CELEBRATING A ROTARY FRIENDSHIP

by Greg Lynch

President (2003-2004)

ROTARY CLUB OF NEW YORK

Ah Italia, how many are your charms. How many are your challenges. The friendship which we have bonded between Milan and New York, through Rotary, is one that began so many years ago. Today it is more actual than ever.

I

Decades ago, a Milanese gentleman became a Rotarian. In time, his son prospered in the world and, himself, joined a Milan Rotary Club. The young man married a beauty from Scandinavia and for diverse reasons, this lovely couple decided to educate their children in America. So, they came to New York with their two young boys. Some things had to be left behind, but not an appreciation for the arts, good wine and food, family and - as it happened - Rotary. So it was that the young man joined the Rotary Club of New York. In so doing, he joined one of the oldest Clubs in the Rotary world (Club #6). Young Silvio also brought with him some of the best values and practices of a traditional European Rotary Club to the hurly burly of our old Gotham Club.

Naturally, young Silvio made many friends at Rotary and was greatly respected for both his friendly ways and his knowledge of Rotary. In these years he and his bride also made many trips to Italy keeping always in touch with friends in the Milan Rotary community. As Silvio prospered, he also took on more responsibilities in our Club. He was responsible for the institution of the New York Club’s annual “Italy Day” and its reputation for memorable lunches, celebrity chefs, special wines and much laughter and camaraderie. In fact, he got so good at all that which is “la bella vita” that he opened a restaurant himself, one which has now garnered great critical acclaim and which is one of the friendliest of corners for New York diners. It’s called “il Covo dell’Est (210 Avenue “A”, 212-253-0777). It is so good, I mean so good, that they made him an honorary Tuscan!

We all know the adage about getting a job done “give it to a busy man”. Well, New York Rotary did just that and made Silvio Amori its President (2002-2003) with his charming and energetic bride Margaretha on his arm. Silvio brought to that office both his contagious friendliness as well as his many friends from the Italian community in New York. Before we knew it we had several dozen new members in the Club and everyone seemed to be speaking Italian.

So in the spring of 2003, when there seemed to be more Italian than usual being spoken at our Tuesday lunch, we did not think it unusual. Oh, but it was! Some 35 members of the Milano Aquileia Rotary Club had come for a visit. It was also the opportunity for our Clubs to begin their partnership in funding a joint health project in Africa, to alleviate the suffering and research the cure for the Buruli disease. This was the beginning of a friendship grounded in service.

II

At this juncture, we came to know a new friend, Gabriele Colombo, a member of the Milano Aquileia Club. Like Silvio, Gabriele was a Milanese who had prospered internationally and had grown in stature in Rotary as his business became more successful and more international. His runs one of the very top lines of Italian furniture and he maintains a showroom in New York. Being comfortable in English as in Italian and equally comfortable flying around the globe, Gabriele maintains his base in Milan. So between dottore Silvio Amori and dottore Gabriele Colombo there was created the kernel of a Rotary flower whose petals began to unfurl.

After the initial visit from the Milano delegation and the New York Club’s contribution to the Buruli campaign, there was much good will to go forward. There was also a recognition that Milan and New York were similar kinds of cities, exciting and energetic, places from which change bubbles up - leaders in cultural movements - opera, fashion, architecture, art - and leaders in banking and eCommerce. These are “international” cities with Rotary members, who in their own distinct ways, are not only building the futures of their professions and commercial life but who are creative and compassionate leaders in their respective communities and in the global village, as well.

By this time, the stewardship of the New York Club had been taken over by myself. Of course, while I had assumed the Presidency, I had enough good sense to keep Silvio in charge of Italy Day (coming up June 1, 2004). Members’ interest in keeping this special Rotary bridge between New York and Milan remained strong. In November 2003, Gabriele Colombo, on behalf of the Milano Aquileia, provided our members with an oral presentation of the status of the Buruli project. At that same meeting, he for Milan and myself for New York signed a document of intention that our two Clubs enter into a “twinning” relationship. As we signed that document and exchanged symbolic gifts before the New York membership, I sensed a waive of approval and support from the members that made me understand that we could, and indeed must, bring this relationship further, to its full flowering.

Over the winter months, we New Yorkers began to think about a possible friendship exchange with the Milan Rotarians. Our Club Historian, PP Richard Sainburg, tells us that we had had a sister club relationship with London and that we had exchanged a ceremonial chair and a bell. I was never quite clear exactly when that had occurred. My impression was that this was more Club “lore” than Club history but a chapter, no matter how obscure, that helped define who we are as an institution, dating back, as we do, to 1909. Certainly there was no other such relationship recorded and absolutely no record of any “friendship exchange”. We believed ourselves pioneers out to make club history as we planned for our trip. We were right, of course. Yet there was a twist awaiting us when we actually appeared at the Milano Aquileia Rotary Club.

III

Anyone familiar with the term “herding cats” might get the general idea of what it was like putting together a delegation to travel to Milano. There were the kids’ vacations, business to be done, other travel to contend with. There were at least four members of the Club who would be in Milan either the week before or the week after our proposed dates. (This, by the way, seemed to be a good sign that we had selected an appropriate “twinning partner”. Even if our dates were tough to co-ordinate, there was much hope that NY Club members would find our “sister Club” on their own.) One of our members would be in Rome on business but Rome was too much a hike for a Rotary Diner in Milan. Yet there was also serendipity. Two of our corporate members would be in Milan and could and did come to the evening event. l One of our Club Directors, Commandatore Giorgio Balestrieri, agreed to fly in from Mongolia (!) for the evening. Gradually the commitments came together and we came to believe that there would be a New York Rotary delegation traveling to greet our fellow Rotarians of Milano Aquileia.

The trip started taking momentum. After some back and forth, we agreed on dates. It was to be March 11 to 21. Our Executive Director, Andreas Runggatscher, began looking into tickets and found some real bargains. Early bird sign-ups really got off cheaply on the airfare. We had decided to fly Alitalia, in order to get a flavor of Italy before we landed. There was a dinner at Il Covo dell’Est for the member of New York Rotary and spouses who had joined the Friendship Exchange group. We had a great evening. Great food, wine and fellowship. Before we even got up from the table, it was obvious that this would be a fun trip.

Well before the date of departure, the group had plenty of information on Milan, our buruli project and the itinerary. Andreas put together a packet on hotels, flights and itinerary on the ground in Italy. We were to be five days in Milan, initially. Thereafter, we would visit Bergamo, Mantua, Padua and Venice before returning to Milan for the flight home. It was arranged that travel in Italy would be as a group by motor coach. Of course, much of this would change. But it really didn’t matter, at the end. Eight of us left on the same flight from JFK aboard Alitalia flight 605. We were well prepared and in high spirits. It was an overnight flight and we got into Malpensa Airport at about 7:30 a.m. We were tired and the airport was bedlam, as several other flights had arrived more or less simultaneously.

While standing in a very long and chaotic line for passport control, I looked up and there was one of my oldest friends, who had just landed on a flight in from Dakar, Senegal, where she works for UNICEF. It was such an unpredictable and serendipitous encounter that it just felt right. We had a welcome committee from the Milano Aquileia Club waiting for us, headed up by our new friend, Rotarian Oreste Genzini, with a big, big sign. “New York Rotary - Welcome in Italy”. It was great to be met in that way and fussed over a bit. We were taken to the Starhotel Ritz, and once we got our room assignments, most of us took a restorative siesta. That evening, we all pretty much went our own way, with Oreste leading several members of the group to an informal Rotary friendship dinner. So far, so good.

The next day was Saturday, and the group took the motor coach for a ride. It was a lazy, meandering to the gates of La Certosa Monastery. We were still a bit jet lagged and so decided to forego outlet shopping in favor a some free time. Some of us went shopping on the ultra-chic Via della Spiga and the Corso Napoleone in the afternoon, followed by espressos and aperitifs, rubbing elbows with Milan’s rich and beautiful. Myself, I did not buy a thing but very much enjoyed the browsing among the forsythia and what seemed like dozens of Prada boutiques. Dancing ‘til the wee hours at a club whose name I never knew topped off a great day. Sunday, I worked on the speech for our Monday Friendship Exchange ceremony and in the evening a group of us was hosted at a typical rustic restaurant in the country-side, did I mention that we had perfect weather the entire stay. That being the case some of us snuck off to Lake Como with lunch at the Villa dell’Est. It was superb, but we could not dally as our big ceremony was to be that evening.

IV

The Milano Aquiliea Rotary Club - Rotary Club of New York Friendship dinner on Monday, March 15, 2004, was an extraordinary affair. There were some two hundred Rotarians and guests in attendance, including our New York delegation. The event took place in the banquet hall of the Grand Hotel Duomo, steps from the renaissance cathedral of the same name. Our Milanese hosts were lavish not only with the exquisite dinner, but more importantly, with their warmth and humanity. The Welcome we received will live on in my memory not only as a unique Rotary event but as a great outpouring from new faces who instantaneously made themselves our friends. The welcome produced a great feeling, touched by a tear of joy. One did not know where to look: at the beaming faces of new friends, the elegance of the ladies in attendance, the beautiful table settings with the Italian and American flags, the resplendence of the hall. What most captivated me were the many, many hands and hearts extended in friendship.

The meeting was presided by Milano Aquileia President Graziano Della Rossa in the presence of Rotary District 2040 Governor, Laura Faraone. It was my privilege to head the New York contingency, in the presence of Rotary District 7230 Past Governor Paul Caruso. Many, many other dignitaries of the principal civil and uniformed authorities of the Italian Nation, the Province of Lombardy and the City of Milan were in attendance. It was thrilling and a bit overwhelming.

Remarks of welcome and appreciation were made by the host President and Governor in impeccable English and by myself in far lees than impeccable Italian (I’ve been studying) about which our Italian hosts were most indulgent. Together we signed a Twinning Agreement, uniting our Clubs in fellowship and service. That was a very formal and very touching moment. It was a mutual pledge to which we are now bound. The New York Club presented a check for our joint project on the buruli disease and the project coordinator, dottore Poggio, made a very informative and empassioned presentation on the status of our work. Gifts of friendship were presented to all of us from New York and we reciprocated with a sterling silver tray commemorating the occasion. Our new friend Oreste was concerned that we might show up in jeans and boots, but I think we New Yorkers equited ourselves well in every respect. It was an extraordinary evening. The bond which Silvio Amori and Gabriele Colombo had initially envisioned had become reality!

And...there was a twist. As I mentioned, we believed ours to be the first Friendship Exchange in New York Club history. We were given a surprise when President Della Rossa presented me with a picture of members of the New York Club in Rome, autumn, 1927. The picture shows a group of Rotary Club of Rome members presenting a flag of the city of Rome to a delegation from New York Rotary lead by one Comm. Jaccarino. Who knew? I wonder what ever happened to that flag. Some seventy-seven years later, Matts Ingemanson has published some wonderful pictures of our own encounter - Milan, spring, 2004. It’s a thrill to know that both our Rotary roots and our friendship with Italian Rotarians go back such a long way!

V

Our Friendship Exchange had by no means ended. In fact, perhaps the greatest friendship element was to come. Now that we had achieved our official goal, the members of our group could relax. The following day, we were free to do our own thing, but a number of us were drawn to enjoying the day together - lunch in the shadow of the Duomo, a little shopping and later drinks at the magnificent Principe di Savoia Hotel, where we were guests of Scarlett Pildes. Then that evening, we did manage to make it to the Cacciatore Restaurant, a favorite of Margaretha and Silvio Amori. By the end of the evening, I believe we were transposed from a group of Rotarians on a Friendship Exchange to a group of friends on a marvelous visit to Italy.

The next morning, when we all crowded into the same train compartment on our way to Venice, the feeling was warm and exuberant. Yes the visit had become more than friendship with the Milano Club. It was about our new friendships with one another.

Venice was magical. The weather was sunny days and starry nights with the morning fog that holds a special mystery and enchantment. We stayed in the San Stefano district, one new to me and very charming. Our location was but a brief walk to Piazza San Marco. We enjoyed the art and superb architectecture of this improbable city, the glass, the masks, the shopping, the gliding rides in the gondolas and the breakneck rides in water taxis, strolls over ancient bridges in the Venetian night, lunch in the Piazza San Stefano and wine on a balcony overlooking the Grand Canal. Time stood still and, then, flew bye. We had fun. Before we knew it, we were packing for the flight back to New York. Lots of happy memories and some new friends. Every week at our Club meeting, we repeat the Four Way Test. It’s a mantra. Sometimes we just say it. Other times we draw something from it that gives shape to our lives. One of the four questions we ask is “Will it build good will and better friendships?” When I recall our Friendship Exchange, I know my answer to that question will be a resounding “Yes!”.

POSTSCRIPT

As I mentioned, every year, the Rotary Club of New York celebrates Italy Day. It’s a popular day for our members because the food, entertainment and prizes are great and we usually have some nice wines. This year should be no exception. Yet, there will be an exceptional element. We will be welcoming members of the Rotary Club of Milano Aquileia to Manhattan. They will give us a report on how the New York Rotary Foundation’s grant is being used to combat the buruli disease. We’ll try to be as generous with them as they have been with us, show them some of our local projects and help them enjoy Manhattan. It will be a great opportunity for our New York exchange group to interact again and a nice chance for more members of our Club to get involved in the “friendship”. We can only wish for our fellow Rotarians from Milan the same gift of friendship with one another as we felt, as a group, traveling together to build better friendships in Milan.

Unquote

Many, many thanks,

Greg