(Pictured, from left): Greater New Haven Italian American Heritage Committee Treasurer Sal Decola, committee member Mike Luzzi, Mayor Dorinda Borer, and newly sashed honorees Celia Pinzi and Mark Consorte are all smiles at the committee’s Kickoff Dinner at Cielo Banquet Hall on Wednesday.

The fundraising dinner recognized Consorte, a longtime social studies teacher and department head at West Haven High School, as the grand marshal of the 2024 Greater New Haven Italian American Heritage Festival and Pinzi, the owner of West Haven Funeral Home, as the recipient of the committee’s Laura Luzzi Award for outstanding public service.