, I’ve been pondering the question
of what exactly can I possibly say or do that
will actually make a difference in regard to the
challenges we face. For over forty years I have
been writing the President’s Message for
the AIHA&M bi-monthly newsletters.
Our Association will celebrate its 44th
birthday very soon which is an excellent time to
remind everyone of its stated mission: record
and preserve our Italian heritage. In
addition, the stated mission of the museum is:
honor the Italian immigrants, tell their
stories and the contributions of
Italian Americans. Our Italian Cultural
Center on the second floor of the museum has as
its mission to: offer classes, workshops,
programs, celebrations and events that will keep
our Italian heritage
and culture alive. I would be remiss if I
did not thank each and every one of you who has
helped us to carry out all that we have
accomplished.
There
are about one hundred and fifty thousand Italian
Americans residing in the five area surrounding
counties. Astoundingly, only about three
thousand are members of an Italian American
organization! My hope for this year is that with
your help and cooperation we can get many of
them to become members. As a first step, please
suggest to family and friends that they embrace
their heritage by enrolling as members of our
organization. As you have heard more than once,
giving a membership to someone is always a great
gift. Another way you can actively help is to
come to the museum and pick up a packet of our
complimentary newsletters. Then, seek out public
places in which to place them for
people to read; i.e., doctor’s office, library,
beauty salon, barber, repair shop. Or, any other
community space where people go, sit and wait.
You may have to first ask permission, but it’s
certainly worth the effort.
Unfortunately, over the past years we have lost
contact with a number of devoted members, not
knowing if they have moved, are in nursing
homes, passed away or something else has
happened to them. We want to stay in touch with
anyone who may be interested
so we welcome your assistance.
Please let us know if you
are aware of any change in status of current and
former members because we are concerned and care
very much.
I recently read in our
local newspaper that well-known author of horror
books, Stephen King, posted an offensive tweet
referring to Utica, NY as the butt of a joke. I
lived in the Utica, NY area while attending
college and am very pleased that our first
museum was located there. I loved the Utica
area. It had and still does have a great deal to
offer and the people are very welcoming. We owe
a debt of gratitude to all of the wonderful
Utica area members who gave our museum such an
excellent start. Mr. King’s twitter message
understandably drew the ire of numerous fans of
Utica. I found most Uticans rightfully to be
very proud of their city. Ultimately, Stephen
King offered an apology to Uticans, but that
doesn’t take away the sting of his original
comment.
On a regular basis we receive about two hundred
emails and roughly one hundred telephone
messages/calls per week, many of them involving
requests for one thing or another. Please help
us get the word out that everyone on our staff
is a volunteer and we do our best to handle
inquiries, answer questions, take reservations
to upcoming events, etc. Our very small group is
stretched very thin and not able to accomplish
everything that comes along. Obviously, we need
more volunteers in our ranks, especially people
willing to aid in fundraising. One of our goals
this year is to invite more groups to visit our
museum which means that we need to train
amenable members as docents to serve as
knowledgeable guides on occasion. To say “we
need you!” is definitely an
understatement!
In closing, here’s an interesting fact: the most
important celebration on the Christian calendar
is Easter. Our ancestors have handed down
to us many wonderful Italian Easter traditions.
A meaningful way for you to perpetuate our
Italian heritage is to keep alive and carry out
some of those traditions. Look for favorites
within these pages.
I
wish each of you a blessed Buona Pasqua!
Prof./Cav. Philip J. DiNovo
In honor of the Italian immigrants who came to the United States of America, we are committed to record and preserve the contributions of our Italian Heritage and culture to our society through our newsletter, cultural programs, activities, exhibits, and outreach programs.