2 to be honored at Columbus Day celebration

Photo

Rubino

Photo

Dr. Bitonte

YOUNGSTOWN

Dr. Dominic Bitonte and Carlo Rubino will be honored at Tony Trolio’s Ciao Promotions’ 16th annual Columbus Day Dinner and Show Oct. 6 at The Georgetown.

Entertainment for the evening will be provided by Teo Ricciardella, an Italian-American tenor from New York City. The opening act will be Chris Denium, performing a tribute to Neil Diamond.

Master of ceremonies will be Joe Naples.

Tickets are $45 per person, but senior citizens and groups are eligible for a discounted price of $40. Tickets can be purchased at Trolio’s in Poland or by calling 330-757-2779.

Ciao Promotions, whose motto is “Italians promoting Italians,” has been honoring area Italians since 1995 by bringing top quality entertainers to the area and honoring the many Italians who have contributed much to the Mahoning Valley through philanthropy, scholarships, entertainment, medicine, food and service industries, education, sports and more. To date, more than 60 local Italians have been honored.

Dr. Dominic Bitonte was born and raised in Youngstown’s Brier Hill neighborhood and attended Tod Elementary, Hayes Junior High and The Rayen schools.

The son of immigrants Anthony and Gemma Bitonte, he is married to the former Helen Fiorenza of Campbell and has two children and eight grandchildren. He earned a dental surgery degree from Ohio State University and has received two awards from OSU.

He has served as president, secretary and council member of Corydon Palmer Dental Society, and he serves on the Northeast Regional Board as a dental examiner, which examines 75 percent of the U.S. dental school applicants.

He has served as a member of the Mahoning County Planning Commission for 21 years, and was founder and first chairman of Youngstown/Mahoning County Convention and Regional Visitors Bureau. He also has served on the boards of Youngstown Symphony, the regional chamber of commerce and Ursuline Sisters Advisory Board, and he has been president of the Youngstown Club.

He has been honored by Boardman Township and Boys and Girls Town of Italy, and he was named Veteran of the Year by ITAM Post 3.

He and his wife, who reside in Columbiana, serve on the Youngstown State University President’s Council. Both were honored as outstanding philanthropists for 1999 by the National Society of Fund Raising Executives of Ohio. In February 1999, the College of Health and Human Services at YSU was renamed the Dr. Dominic and Helen Bitonte College of Health and Human Services.

Carlo Rubino was born in Pacentro in the Abruzzi region of Italy on Feb. 25, 1939, a son of Vicenzo and Annia Rubino. He worked in the art studio of Il Maestro Giuseppe Avolio, producing paintings and murals.

In 1952, he was accepted at the prestigious art school Gentile Mazzara Delle Belle Arte, in Sulmona, Italy. He and his family immigrated to the United States in 1954, and at 15, he was placed in the third grade because of his poor English. Within a few weeks, he advanced to the fourth grade, then graduated from high school in 1960.

On June 14, 1961, he became a U.S. citizen. He served two years in the Army and upon his discharge, he attended Youngstown College and graduated in 1967.

He began his career as an art teacher at Boardman High School in 1989, and he was named Teacher of the Year in 1994.

He and his wife, the former Luisa Marchionda, live in Poland.