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Italian-American of the Year

WHEELING — The 35th-annual Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival officially kicked off on Wednesday at the McLure Hotel as nearly 200 festival supporters gathered for a dinner to honor the 2017 Italian-American of the Year, former Ohio Sen. Lou Gentile.

“We are very happy to see Lou Gentile honored as Italian-American of the Year for all that he has done in Jefferson County, in the political arena, and for what he has done to support the Italian culture through the Italian American Cultural Club and Campo Italiano in Steubenville,” said Ron Castellucci, festival chairman.

Gentile was introduced by former U.S. Rep. Zack Space, who is currently running as a Democrat for Ohio auditor. He spoke about his own heritage as a Greek-American, and drew parallels to the Italian-American experience.

“The values that we have as children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren of immigrants have been carried forward. These are the values that Lou has embodied. He is the product of a great family,” Space said. “Those values of devotion to family, hard work and commitment to communities is what Lou has embraced and what he has become. He has applied these values to his adult life.”

Born to first generation Italian-American parents Lou Sr. and Carmella, Gentile, 38, has dedicated his adult life to public service. He began his career in governmental service and politics campaigning for former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland. He then served in the Governor’s Office of Appalachia and as a representative in the Ohio House before moving on to serve in the Ohio Senate. He ran for re-election in 2016 and was defeated by Sen. Frank Hoagland, R-Mingo Junction, in the November general election.

“I saw firsthand Lou’s devotion to the coal industry while he was in the state Senate. Nobody worked harder for coal than Lou Gentile,” Space said. “I couldn’t help but notice that is the industry that many of our ancestors went into when they came over here.”

Space went on to praise Gentile as someone who fought for those from southeastern Ohio who did not have a voice in Columbus. He said he was proud to be part of his campaign, and touted Gentile’s love of family and loyalty to friends, honesty and trustworthiness — as well as his ability to make great pasta.

“Lou fell victim to a trend, a political wave,” Space said. “There is no justice in politics when a guy like Lou goes down. There was not a better fighter for Italian-Americans or southeastern Ohioans.”

Gentile then took the podium, expressing gratitude for the being honored, and giving his family and heritage most of the credit for his success. He spoke about the importance of his Italian ancestry, the need to carry on the values of those who came before him and the need to take care of the community at large.

“Our ancestors would really be proud that what we are doing here this evening and throughout this weekend is about investing in our youth. It’s about creating opportunities for our young people to get scholarships to go on to higher education, or to learn the culture,” Gentile said.

He emphasized that many Italian immigrants, including his grandfather, literally came to the United States with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

“I try to picture that experience and think about if somebody could have gone backwards in a time machine and told my grandfather that his grandson would someday work for a governor and serve in the Ohio House and Senate. He probably would have told them to get the hell out of his way, in Italian,” Gentile added.

He said those immigrants were not selfish people and they did not come here because they only wanted to enrich themselves. He told the festival supporters in attendance that they were doing the right thing by supporting their communities.

“They understood that coming to this country meant that they were going to have a better opportunity for their families and their loved ones, but they were also going to contribute to the community and help build a better tomorrow for future generations,” Gentile said. “I think the festival is doing that by awarding these young people scholarships … and sending the same signal our ancestors did — that we are going to invest in future generations.”

Gentile concluded by noting that he understands the gravity of the recognition as Italian-American of the Year, noting the accomplishments of previous honorees.

“I am humbled by this recognition. But to me, we should take this time this weekend to celebrate our culture, remember who we are as a people, what we’ve done as a community of people,” Gentile said. “And in order for our culture and heritage to remain intact, in order for it to move forward and be preserved and protected, we’ve got to continue to invest in our young people and give them the same opportunities that our parents and grandparents and ancestors gave us.”

The Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival opening ceremonies are set for noon Friday, and the festival continues Saturday and Sunday at Heritage Port in Wheeling.

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