December 2023
- 74th Annual Christmas Luncheon Rings in the Christmas Season . . .
The Columbian Lawyers' Association of Queens County held its 74th annual Christmas Luncheon on Saturday, December 2, 2023, at Russo's on the Bay. In what has commonly and fondly come to be known as the official start of the holiday season, Senator Joseph P. Addabbo Jr. of the 15th Senate District was the luncheon honoree and three $5,000 scholarships, including The Joseph Mattone Sr., Esq., Scholarship, were presented to deserving law students of Italian-American descent. The luncheon, steeped in tradition and heritage, is as old as the association itself, the first of its kind, which was established in 1954. Those in attendance learned that the luncheon is not the only pioneering holiday tradition involving Italians. New York's very own Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree was started by Italian immigrant excavation workers, who, on December 24, 1931, put up the first 20-foot balsam fir, purchased with pooled funds and decorated with handmade garlands, streamers and ornaments made from tin cans. It can be said that doing so exemplified Italians' commitment to celebration, family, and hard-work; traits that continue to be evident in the association and its membership. Thanks to Jacqueline Mazzola the Luncheon Committee Chair, and the rest of the Luncheon Committee: Frank Enrico Armano, Bernard F. Ferrera, Lucie Graffeo, Rosemarie Iaconis, Hon. Claudia Lanzetta, Jason LaSala, Christine Lucatorto, Christina A. Marino, and Thomas J. Principe.
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