First organized in 1951, the Italian-American Club of the CSRA drew many members from the workforce of local operations of large national employers, such as Fort Gordon and the Savannah River Site. However, many members of the Club belong to families with deep roots in the CSRA Records indicate that merchant Ferdinand Phinizy of Parma, Italy, was operating a lucrative retail store in Augusta, Geor
gia as early as 1790. It was, also, the skill of Italian stone masons that lead to the creation of Augusta’s Lake Olmstead. The Club seeks to unite into one organization people who wish to work together for the preservation and deepening of the Italian-American friendship and relationship. It is the purpose of the Club to foster and disseminate an appreciation of the Italian culture and customs, to maintain a continuing interest in Italian heritage, and to provide an association with other Italian-American Clubs in nearby areas. A major initiative of the club is to give back to the community through functions that enable us to establish scholarships for deserving students of Italian decent and provide donations for local charities. Our yearly function for fundraising is our annual Pasta Festival. We also sell our family recipe cookbook in which our members have donated generations of classic Italian recipes for all to share and enjoy. Our club meets on the second Thursday of each month, August through May, with the exception of December. At these meetings the club members enjoy many themed meal events during these months together. Meal themes include Pizza night, Spiral Ham dinner, antipasto night, and many more. In December we have our annual Christmas Party. The last meeting of the year in May is our Installation Banquet. There are many other functions we plan throughout the year such as River boat trips, and the popular Bocce Ball Tournament that is held in Hilton Head, SC by a fellow Italian American Club (We are the reigning champions for 2010 & 2011) We also host a yearly White Elephant Auction which benefits the American Heart Association. We encourage members in our community who have an Italian heritage to come and share their customs and experiences with us so that we can all gain enrichment from our culture and be able to share and continue traditions from our families together. If you aren’t a member please go to our membership page and fill out the membership form or use the contact form below to get in touch with us. We can’t wait to hear from you and will get back to you. Check out our page! The joys of being Italian ~ Le gioie di essere italiani!
