West Haven Italian Heritage Celebration 2021

Описание: Westies Care founder and President Phil Liscio, who has strong ties to the city’s Italian American community and is well known for feeding the less fortunate, received West Haven’s Italian American of the Year award at the 22nd Italian Heritage Celebration on Friday, Oct. 15. Amid a sunny, warm autumn day, Mayor Nancy R. Rossi and the West Haven Italian Heritage Committee honored Liscio, the grandson of immigrant grandparents from the town of Monteleone di Puglia in the province of Foggia, Italy, during a midday ceremony on the steps of City Hall. The award is bestowed annually on an Italian resident or couple who personifies service in the city’s close-knit Italian American community. As the sound of Italian music filled the air at the half-hour cultural event, Liscio saluted his Italian ancestry with dozens of friends, colleagues and loved ones, including his wife, Janet Husmer Liscio, and his sisters Jo Anne Droller, of Naugatuck, and Doreen Roy, of Hollywood, Florida. Along with descendants of folks from the old country, he was also joined by an array of local and state officials, including City Council Chairman Ronald M. Quagliani, D-at large, as well as state Rep. Dorinda Borer, D-West Haven, who presented Liscio with a General Assembly citation on behalf of the city’s delegation. Liscio, 65, also received an Italian flag from Paul M. Frosolone, the president of the West Haven Italian American Civic Association, and Roberta Daniels DeFonce, a past president of the association’s Ladies Auxiliary. Liscio told the crowd, some donning red, white and green, that he appreciated the recognition and thanked his wife of 30 years, whom he met in 1989 while they worked part time at Horwitz Department Store, formerly at 544 Campbell Ave., and he married two years later. Rossi read a mayoral citation praising Liscio’s civic-minded good works. She then presented him with an embroidered “Italian American of the Year” jacket and a West Haven centennial-emblazoned tote bag containing a signed copy of the new centennial book, “City of West Haven: Village to Town,” along with a centennial coin, lapel pin and decal. Liscio also received WestHavenOpoly, the centennial version of the board game Monopoly. The ceremony included remarks by mayoral Executive Assistant Louis P. Esposito Jr., the master of ceremonies, and an Italian blessing by the Rev. E. Carl Howard, the senior minister of the First Congregational Church of West Haven. Liz Levy sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” and the Italian national anthem, “II Canto degli Italiani.” Liscio has a long history of public service, including collecting food for the pastor’s pantry at the First Congregational Church, 1 Church St., and the pantry at the West Haven Emergency Assistance Task Force, 674 Washington Ave. The pantries provide food for residents in need. For three months starting in May 2020, Liscio and Westies Care teamed up with the city and the First Congregational, Our Lady of Victory and Vertical churches to deliver 13,000 meals to needy residents and front-line health care workers during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. The meals — 20 pizzas per day on weekdays and five trays of ziti and Italian bread per day on weekends — were donated by Lorenzo’s Restaurant of West Haven. Liscio was born in Buffalo, New York, on Feb. 2, 1956, to Leopold “Paul” Liscio and the former Geraldine “Gerry” Sullivan Grover. He mostly grew up in Milford and graduated in 1975 from Milford High School, where he was a three-sport athlete. Liscio, a city resident since 1991, is perhaps best known for his lifework with Westies Care Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charity. The Westies Care Community Service Award, presented yearly at the Westies Care dinner and awards ceremony, recognizes young people and adults who exemplify the organization’s “core values of service, community and education.” Liscio founded Westies Care in 2009 in memory of his son, Daniel L. Liscio. To honor his undying spirit, the Liscio family established a scholarship program and organized community outreach projects in Daniel Liscio’s name. Liscio is a longtime member of the West Haven Rotary Club and sits on the board of directors. His volunteerism in West Haven has included coaching girls basketball and softball and serving as PTA president of Mackrille Elementary, Bailey Middle and West Haven High schools.