First Posted: 8/27/2014
Three locals will be honored by the Italian-American Association at the 37th Annual Columbus Day Banquet on Sunday, Oct. 12 at Gennetti Hotel and Convention Center, Wilkes-Barre.
Those honored will be Atty. John Terrana, Person of the Year; Lori Nocito, Lifetime Achievement Award; and Charles Valenti, Italian Heritage Award. Guest speaker for this event will be the honorable Judge Richard Caputo and Atty. Philip Gelso will serve as toastmaster.
A cash bar will be available from 5 to 6 p.m. with dinner served at 6 p.m. Cost is $35 per person and tickets must be purchased in advance. For reservations, contact Louise Castellani at 570-654-6454 or Judy Deice at 570-654-7600.
Music for dancing will be provided by Danny Argo and Friends until 10:15 p.m.
John Terrana
Terrana was born and raised in Pittston. A son of the late Angelo and Dolores Terrana, he graduated from St. John’s High School before earning his bachelor’s degree from Kings’ College. He received his Juris Doctor Degree from the George Mason University School of Law in 1982.
His grandparents immigrated from Sicily to work in the Anthracite coal fields in NEPA – his grandfather was a sulfer miner in Sicily.
Terrana has two brothers, Joseph and Angello Jr., both attorneys in Luzerne County. His sister, Rosemary Dessoye, is the executive vice president of the Pittston Chamber of Commerce.
“I’m thrilled to be named Person of the Year,” Terrana said. “I was humbled because of the caliber of people that have been named to this before me.”
While in law school, Terrana served as a legislative assistant to U.S. Rep. Raphael Musto in his Washington, D.C. office.
Following his graduation from law school, Terrana established a law firm in Kingston. He has been a sole practitioner since 1981.
Terrana is a founding member of the ltalian-American Association of Luzerne County. He is also a member of the Wilkes-Barre Chapter of UNICO, a local Italian-American service organization that raises and distributes $30,000 a year to local charities that promote mental health.
Terrana presently serves as first vice president of UNICO. He formerly served UNICO as its president and as chairman of the board. He will return to the office of president next year, followed by another year as chairman of the board. He has served as chair of the UNICO Brian Piccolo Scholarship Committee for the past 10 years.
Terrana is the father of three children: Dr. Katie Terrana McHale, an emergency room pediatrician in New Jersey; Julie Terrana, a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch in Philadelphia; and John Charles Terrana, a student at Scranton Preparatory School. He is also the father-in-law to Dr. Kevin McHale, a cardiology fellow at The Deborah Heart and Lung Hospital in New Jersey and the grandfather of John Martin McHale.
“The Italian-American Association promotes Italian culture among those of us that have decended from Italian immigrants,” Terrana said. “It strives to maintain and pass along traditions to the generations that have come after the original immigrants.”
Loci Nocito
Prior to becoming the executive director of Leadership Wilkes-Barre in 2003, Nocito spent more than 15 years in the corporate sector, serving as the advertising sales manager for The Times Leader and advertising director of the Sunday Dispatch. Most recently, she was a columnist for The Citizens’ Voice. She also served as director of public relations for the Pittston Area School District.
Nocito was named the Greater Pittston Person of the Year by the Sunday Dispatch in 2001.
She could think of two words when describing what it felt like to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award: humbled and respect.
“I have such great respect for this organization and my love for my Italian heritage and my community,” she said. “When you’re honored for things you do because you’re passionate about them, it’s even better. I have a great deal of respect for them.”
Nocito’s volunteer activities include the following: chairperson of the Pittston Tomato Festival, the Greater Pittston Chamber of Commerce Women’s Network, member of the Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, member of the Luzerne County Bar Association Lay Advisory Board, Luzerne County Head Start Board of Directors, Geisinger Northeast Advisory Board, Circle 200 Executive Women’s Network, Association of Leadership Programs and member of the International Leadership Association.
She is co-chair of 2014 The Commonwealth Medical College Gala.
Nocito was part of the West Pittston and Gualdo Tadino, Italy sister city delegation which traveled to Italy to participate in the sister city program. She plans to participate in the Pittston and San Giacomo, Italy sister city program.
“Traveling to to Italy with the delegation with West Pittston had a profound effect on me,” she said. “The fact that Pittston now has a sister city, I look forward to the opportunity of going there and having them come here. It’s nice to remember where your family came from and reconnect and make new friends.”
Nocito was named one of the “Top 25 Women in Business” by the Northeast Pennsylvania Business Journal. She also received a Community Partner award from Luzerne County Head Start. She received the Wyoming Valley Women’s Club Woman of the Year award and the Thomas M. Kobeski Community Spirit Award.
In 2013, she received the Luzerne County Dress for Success “Sister of Success” award. She was the 2009 commencement speaker at Penn State University, Wilkes-Barre campus.
Nocito is a graduate of Pittston Area High School and earned a bachelor of science degree in marketing from Penn State University. She is a 2003 graduate of Leadership Wilkes-Barre and Leadership New York City. She earned a certificate in Leadership Development from Wilkes University and is currently pursuing a certificate in Leadership Development and Organizational Management from New York University.
She resides in Exeter with her husband, Frank.
Charles Valenti
Valenti is the oldest member of the Italian American Association of Luzerne County and recipient of the first-ever Italian Heritage Award, a new award for the organization, according to president Herman Castellani, which honors members who have dedicated their lives to their Italian-American heritage.
He was selected for the award because of his faithfulness to his club and his family and the Columbus League.
Valenti was born in Pittston in 1930 and currently resides in the Cork Lane section of Pittston Township. He is the youngest son of the late Cologero and Maria Mendola Valenti, immigrants from Montedoro, Sicily and a graduate of the Pittston High School Class of 1949.
Valenti has been an active member of the Italian-American Association of Luzerne County since its inception. He is also a member of the Montedoro Society of Pittston, the Holy Name Society of St. Joseph Marello Church, the Pittston Adult Active Center and the St. Rocco Mutual Aid Society.
Valenti worked in the Reliable Spring and Welding Service, a family business, and various collieries. He retired after 35 years of service from the local 524 Pipefitters where he worked in power plants, industrial buildings and manufacturing building throughout the region.
Valenti enjoys hunting and fishing and, most importantly, his vegetable garden.
