05/08/2026
What a fantastic evening it was on Wednesday as we held our 2026 Pasta Dinner Fundraiser in support of the Wreaths Across America of New Britain Day (WAANB) event coming in December. More than 400 enthusiastic patriots joined in to help us raise thousands of dollars to support this important annual community tradition. The evening was made all the more special as the WAANB Planning Committee surprised our retiring Chapter 8 Commander, Dennis Taricani, with a moving tribute in honor of his decades of service to the Veterans community. Special guests Mayor Bobby Sanchez, Connecticut Veterans Affairs Commissioner Ron Welch and House of Heroes Connecticut Executive Director Carol May all joined us to honor Dennis. The tribute was topped off by the presentation to Dennis of a commissioned painting by New Britain artist James D'Amore. There is not enough room in this space to thank all of our sponsors, but we'd like to extend special gratitude to our Patriot Sponsors The Community Foundation of Greater New Britain, Anthony Micacci & Family, Perkins Travel, Unity Lodge No.148, Connecticut Freemasons and the VFW Post 511. And the rock stars of the night may have been our Consolidated School District of New Britain high school student volunteers (servers and color guard) including members of the New Britain Senior HS Culinary Program and NBHS Hurricane Battalion - JROTC. Thanks to everyone who pitched in to help make this annual event another smash success - the thousands of dollars you help raise will keep this important program honoring those who served and those we've lost going for years to come. If you or your company are interested in sponsoring this program, please visit www.davchapter8.org and look for Wreaths Across America under Events. There is also a complete event photo gallery on our site. (Thank you to Paul Salina. Lucia Micacci and Charlene Buden for the terrific photos.)
