by Josephine A. Maietta

Cari Amici, it is with great pleasure that we invite you to attend the AlAE Seventeenth Annual Awards and Scholarship Gala. The event will take place on Sunday, April 19, 2015 from 3:00-8:00 PM at the Chateau Briand, located at 440 Old Country Road, Carle Place, Long Island. A cocktail reception in the garden, (weather permitting), will be followed by the ceremony, dinner and dancing in the Normandy Ballroom.

During the Awards ceremony AlAE will honor a distinguished roster of Italian American colleagues whose meritorious achievements and contributions warrant the recognition of all. AlAE will also present the Programma Ponte scholarship recipients for 2015. All are outstanding students, representing some of the nation's prestigious colleges and universities.

The Awards and Scholarships Gala is AlAE's major fund raising event and constitutes the basis of financial support for all programs. The donation for the gala is $85.00 per person, $25.00 of which is tax deductible. The support of our friends and colleagues is vital for our continued success. We thank you in advance and look forward to spending another memorable evening together.
Sincerely,
Cav. Josephine A. Maietta

Reservations to the Awards and Scholarship Gala must be directed to treasurer, Joseph Leonardi, 402 Hunt Lane, Manhasset, N.Y. 11030. The deadline for receipt of reservation checks (made payable to AlAE) in the amount of $85.00 per person is April 7th. Payment at the door is $95.00.

2015 Distinguished Awardees

Honorable Daniel A.Nigro, Lifetime Achievement
Honorable Daniel A. Nigro, appointed by the Mayor of the City of New York, is the civilian administrator and head of the Department. The current, and 33rd Fire Commissioner in the Department's history. Commissioner Nigro was appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2014. Commissioner Nigro's long career with the Department started in Manhattan at Engine 21 where he served as Firefighter. He served as a Lieutenant at Engine 35 in East Harlem. He was appointed Deputy Assistant Chief and was instrumental in merging the Emergency Medical Service into the FDNY. Following the merger, he became the Chief in Charge of EMS. In 1997, he was promoted to Chief of Operations, overseeing all operations and training for more than 14,000 uniformed Fire and EMS personnel. Following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center, he was appointed Chief of Department with the death of Chief Peter J. Ganci, Jr. Commissioner Nigro was responsible for overseeing all rescue and recovery operations at the World Trade Center site and the beginning of the unprecedented rebuilding of the Department.

Dr. Robert Placona Gardner, Outstanding Achievements in Medical Research
Dr. Robert Gardner is Founder and Director of the Palm Beach Breast Institute. He holds numerous Hospital appointments and associations. He is a proud graduate of the prestigious Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital Surgical Training Program. His research has included focused microwave phased array thermotherapy, for primary breast cancer. Dr. Gardner is one of four investigators in the United States and Europe, leading an FDA approved 2nd phase research, to treat breast cancer with heat (hyperthermia). He has conducted studies of pancreatic surgical procedures in patients with pain of chronic and relapsing pancreatitis, as well as the role of regional lymph nodes in anti-tumor; antibody production. Currently, Dr. Gardner works in private practice, within West Palm Beach, Florida. His specialty is the early detection, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Dr. Gardner has advanced his medical techniques, in collaboration with Dr. Umberto Veronesi, of the Oncology Institute in Milan, Italy. His most recent achievement is to have joined forces with the Italian physicians and engineers, in bringing state of the art, intra-operative electron radiation therapy to South Florida, as a unique first.

Cav. Joan Migliori, Promotion of Italian Culture and Exchange
Cav. Joan Migliori is the Director for Community and International Programs for the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute/CUNY. Ms. Migliori received the rank of Cavaliere of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy, and served as Secretary of the Executive Board for the American Society of the Italian Legion of Merit. Ms. Migliori is currently the President of the Tuscan Association of New York, Program Chair and member of the Board of Directors for the Italian Heritage and Culture Month Committee on New York Inc., and is a member of the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations.

Andreina Colarullo, Elementary Teacher of the Year Award
Andreina Colarullo was born in Italy, in a beautiful and charming city by the Tyrrhenian Sea called Formia. She was a very active little girl but mostly curious and eager to learn. As her academic career flourished so did her desire to become a teacher. In 1966, she became an Elementary Teacher. In 1984, she was hired by "La Scuola d'Italia". She has taught in various classes until five years ago, when she started a new adventure teaching mathematics in third, fourth and fifth grade. She attended Title II courses to consolidate and explore new methodologies in math.

Mario Costa, Secondary Teacher of the Year Award
Mario Costa is a Teacher of foreign languages (Italian and Spanish) at La Guardia High School. He has also taught at Theodore Roosevelt High School and Liceo Linguistico Aristosseno, Taranto, Italy. He is a Reviewer of New York State CST in Italian, Technical Editor of All-in-One Italian for Dummies and Co-writer for the NYCDOE of the Proficiency Language Exam in Italian. He is Member of AP Italian Language and Culture Development Committee, a consultant for the College Board (Italian Language and Culture Examination), Board Member of Italian American Committee on Education (IACE) and Past Vice President for High Schools of the American Association Teachers of Italian. He has been a workshop Presenter of for AP Italian teachers, in numerous cities including, San Antonio, TX; Orlando, FL; Philadelphia, PA; Las Vegas, NE; Baltimore, MD. On March 19, 2015, Mario Costa was appointed treasurer of IACE.