L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano 2 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS T he doors of the National Italian American Foun- dation (NIAF) opened up to current President & Operating Officer John M. Viola when he was 16 years old. It was Diana Femia, a family's friend, who f i r s t t o o k V i o l a t o a G a l a Weekend, which inspired him to stay involved for 12 years before taking the reins of the communi- ty. It was during that event that V i o l a f e l t t h e b e a t o f h i s "Italianess," as he likes to refer to his origins. More specifically, it was the after party of the Gala Weekend that still has a special place in Viola's memory. He remembers the moment he was gathered t o g e t h e r w i t h o t h e r y o u n g I t a l i a n - A m e r i c a n s a r o u n d a piano in the lobby. It was "full of thousand of jubilant paesani that sang the Lou Monte and Neapolitan standards, which my grandparents taught me with the likes of Tommy Lasorda and Jerry Vale." Viola keeps Italian music to his core. In fact, when I asked him about the best Italian-American experience he has had in New York so far, Viola answered the Festa del Giglio in William- sburg, Brooklyn, which is the neighborhood he was born in. "Every time I hear the first beats o f t h a t s o n g " O G i g l i o e Paradiso" my foot starts to tap, l i k e s o m e t h i n g I a w a k e n e d inside of me and I just feel great about life," Viola writes. The fest has been going on for over 100 years in the neigh- borhood thanks to Nola's immi- grants that spread the tradition in W i l l i a m s b u r g . E v e n t h o u g h Viola's family is not from the town close to Naples, his roots come from the Campania and Sicily regions. " T h e r e i s j u s t s o m e t h i n g about [this fest] that makes me feel very blessed to be Italian American and very blessed to be a New Yorker," Viola writes. He is passionate and commit- ted to spread the culture. NIAF Chairman Joseph Del Raso felt these two characteris- tics, which ended up being the reasons why he pushed the board to trust the leadership of a young Viola. "Because to be frank, t h e r e w e r e m a n y i n t h e Foundation who thought the idea of bringing in a 28-year-old to lead the most important group in the Italian American community was absolute insanity, but he really believed in me and really believed in my passion for what this community could be," Viola writes. The kind of insanity that turns out well. How do you feel about lead- ing the Italian-American com- munity as a 32-year-old? What difficulties and opportunities are you facing because of your age? Being entrusted with the day- to-day operations of an organiza- tion like NIAF (one that I think is fairly important to the Italian A m e r i c a n c o m m u n i t y ) i s a n incredible responsibility, particu- larly at the age of 32. It really humbles me to think that the Board of Directors had the confi- d e n c e i n m e t o p l a c e m e amongst this foundation's lead- ership as a 28 year old. I feel a great sense of responsibility not j u s t t o t h e p e o p l e w h o h a v e worked so hard in past genera- tions to build our community into what it is, but of course to the Italian Americans of my own generation. I feel like we must build a foundation that they will want to participate in, now and in the future. In terms of diffi- culties and opportunities, obvi- ously it's hard in any bring peo- Current President & Operating Officer of NIAF, John M. Viola Continued to page 3 A Conversation with NIAF President John M. Viola LAVINIA PISANI

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