{image1}Wisconsin's recently launched Italian American Chamber of Commerce, which works in collaboration with the Chicago branch, held its first event Wed., June 25 when the Port of Milwaukee hosted a group of representatives from the port of Cagliari on the Italian island of Sardinia.
Sandro Usai, president of the Consorzio Area Sviluppo Industriale Cagliari (Cagliari Industrial Development Area Consortium), and CASIC promotions director Massimo Loi met with local business leaders and representatives from the Wisconsin World Trade Association and the state's Deptartment of Commerce and gave a presentation on the benefits of working with Cagliari's port.
Giuseppe Pinna, Executive Director of the Chicago IACC, was also on hand at the presentation and the lunch which followed.
The port, which also has a large and active business park -- home to a major campus of buildings housing Tiscali, Europe's largest Internet service provider, as well as a petroleum refinery and other businesses -- is one of the largest in the Mediterranean and is a gateway to Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
"Hopefully this will be the beginning of a fruitful relationship, said Wisconsin IACC President Al Rolandi, who is also active in WisItalia, a statewide organization that promotes the teaching of the Italian language in public and private schools and universities.
Plans were also discussed to lead a group of Wisconsin business people on a mission to Cagliari in October.
For more information on the IACC, visit www.italchambers.net/chicago. For more on the business mission, contact Marie Gaudette at mgaudette@mlgassoc.com or (312) 236-2660.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
