Brotherhood of St. Anthony’s, October 23rd, 2010

I was fortunate enough to have been asked to represent John Perdigao, Luso State President this last weekend at the Brotherhood of St. Anthony’s Annual Convention. I was to present Grand President MaryJean Perry with a token of Friendship and I think I got more out of it then I thought I would. Originally I was unsure as sadly I still do not know a lot of people outside of Luso in other societies but truth be told I’m glad I went. I know that in the next 5 years, I will be running into many of these people and I’m truly looking forward to meeting and getting to know them.

I was originally going to go with my Dad, he knows everyone and had been at this convention in the past during his time in line and as state president but due to scheduling conflict Mom served as my date that night and I’m glad she did. We had a great time even though we were unaware of it being a Luau. I would have loved to throw on a summer dress (even though it was cold and rainy) with a pair of sandals and a lei. We were greeted immediately by someone who remembered my Mom from my Dad’s term in 1998 and that took some of the nervousness away from us and we began to relax. I found too that Tish Cardoza was there as well representing SPRSI with her Grandmother and we joined them at their table.

Nervousness aside mom and I had a great time experiencing a different convention from Luso. Its always interesting to see how other Fraternal Organizations honor their presidents and their members. There was such a closeness about them all and they all seemed to be there to Honor Mary Jean and her husband and to have a good time and make a bunch of memories.

I was reminded quite frankly by Tish when I didn’t want to get up and dance to the chicken dance (in honor of the Giants winning the pennant..YAY) with everyone that my theme for my Committee and my year is “Celebrating Fraternalism and Our Traditions” and I realized she was right. I was there to celebrate another fraternal organization and their traditions and while at first I may not have wanted to dance I realized that this is why I’m here. I’m here to celebrate with them and make new memories. So I did, I danced, I participated in their Grand March and met some new people I hope to see again in the next 5 years. Thanks Tish for that reminder.

Thank you John for giving me the opportunity to represent you at the St. Anthony Convention and hope I did you proud. Thank you to MaryJean Perry and Convention Committee for the lovely gifts, wonderful dinner and for the extremely warm welcome my Mother and I received. We had a great time and thank you so much for the memories.

Maholo!

Modesto 49B-55C, Region #6, YC #24 Visit

Sunday, October 3rd was the Visit for 49B-55C of Modesto, Region #6 and YC #24. It had been about 12 years since I had been to their visit and I forget how active they really are. Like it was back then they put on a visit that was amazing. I have to say this that I’m extremely happy to have started to rebuild some friendships from this area that were lost. It’s made a huge difference in the way I look at a lot of things. I’m really glad I was able to attend and really enjoyed it.

I was fortunate enough to have traveled with my cousin Brienne Peixoto who is now getting her feet wet on the 20-30’s/Adult side of Luso and is currently holding the position of Assistant to the President and in hopes of moving into the 20-30’s line soon. Which I’m very excited to see her so active again after the Youth. I thought that it would be a great idea to get her going to as many visits as she can so that she can get a feel for all of it and to meet new people from other regions and such. It’s always fun watching someone get excited about the possibilities of getting involved on a state level. Yes there are and will always be politics the deeper you get into any organization but majority of the time the memories and experiences are something that can’t be replaced. So I hope she finds her spot in Luso and really takes time to enjoy it.

Back to the visit; we arrived a little bit early but were welcomed with open arms and to a beautifully decorated hall. The hall looked ready for fall even though it was hot and muggy outside. Once inside you knew that Fall was upon us with the beautiful fall colors and centerpieces that decorated the tables. I must say that they had a table of appetizers that were so good. The luncheon and cake were also delicious as well which is not surprising. It was great to see friends like Joe and Lina Vieira, John and Adelaide Dias, Mr. & Mrs. Pascoa that come from the bay to enjoy an afternoon in the valley.

It’s always a pleasure to see friends; I hung out with Anthony’s Mom and Grandmother, Judy Teixeira, Anna Bettencourt and Judy Allen Dias. As usual we laughed till we cried, we talked and enjoyed our afternoon while we listened to our friends. We watched YC # 24 perform their performance from the convention this year that earned them the 3rd place trophy in the Dance Category and they always put on a great show! The little ones like always are always so cute.






This council; as our 20-30’s President Anthony mentioned, really has embraced the building of bridges amongst the councils. Having a 20-30’s member as well State Officer as their Adult Council President really does help build the gap between the 20-30’s and the Adults. Continue the good work and thank you for being a roll model to our society. Kudos to Brian Martins, Field Agent for bringing in 46 new members from October of 2009 - October 2010. My hats off to you and all the hard work you do for the society. Congratulations to all 3 councils for recieving the Rim Award, 5 Star and the Manual Reis this year a the convention. I think that these three awards are probably the most important as it really shows the amounts of work and loyalty you all have to the Society. I also want to Congratulate Monica Xavier for joining the 20-30's State Board as Director of Activities. You have some big shoes to follow in your Region but I know your up for the task!