New Italian organization comes to Las Vegas

By Jeff O'Brien

Friday, Sept. 26, 2008 | midnight

A new Italian-American service organization, dedicated to culture and community service, is coming to life in the Las Vegas Valley — and several residents of Summerlin are playing a key role in bringing it to fruition.

UNICO National is a nationwide organization founded in 1922 that strives to promote Italian heritage and participate in charity projects at the local, national and international levels.

"Unico" is the Italian word for unique or one of a kind, and UNICO Las Vegas is the organization's first branch here in the valley.

The club's president is Rose Pistilli-Falocco, a real estate agent living in Spanish Trail. A first-generation American, she speaks Italian fluently and her family hails from the Molise region of Italy.

Since moving to Las Vegas two years ago from Ventura, Calif., Pistilli-Falocco has been an avid reader of La Voce, Las Vegas' monthly Italian-American newspaper. She noticed an advertisement for UNICO National in the February 2008 edition.

"I called the number and I was the only one who called from Las Vegas," Pistilli-Falocco said. "So they put me in charge of establishing a new branch. As the months went by, I just went out and recruited people. Every time I spoke to someone Italian I would mention this group."

The club is still in the process of being chartered by UNICO National, which is headquartered in New Jersey. In order to be chartered, a local branch needs to have at least 20 members and have an established meeting schedule, and UNICO Las Vegas is already exceeding those requirements.

"We have approximately 35 members, which is very good considering we're not even chartered yet," Pistilli-Falocco said.

Although UNICO Las Vegas still needs to determine which clubs and charities it will become involved with, one possibility is to provide scholarships for students at UNLV and the College of Southern Nevada who are majoring in Italian Studies.

"We are focusing on keeping our culture alive but also getting youth involved," Pistilli-Falocco said. "We're in this to help other people and not just to socialize."

The only other Italian-American service organization in the valley, Pistilli-Falocco said, is the Augustus Society, which was founded in 1983.

The members' ages in UNICO Las Vegas range from 22 to 82 and they range from college students to retirees, with more than a quarter of the founding members living in Summerlin.

One of those founding members is Dave Tina, a 13-year-resident of Las Vegas who resides in Red Rock Country Club. His family hails from Naples, Italy, and he is also fluent in Italian.

Tina said a big reason why he joined is to give a positive projection of the 140,000 Italian-Americans living in Las Vegas.

"I hope we can negate the bad impressions that some people have, that your typical Italian is like the one you see on 'The Sopranos,'" Tina said.

Although UNICO Las Vegas plans to focus on local youth, Tina said, the group will be diverse in its fundraising efforts.

"Whether its scholarships or charity walks, we're looking to raise money for a variety of groups," he said.

UNICO Las Vegas held its first public meeting on Aug. 28 and Tina said there is already a great deal of enthusiasm.

"We all want to get together to promote a positive perception of Italian-Americans and also help the community," he said. "And eat food. Because we're Italians and we love to eat."

The club is hoping to be chartered sometime in November, and the cost to join is $50 per person. The group meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. inside Giuseppe's Bar & Grille, 6065 S. Durango Drive.

UNICO's 2009 National Convention is also being held at Lake Las Vegas from July 28 to Aug 2.It is expected to draw more than 6,000 visitors.

For more information about UNICO Las Vegas, call Rose Pistilli-Falocco at 767-6993.

Jeff O’Brien can be reached at 990-8957 or [email protected].