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Smiles abound at annual Christmas party
After saying yes, he has been good this year, Matthew Beatty — all smiles — told Santa Claus the thing he wants most for Christmas is a new record player: just the thing for someone who loves music from Michael Jackson to Willie Nelson.
With his wish put in with the big guy in the red suit, the Meadville resident, seeming satisfied, sat back down at a table with his family and friends.
“I’m so happy,” he said.
That mood echoed through the packed banquet hall at the Italian Civic Club of Meadville on Tuesday as the club hosted more than 400 guests at its 48th annual Christmas party for children and adults with developmental disabilities. Along with the traditional visits with Santa, its other highlights included a three-course spaghetti dinner, a disc jockey spinning Christmas tunes and dozens of pop-dance favorites, toys for children and, of course, that undeniable
air of festive merriment that a traditional holiday celebration can bring.
“I like coming here with my boyfriend of two years and having a good time, dancing and eating good food. I’ve been coming here for I’d say about five years,” said Tiffany Manross after she and her boyfriend, Dale Clemmen, stepped off the bustling dance floor.
Manross, 27, and Clemmen, 29, both said they also enjoy seeing their friends at the ICC, and Clemmen added he always likes a chance to wear one of his Christmas sweaters. “I do wear a Santa hat (too), but I don’t have it on right now,” he said with a smile.
The ICC’s guests for the party are residents from around the area who utilize some of the variety of services offered at agencies including the Arc of Crawford County, United Community Independence Program, Vallonia Industries and others that serve people with developmental issues.
“It’s a great thing. Everybody’s got smiles on their faces,” said club manager John Quinn as he worked with other club staff and upwards of 30 volunteers who were helping out with everything from cooking and serving to cleanup.
It takes a serious amount of preparation to pull off the annual dinner, which generally calls for about 70 pounds of pasta, hundreds — and hundreds — of meatballs and around 80 gallons of sauce.
It costs the club between $6,000 and $8,000 annually to put on the party, and the club raises money for it year-round through its more than 300 active members and 1,200 social members. Quinn and other club officials said that despite this year’s recession economy, they were able to bring it all together without cutting any corners. “We still do it no matter what,” he said.
It’s a tradition the ICC started in 1961, and one that club President John Vitelli said gets right to the heart of what the club — which goes by the motto ‘Where Heritage and Civic Duty Are Instilled’ — is all about.
That’s “what we go by,” Vitelli said, and that “says everything.”
Ryan Smith can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at rsmith@meadvilletribune.com.
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