Fairfield Commons, 271 US Highway 46 West, Suite A-108, Fairfield, NJ 07004 | Phone: (973)808-0035 Fax: (973)808-0043 |
Vastola (Service: Unican)
Rizzuto (Service: Non-Unican)
Cianci (Humanitarian)
Ella T. Grasso (Literary)
Marconi (Science)		 Philip Mazzei (Americanism)
    • Grand Patriot
    • William Paca Award
    • Civis Illustris Award
Scrapbook/DVD Award		 Athletic (Amateur & Professional)
    • Vincent T. Lombardi (pro)
    • Dr. D.M. Nigro Memorial

AWARD RECIPIENTS

Mille Grazie Award:
Joseph Maselli, New Orleans, LA
UNICO National and its Anti Bias Committee presented its annual “Mille Grazie Award” to Joseph Maselli. Mr. Maselli had also been awarded UNICO National’s Rizzuto Award, the highest award given to a non-member, since 1988.

Cianci Humanitarian Award - Awarded to:
Dr. Joseph Scelsa, the founding president and CEO of the Italian American Museum in New York City’s Little Italy. Dr. Scelsa retired from Queens College, The City University of New York, where he served as the Vice President of Outreach and Cultural Affairs Institutional Development.

Marconi Science Award – Awarded to:
Ing. Richard (Riccardo) Nissotti of Redondo Beach, CA, was awarded the 2009 UNICO
National Marconi Science Award by UNICO National President, Kathleen Strozza on Saturday, March 14th, 2009 in New Orleans, LA.



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Ella T. Grasso Literary Award - Awarded to:
1st Place: “Common Threads, Common Heritage” by Lisa Volpe Yakomin
2nd Place: “Momma's String Ball” by Frank & Vonna Agnello
3rd Place: “A Breath of Freedom” by Paula Lopes

download 1st Place >
download 2nd Place >
download 3rd Place >

Dr. Anthony P. Vastola Award:
Paul Alongi, Bloomfield, NJ
UNICO’s highest award bestowed upon a member of UNICO will be awarded this year to Paul Alongi, who served as the National President of UNICO in 1975, has been a member of the Bloomfield, NJ Chapter of UNICO for over 50 years. Mr. Alongi has continued to serve the National organization in numerous positions throughout his tenure.

Grand Order Filippo Mazzei Grand Patriot Awarded to:
Alan Krutchkoff, founder of the Adopt a Soldier Platoon. Born and raised in New Jersey, he has lived an eclectic career. He was graduate from Fairleigh Dickinson University, served in the U.S. Air Force and traveled for six months covering over 15,000 miles touring Europe and the Middle East.

Civis Illustis - Awarded to:
Hon. Richard Greco, Jr. Sponsored by the Orange/West Orange, NJ Chapter. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy under George W. Bush’s first administration.

 Vincent T. Lombardi Professional Athletics Memorial Award:
Vince Ferragamo, formerly of the LA Rams, the only quarterback to take the Los Angeles Rams to the Superbowl. Since retiring, he has remained active with the Rams, doing the broadcast for pre-season games and makes community service appearances on their behalf.

Dr. D.M. Nigro Amateur Athletics Memorial Award:
Joe Hathaway of Yale University, Football. 2008 (Senior): Registered 31 tackles (including a team-leading 13 TFL), 5 sacks, 1 forced fumble (FF), and 1 fumble recovered (FR). Was named 2nd team All-Ivy. At nose guard, Hathaway anchored a defense that gave up the fewest points per game in all of PCS (Dl-AA) college football (10.5 PPG).

Basilone Freedom Award - Awarded to:
 Marine Corps Cpl. Carlo DelloRusso sponsored by the Belleville, NJ Chapter where he is a member as well. Cpl. DelloRusso is the recipient of the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device for his service in Iraq.

 Antonio R. Rizzuto Award:
A.J. ‘Buddy’ Fortunato, Publisher of the Italian Tribune Newspaper, a weekly publication since 1933 that covers everything Italian. Under his leadership, the scope and influence of the English language Italian newspaper has increased on a grand scale. Today the Italian Tribune is the largest Italian American newspaper in the United States. Plans are currently underway for a direct link from the newspaper to its readers in the Republic of Italy.