3

In Memory of Luis Nunes

4 Consul General Farewell
5 Luso-American Fraternal Federation Official Visits
10 Luso-American Fraternal Federation Annual Picnic
12 Luso-American Fraternal Federation Presidential Testimonials
13 Luso-American Fraternal Federation 20-30’s Activities
14 Luso-American Education Foundation Annual Conference
15 Luso-American Education Foundation Anniversary
16 Luso-American Education Foundation 2009 Scholarship Awards
21 Luso-American Education Foundation Youth Summer Camp
23 Portuguese Continental Union Annual Convention
27 Portuguese Continental Union Activities
28 Luso-American Education Foundation (East) Annual Conference
29 Sociedade Portuguesa Rainha Santa Isabel Official Visits
36 Ron Gill Scholarship Award
38 Sales Representatives
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e were nearing a long weekend, one of those when our
friend Luis Nunes used to gather his entire family and
friends and travel throughout the state of California, and it
did not matter if he was traveling north or south because the Nunes
family has friends everywhere.

But this weekend would be different and full of sadness. In a matter

of minutes the tragic news traveled throughout California, East Coast, Portugal and to other countries, and the shock
was so intense that it seemed like the world had come to a stop to reflect on our friend’s life. No one wanted to believe
how this tragic accident occurred. No one wanted to believe that our friend left us, but the truth was, it was time for him
to go.

To the Luso family, where Luis Nunes had a large number of friends, the news came to us with a strong feeling of loss
and sadness. We lost a great friend and a true fraternalist, a great server of our organization. Luis Nunes served the
society in various capacities:

Luso-American Fraternal Federation Board of Directors (August 1994 to August 1996)

Luso-American Fraternal Federation Advisory Board (August 1996 to April 1997)
Luso-American Life Insurance Society Board of Directors (April 1997 to April 2008)
Luso-American Life Insurance Society Advisory Board (October 2008 until May 22, 2009)
President of his Council (Council 65B of Tulare ) for many years.

He leaves his wife Carmel, sons Mark and Steven, daughter Nancy, daughter-in-law Sandra and grandson Hayden, a
large number of friends in California, the New England States and in the island of Terceira, Azores.

Luso American Life Insurance and its officers express our sincere condolences to the entire family.
 On June 22 members of the Luso Ameri-
can Life Insurance, Luso-American Frater-
nal Federation, Luso-American Education
Foundation and Sociedade Portuguesa
Rainha Santa Isabel, got together to say
their good-byes to the Consul General of
Portugal in San Francisco Dr. José António
Alves de Carvalho.
Dr. Carvalho ends his term as Consul Gen-
eral, after 5 years and will be serving his
next term in Germany. For the last 5 years,
many friendships were made, as mentioned
by Dr. Carvalho, and now they will be go-
ing to the region of Alentejo for a month and
then Germany.
Dr. Carvalho and his wife Teresa, had
the opportunity to participate in various
functions of Luso, including Educational
Congresses, visit to the Idaho Council, An-
nual Conventions and much more. Friend of
the community, friend of Luso and friend of
all, Dr. Carvalho leaves a large number of
friends behind.
Present at the dinner were LALIS re-
cently retired CEO Manuel Minhoto, Past
Chairman of the Board Albert Vieira, cur-
rent Chairman of the Board John M. Dias,
various board directors of LALIS, LAFF
President Liz Rodrigues, LAEF Chairman
of the Board Professor José Luis da Silva
and LAEF President Dr. Manuel Betten-
court, SPRSI President Tisha Cardoza, and
several guests including the Vice Consul
of Portugal in San Francisco Manuela Sil-
veira. During the dinner, which was a great
success, LALIS presented departing Gen-
eral Consul, Dr. Carvalho, with an engraved
watch as a token of our appreciation.
The Luso-American Life Insurance Society,
wishes Dr. Carvalho and his wife Teresa,
best wishes and much of success.

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 T
he 33rd Annual Conference of the Luso
American Education Foundation was
held on March 27-28, 2009, in Turlock
at the campus of California State University,
Stanislaus, with the theme: “Portuguese: A
Global Language.”
A new aspect of this year’s conference was a
training strand with about 25 teachers of the
Portuguese community and public schools.
This strand was organized by Ana Cristina
Sousa, Coordinator of Portuguese Instruction
in California.
On Friday, the University hosted a Portuguese
Student Day. Approximately 85 students from
Hilmar, Los Banos and Turlock High Schools
were given a tour of the campus, informed
about how to apply to a university and also
had time to learn about the global aspects of
the Portuguese language. On Saturday, there
was a workshop for Portuguese students who
lead Portuguese Clubs at their high schools,
sharing the projects and objectives of each
club.
On Friday evening, there was a banquet at
Casa dos Acores, honoring three Portuguese-
American school superintendents: Isabel Ca-
bral-Johnson of Hilmar Unified School District,
Henry Escobar of the Livingston Union School
District and Antonio Borba who recently retired
from the Salida Elementary School District. All
three emigrated from the Azores Islands as
children or teenagers, learned English, suc-
ceeded in the public schools and went to a
university, becoming teachers, principals, and
finally superintendents. All three along the
way, worked to promote and expand the edu-
cational opportunities for Portuguese-Ameri-
cans. The highlight of the banquet was the
entertainment by students from Tulare High
School, under the direction of Diniz Borges.
They recited poetry, played traditional instru-
ments and sang traditional, as well as songs
they composed
On Saturday, for the general public there was
a strand focusing on political and civic partici-
pation. The participants were challenged to go
back to their communities and organize them-
selves to push for the teaching of Portuguese
in their local schools by pressuring their local
school boards. This strand also had a session
in which authors of books of the Portuguese
community presented their research.

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n Sunday, June 07, 2009, a Banquet was held at the
Hilton Hotel, in Newark, to celebrate Dia de Portugal
de Camoes e das Comunidades Portuguesas, the
46th anniversary of Luso-American Education Foundation
and honoring Mr.Lionel B. Goularte. Mr. Goularte was the
recipient of the Luso-American Education Foundation Dia de
Portugal Award, for his valuable contributions supporting the
Luso Communities and promoting the Portuguese Language
and Culture in California.

The keynote speaker was the Consul General of Portugal in

San Francisco Dr. Antonio Alves de Carvalho, who acknowl-
edged and thanked the Luso-American Education Founda-
tion for celebrating Dia de Portugal for forty three consecu-
tive years. He also thanked the Foundation for promoting the
Portuguese Language and Culture with our annual confer-
ences, supporting, sponsoring or co-sponsoring a myriad of
programs related to education, and awarding scholarships to
many students every year.

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nardo,
on Past Presidents, John Ber
Portuguese Continental Uni
res
Julie Romano and Joe Soa
PCU Past 20-30’s President
Julie Romano
T his year included the pleasure of visiting our California family during their 2008
Convention. I would like to offer a special thank you to them for the warm
greetings and hospitality that they extended to me.
As a board, the 20-30’s has become more connected and active this year. We
have learned the value of hard work and know what it is going to take for us to
do our part in the growth of our society. We had another successful trip to Fox-
woods Casino, initiated a 20-30’s Newsletter, planned a Boat Cruise, raised more
money for our scholarship, have set 5 year goals for our future board members
and of course, continued with our annual Sueca Tournament at convention. By
fulfilling each of these tasks we are doing our part in keeping the Society strong.
We hope that these new events have encouraged members, both active and non
active, to remain joined with the Society.
To my board members, I thank you for your continued hard work, dedication and
patience you’ve shown while working with me during these past two years. Your
enthusiasm and positive attitudes are incredible assets that are refreshing and
absolutely appreciated. Your dedication to the Society has not gone unnoticed
and there are no words that can describe my gratitude for all you have done. I
have enjoyed working with you and look forward to seeing the group grow and
prosper.
To my sister, thank you for being my best friend, even if you had no choice in the
matter. You have always pushed me to work harder, to look outside the box and
to not give up. Through your own examples, you have inspired me to be a better
President. You have showed me that people can make a difference; you have
made a difference for me.
To my parents, thank you for bringing me into this Society all those years ago. I
truly believe that being part of this Society has made me a stronger person. I have
learned the value of caring about something that I am a part of, working hard to
make it last and managing it so that it thrives. You have both showed me that hard
work, dedication and perseverance do make a difference.
To the Society, thank you for the opportunity to give back to a community that has
given so much to me.
Julie Romano
PCU Past President
Jose Soares
A s my second year in office comes to an end, I have to say that I have truly enjoyed
every visit and function that I have had the pleasure to attend. We as members of the
Portuguese Continental Union are a Fraternal Society, or in short, a FAMILY. That i This
final year as President has been just as busy as my first year, visiting all of our lodges
up and down the East Coast attending meetings and festivals. To all of the lodges that I
have visited, I thank you for welcoming me into your community, treating me like family
and for the generous gifts that you presented me with. s what I feel I have with all of you,
be it on the East or West coast or the land in between. As we grow we look forward to
welcoming others into our FAMILY!
These times are not easy for anyone, but when I see how hard our members have
worked to prepare for our visits, I feel I must acknowledge their efforts and the time and
work that it took them to prepare. So from me to ALL of you -THANK YOU!
This year we have seen many changes in our organization, especially on the LUSO
Board. I would like to congratulate everyone in their new positions and especially Mr.
Larry Soares as our new CEO. We are in good hands. Also, I would like to recognize
the birth of SOS-Strengthen Our Society on the East coast with Ms. Edite Furtado as the
leader. With her enthusiasm and the team she has put together, we should see many
great ideas going forth. I am pleased to report that we did present a full budget and it
was approved by our board. Things should run smoothly for the incoming President and
their board.
I must congratulate Julie Romano on the outstanding job she has done with the 20-30’s
group. As their President, wherever we have gone she has been ready to speak about
the group and their goals. The way she has represented our Society is something we
should all be proud of!
The Youth group is growing and John Bernardo their President has come a long way from
when he first took office. We understand that it has not been easy with school and all,
but he has done a great job of representing our youth in the community. Good job John!
With this said, I hope that this year is a positive and enjoyable one for all. Remember, we
are all FRATERNAL brothers and sisters. God bless you and your families.
To my daughters Samantha and Krystal - LOVE YOU!
Joe Soares
PCU Past Youth President
John Bernardo
T hese past two years have been great. I have met so many people here at
LAL. I’ve made many friends that I would never have made if I hadn’t been the
Portuguese Continental Union youth President. California was so much fun and I
met many good friends there as well, including Michael and Kayla. They showed
me how to have a great time in my presidency and I was able to see first hand the
hard work and dedication that they put into this Organization. I especially enjoyed
going to the Presidents visits, even though I wasn’t able to make as many of them
as I would have liked to. I apologize for this. The one’s that I was able to go to
were a lot of fun and I always felt at home and very welcomed.
Being the youth President has taught me to be a better person and how to better
interact with people. Having to get up and speak in front of people is difficult, but
after these past two years I am finally getting comfortable with it and feel “settled
in”. During my speeches, I felt like I was talking to family. That is what this Orga-
nization is to me, a great, big family from East to West coast. I know that I am
leaving and giving up my position to someone who will be qualified. LAL is the first
organization that I have been part of and given such a high rank.
Being in college is difficult and time consuming (and not as easy as I thought!). In
working to get my priorities straight, I did the best I could. I joined this organization
five years ago as a teenager and now I am moving on to the 20’s and 30’s group
where I plan to do great things. Time flies and I plan to continue to help build the
future of our Society. I will always remain a part of LAL/ PCU
I would like to thank Sr. Jose Teixeira for introducing me to LAL and for persuad-
ing me to get involved. He gave me the confidence to run for President and I am
grateful for that as well. Most of all, I would like to thank Mr. Eddie Figueiredo. He
made my position and life so much easier by keeping me up to date with things.
The meetings with the Youth Administration were always lots of fun and informa-
tive. I thank all of the Youth coordinators for doing an amazing job with the Youth
group! Without them things would have been really difficult to organize and get
going.
I am excited for the 2009 Convention. I look forward to meeting new people and
catching up with old friends. LAL/PCU is a wonderful organization and I am proud
to be a part of it.
John Bernardo 23
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 T
his year’s Congress of Portuguese Language and
Culture was held with the collaboration of the Leslie
University at their campus in Cambridge, MA. Theme
“One Language; Many Cultures”, and under the direction of
Chairs dr. Caetano Valadão Serpa and his wife Prof. Maria
Lurdes Serpa, the congress was a great success and in-
cluded topics such as: The Orthographic Accord; Portuguese
Language in the last 50 years; The Politics of the Portuguese
Language in the US and the World; the Influence of the Art
and Dance in promoting our language.

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 2009 CALIFORNIA FRATERNAL CONGRESS
RON GILL SCHOLARSHIP AWARD
GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES:

AWARD:

A minimum of two $500.00 scholarships will be awarded by the California Fraternal

Congress to sophomore, junior or senior year students in trade school or college.
There is a limit of one scholarship award per society unless all applications received are
from the same society.

The scholarship awards will be presented on October 17, 2009 at the annual meeting of
the California Fraternal Congress in Sacramento, California.

ELIGIBILITY:

Applicant must be enrolled as a full-time student in an accredited vocational/technical

school or college/university.

Applicant must be a resident of California and a member, or a child of a member of a

fraternal benefit society who holds membership in the California Fraternal Congress.

Applicant must have a cumulative grade point average of at least a 2.0. (on a 4.0 system)
Transcript of grades from spring 2009 semester must be submitted with application.

Application/essay for scholarship awards must be completed in its entirety and

postmarked by September 1, 2009. Incomplete or late entries will be disqualified.

Scholarship awards are for one year only. Recipients will not be eligible again for the
award from the California Fraternal Congress.

PROCEDURES:

The Scholarship awards will be made payable jointly to the award recipients and their school.
Deadline for submission is September 1, 2009.

JUDGING CRITERIA:

Overall merits of applicant, cumulative grade point average, school activities, honors, and
essay content. (Fraternalism volunteering activities in your respective society).

Entries will be submitted to the Chair of the Ron Gill Scholarship committee. The
applications will be referred to a three-member panel for final judging.
Recipients of the California Fraternal Congress Ron Gill scholarship Awards will be
notified by October 1, 2009.

Deadline for submission is September 1, 2009.

 CALIFORNIA FRATERNAL CONGRESS
Application for Ron Gill Scholarship Award

DEADLINE: September 1, 2009 (Please type or print all information)

PERSONAL DATA:

Applicant's Name: _____________________________________________________________________

Street Address_________________________________________________________________________________

City: _______________________________ State: _______________________Zip: ______________

Telephone Number: _____________________________ Daytime Phone: _________________________

Social Security Number: ___________________Date of Birth: ___________Sex: Male: _______Female________

Are you claimed as a dependent by your parents? Yes ___ No ___.

If yes, annual family income: $ _________________________ If no, your annual income: $ _______________

Society Name: ____________________________________________________________________________

Lodge/Council/Branch/Court Number: ____________ Location __________ No. of years as a member:_____

COLLEGE DATA:
Name of College/University or Vocational/Technical School where you are currently enrolled.

Name: ____________________________________________________________________________________

Address of School: _______________________________Phone Number of School: ______________________

Year in school 2009/2010: Sophomore _____________ Junior ____________ Senior __________________

Expected date of graduation: Month ____________________ Year ___________________

Major: __________________________________ Minor: _____________________________________

Cumulative GPA based on 4.0 scales: ______________________________________________________

School Activities/Honors: _______________________________________________________________

Scholarship Award Essay: Explain why of the scholarship awards from the California Fraternal Congress should be
presented to you. Include other family members in college, major financial commitments, career goals, fraternal
activities, volunteer service, special abilities, etc. (Maximum 500 words)

The information provided in this application is true.

Signature of applicant: ____________________________________________ Date: _________________

Mail complete application to:

Carla Cardoso, S.E.S.
Chair – C.F.C. Ron Gill Scholarship
P.O. Box 247
Sana Clara, A 95052

A TRANSCRIPT OF GRADES FROM SPRING 2009 SEMESTER MUST BE

INCLUDED WITH APPLICATION.
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