ÉÙ¸¾×ÔÅÄ

More than 3,000 Italian Americans from across the country converged at the Hilton Washington and Towers in Washington, D.C., October 15-16, 2004 to celebrate their heritage at the ÉÙ¸¾×ÔÅÄ Annual Convention. The convention weekend featured numerous conferences, a celebrity auction, and the 5th-annual Salute to the Martini.

Once again, the convention weekend was capped-off by the Anniversary Gala, at which legendary tenor Luciano Pavarotti was inducted into the ÉÙ¸¾×ÔÅÄ Italian American Hall of Fame. Grammy Award-winning country music star Tim McGraw, accompanied by his wife Faith Hill, received a ÉÙ¸¾×ÔÅÄ Special Achievement Award in Music. Joseph Plumeri, executive chairman and CEO of Willis Group Holdings, was honored with a ÉÙ¸¾×ÔÅÄ Special Achievement Award in Business, and Carmella LaSpada, founder of No Greater Love and executive director of The White House Commission on Remembrance, received the ÉÙ¸¾×ÔÅÄ Special Achievement Award in Humanitarian Service.