Conversations with Don Cimorelli

Today we’d like to introduce you to Don Cimorelli.

Hi Don, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstories.
The Triangle Sons & Daughters of Italy is a regional North Carolina Lodge within the National Order Sons & Daughters of Italy, which has Lodges throughout the United States. The Triangle Chapter was established in 2004 as a local group of Italian American residents who sought to establish an organization in this area that promoted Italian American culture and engaged in social, cultural, and charitable activities.

As US migration patterns have shifted to the Southeast, so has an increasing number of Italian Americans in this area expressed an interest in becoming involved in an organization that reinforces their cultural background. Today, the Triangle Sons & Daughters of Italy has approximately 150 formal members, but through the events sponsored throughout the year, several hundred residents of the Triangle participate in the Lodge’s Activities. Many first attend Lodge events as guests and then join as formal members. Participation in the Lodge is quite diverse, with members ranging from their twenties to over 90 years of age. Members include individuals, households, and people of Italian and non-Italian backgrounds. We welcome everyone to enjoy our diverse events and learn to appreciate Italian American culture.

While I have lived in the Triangle Area since 1997, I became a member of the Triangle Sons & Daughters of Italy in 2019 following my retirement as a senior vice president in the Human Resources & Benefits industry. My career included positions initially with IBM and then with Fidelity Investments. I desired to be fully engaged and active in the community in retirement. I have always taken great pride in my Italian American background and many of its traditions. It was very natural for me to seek out the Triangle Sons & Daughters of Italy and jump in with a high degree of energy. I quickly moved from attending events to serving on the Executive Council and then assuming the roles of Vice-President and now President. I am proud to say that the entire Lodge and I are currently sponsoring about 30 events per year. While we have loads of fun at social & cultural events, a significant part of what we do is give back to the community. As an example, we work with local women and family shelters, military families, and individuals with autism and disabilities.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Considering that the Lodge was established in 2004 with a small group of individuals and before the explosion of social media channels, it was challenging to “get the word out.” Plus, it has only been in recent years that the Italian American community in the Triangle Area has become much more visible. An example of visibility is the Festa Italiana which has been held in downtown Raleigh in September for the past few years. The Festa Italiana event brings many organizations and businesses together with an Italian background to offer a range of food, entertainment, culinary education, and services to the community. The Triangle Sons & Daughters of Italy is one organization among many that participate in the event sponsored by the Festa Italiana organization.

Our recent growth is being enabled through our larger membership, web and Facebook presence, and physical visibility in the Triangle area. With our growth has been the increasing challenge of having locations to hold events. While certain events need to be held at the event’s location, such as a theater, athletic stadium, park, or restaurant, other events need an indoor space in a central location. We have evolved to hold many events at places like Keller Williams Realty Office and town facilities that are available for rent.

The Triangle Sons & Daughters of Italy is currently experiencing great momentum. Italian Americans who have moved to this region and often with limited extended family are hungry to preserve and practice their culture. As I mentioned, our membership is quite diverse. Our challenge is to ensure that our offerings are attractive to people of all generations and that our members represent both working and retired individuals. We need to craft opportunities that bring in new members of all age groups, get them quickly engaged, and create an experience for them to stay with the organization for the long term.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am proud to say that more than 40 years ago, I discovered a passion for the human resources field. Both my undergraduate and graduate education at the University of Delaware and then Syracuse University was in business and human resources, specifically. I enjoy being in positions that allow people to become their best selves and team contributors. I rose through the ranks at IBM from an entry-level professional recruiter to varying HR Executive positions. I worked for IBM for 18 years and then was acquired by Fidelity Investments in 2002 when Fidelity Investments created a presence in the Triangle Area. I worked for Fidelity Investments for 15 years. Today, when I see the very significant Fidelity Investments presence in this area, I am proud to say that I was one of the first Fidelity Investments senior vice presidents on the ground to support them to thrive and become a major positive contributor to the Triangle Region. My career evolved from internal HR at IBM to supporting external clients and operations for Fidelity’s HR and Benefit Outsourcing customers.

I want the members and guests of our Lodge to have great experiences that enrich their personal lives and positively impact the community. The impact I strive to create through my volunteer role at the Triangle Sons & Daughters of Italy is similar to what I tried to create during my business career. The key point is that the skills I acquired during my business career enabled me to successfully assume volunteer roles in retirement, such as President of the Triangle Sons & Daughters of Italy.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
First and foremost, I need to credit my parents for all they did to support me and my development. They had a pivotal impact on shaping who I am as a person and exposed me to the treasures that go along with being raised in an Italian American environment.  Ignore the negative stereotypes of Italian Americans portrayed on television and in films. Italian American culture is warm, loving, family-centered, generous, hardworking, and quite tasty through our cuisine. Every ethnicity will have a few that go down an unfortunate path for many reasons. Of course, I am thankful for every manager I worked for throughout my career. So many of them were terrific coaches and other leaders who took an interest in my development. They provided informal and formal feedback and leadership development education and enabled me to pursue key job opportunities at both IBM and Fidelity Investments. Within the Triangle Sons & Daughters of Italy, I am very grateful for our long-serving members and officers. I am the new kid on the block, only having been around since 2019, and they have taken the time to educate me on the Lodge and how to navigate my role. I often say to the Lodge that I am a volunteer and I am here because of them. If I wasn’t  passionate about our members, I would dedicate my volunteerism elsewhere.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.trianglesonsofitaly.org/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/917282849220375