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Americans. NIAF also expanded its
existing programs, while adding more
substantial revenue-generating endeavors. NIAF scholarships were established in 1981; NIAF Endowment Fund
pledges reached $800,000 in 1982;
the Washington, D.C., Tribute Gala
black-tie dinner was further expanded
into a multi-day convention with conferences, an expo and multiple ancillary events; and the October Gala format began to be followed for regional
dinners in major cities (New York City,
Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and
Los Angeles, among others). NIAF
also started to establish “regions” in
the United States so it could appoint
regional coordinators and host local
fundraising events. And NIAF started
publishing its quarterly periodical,
Ambassador magazine, which has
been mailed to NIAF members since
1985.
dent Frank Stella noted at the onset of
the 1980s, truly the United States had
entered what could rightfully be called
“an Italian-American decade.” Elected
on Nov. 2, 1982, at age 50, Mario Cuomo became the 52nd governor of the
State of New York, and to most Italian
Americans he became the emblem of
a “rags to riches,” hard-won success
they aspired to. When he was sworn
in on Jan. 1, 1983, before 2,600 people in the convention center of the
Nelson A. Rockefeller-Empire State
Plaza in Albany, he said: “Like millions
of others, my mother and father had
provided little other than a willingness
to spend all their effort in honest toil.
They asked only for the opportunity to
work….” The governor then concluded that we [Italian Americans] “are
the sons and daughters of giants, and
because we were born to their greatness, we are required to achieve.”
As Jeno Paulucci and new NIAF Presi- Shortly thereafter, the New York Times
published an article titled “Italian-Americans Coming into Their Own” and
highlighted NIAF. “The prime force pushing for unanimity and cooperation
is the National Italian American Foundation,” wrote Stephen Hall, himself
the grandson of Italian immigrants. As
outlined in the article, NIAF’s activities at that time included scholarship
funds, ethnic conferences, and a push
for increased representation of Italian
Americans in Cabinet-level positions,
ambassadorial posts and judgeships.
The Italian American “1980s wave”
continued to rise: Geraldine Ferraro,
Frank Stella
WE THE ITALIANS | 29
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