LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commending Vito DeSimone upon the occasion of his
designation for special recognition on February 19, 2012

WHEREAS, Individuals who give of their time and energies and serve the
best interests of their communities are an asset beyond remuneration and
cannot be sufficiently extolled; and
WHEREAS, Vito DeSimone has given not only of his time and energies but
also of his competence, intelligence and leadership and consequently has
been designated for special honor; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to commend Vito DeSi-
mone upon the occasion of his designation for special recognition, to be
celebrated at the 32nd Annual Dinner Dance of the Order Sons of Italy in
America, New York State Commission for Social Justice, on Sunday, Febru-
ary 19, 2012 at Russo's on the Bay, Howard Beach, New York; and
WHEREAS, Vito DeSimone was born in Campagna, a provincial town of
Salerno, Italy; he moved to Venezuela at the age of 14, and came to the
United States in 1959; and
WHEREAS, An Educator and Writer, Vito DeSimone received a Bachelor of
Arts from The City College of New York and a Master of Arts from Rutgers
University; and
WHEREAS, Employed as an official interpreter for the Criminal Court of
New York, as well as the Eastern and Southern US District Courts for
over 28 years, Vito DeSimone later became an adjunct professor at the
Long Island University, C.W. Post campus, where he taught Italian
language and literature for over 10 years; and
WHEREAS, Vito DeSimone is also the former Director of the Center for
Italian American Studies at Brooklyn College; and
WHEREAS, Vito DeSimone has been active in Italian and Italian American
cultures for many years; he is the co-founder of the Association of
Italian American Educators (AIAE), where he wrote its constitution, and
subsequently became its president; and
WHEREAS, In Rome, Vito DeSimone was a signatory of the constituent
charter of the Programma Ponte, a now nationally well known yearly scho-
larship program that provides scholarships to well-deserving Italian
American college students to study Italian culture in Rome for the month
of July; and
WHEREAS, Under his leadership, AIAE established the special yearly
recognition of Italian American educators; and
WHEREAS, Vito DeSimone has dedicated a considerable amount of time to
improving the image and prestige of Italian American writers; together,
with his wife Carolyn and his son Yuri, he established the Internet
site, Italian Americanbooks.com to propagate Italian American literary
books; and
WHEREAS, In addition, for the last 15 years, Vito DeSimone has been
the Producer and Host of the television program appropriately named,
"Italian American Writers"; and
WHEREAS, Vito is the author of several literary articles and book
reviews, and has received several distinguished recognitions and coveted
awards, among the most recent being: the Special Service Award from AIAE
(2000) and the Dante Award (2011) from the American Associations of
Teachers of Italian; and
WHEREAS, Vito DeSimone has been called upon to contribute his time and
talents to countless civic and charitable endeavors and has always given
of himself unstintingly; and
WHEREAS, Throughout the entire period of his community service, a
period of constructive involvement, Vito DeSimone has stood constant in
dignity, good grace and humor; and

WHEREAS, With him throughout have been his wife, Carolyn, and their
four children, all of whom feel privileged to be a part of his life and
rejoice in his achievements; and
WHEREAS, Rare indeed is the impressive dedication shown by an individ-
ual for the benefit of others which Vito DeSimone has displayed through-
out his life; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commend Vito DeSimone upon the occasion of his designation for special
recognition on February 19, 2012; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Vito DeSimone.