FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:   Elissa Ruffino (NIAF) 202/939-3106202/939-3106 or elissa@niaf.org

(WASHINGTON, DC – September 4, 2001) United States Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania will chair the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) 26th Anniversary Gala Awards Dinner, Saturday, October 20 in Washington, DC. He will appear before an expected audience of more than 3,100 prominent Italian Americans in business, the arts, entertainment, and government from throughout the U.S.

The 2001 NIAF Gala honorees are: actor Nicolas Cage, who will be the first inductee into the NIAF’s new “Hall of Fame” for his work in the cinema; Domenico De Sole, president and CEO of Gucci Group NV, and Roger Enrico, vice chairman, PepsiCo, Inc.

A special NIAF award will be presented to actor Christopher Reeve and Dana Morosini Reeve for their outstanding work in raising funding for spinal cord injury research.

The awards will be conferred at the Washington Hilton Hotel during a Gala Awards Dinner that caps the NIAF’s annual two-day convention (October 19-20), the largest formal gathering of Italian Americans in the country.

Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, will brief leading Italian American business executives at a luncheon on Capitol Hill, Friday, October 19. The luncheon will be followed by a White House briefing.

The NIAF convention will also feature conferences, exhibits, the traditional celebrity luncheon and auction, a seminar on tourism in Italy and a wine and olive oil tasting by Bolla Wines and Colavita, USA. Dinner tickets begin at $350 per person. Proceeds from the event will benefit the NIAF Scholarship, Education Programs and “Gardens of Hope,” an inner city food program to benefit the homeless and those in shelters. For tickets or sponsor information, contact Jerry Jones at  202/939-3102202/939-3102  202/939-3102 jerry@niaf.org.