“Work allows men and women to fully express their potential”: it is with these words Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re welcomed the winning entrepreneurs and employees of the 37th Devotion to Work Award promoted by the Consorzio dei Santi Crispino e Crispiniano in Vigevano. Before the awards ceremony, which was held at the Cagnoni Civic Theatre in this Pavia-based town this past Saturday 21 October, Cardinal Re in his speech underlined the need to provide future job opportunities to today’s youth. He also spoke of the intelligence and creativity of Italian workers, of the work ethics that should always accompany economic decisions, and of solidarity, an element that is increasingly important in the alienated context of present-day globalization. He then cited Plato’s chariot allegory, in which a chariot is being pulled by two horses that tend to go in opposite directions, asking entrepreneurs to reconcile their two opposite ambitions: the desire for profit, represented by the black horse, and the desire to pursue the common good and serve society, represented by the white horse. “Only by steering the horses correctly is it possible to go in the right direction”.
After this heart-felt reflection that emphasised the founding values of the Devotion to Work Award – passion and job dedication, which goes hand-in hand with a sense of humanity and solidarity -, the President of the Consorzio dei Santi Calzolai, Mario Martinoli, commenced the awards ceremony, during which diplomas were granted to ten entrepreneurs and eight employees who have stood out for their job devotion in the footwear industry. As always, a numerous public attended the event, enthusiastically applauding the winners (below are the names of all the winners).
The evening then continued with the musical performance “Musical Portraits” with Annalisa Ferrari and Nausicaa Magarini interpreting some of the most popular Italian singers from the Seventies/Eighties: from Patty Pravo to Mina, and from Ornella Vanoni to Mia Martini…
The next day the celebrations continued in the Church of Jesus Divine Worker: the procession of historic figures from the Crispino and Crispiniano district accompanied the public to the church where, at the end of the High Mass celebrated by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, there was the Donning of the Mantle, as a symbol of the winning entrepreneurs’ and employees’ job dedication and also of the Consortium of Shoemakers itself. This was followed by a social luncheon held in the striking location of the Cavallerizza in Vigevano’s Castle Sforza: a moment for socializing that reinforced business relations and friendships among various players in the footwear sector.
The weekend ended with a Funeral Mass held on Monday evening in honour of the deceased workers and members of the Consortium. Among those honoured, was also our dearly departed Director, Rino Panseri, who passed away just a few months ago, and who was granted the honour of donning the Mantle just last year.
Besides the 37th Devotion to Work Award, the Saint Crispino and Crispiniano Consortium did not fail to live up to its reputation for charitable acts, renewing its footwear fundraising campaign, with all pairs destined for charity. “At the last edition, thanks to the generosity of sector entrepreneurs, we received 10,000 pairs, which we then distributed through a network of non-profit organizations to the most impoverished areas of the planet. – declares Angelo Caserio, Past President and spokesperson for the Consortium – This year around three thousand pairs were donated: but we are just at the beginning of our fundraising campaign. We expect to repeat the results of last year”.
Here are the 2017 “Wearers of the Mantle”
Ten entrepreneurs and eight employees are the winners of the 2017 Devotion to Work Awards. The first category includes international presences, with the Spanish Isidro Aguado Sanchez from Elda and the Mexican Jesus Vasquez Garcia from Leon who, besides the Mantle of the Saint Crispino and Crispiniano Consortium, was previously granted the Medal of San Crispino by the Scientific-Technical Committee of Leon. Other winners include: Gianfranco Bazzigaluppi from the same named Officina Bazzigaluppi in Vigevano (PV); Stefano Branchini from Branchini Shoes in Naples; Mario Cerutti from Calzaturificio Cerutti in Vigevano; Italo Milan from Vigevano; Lina Osto from Calzaturificio Eugenio Nebuloni in Canegrate (MI); Claudio Roberto Panizzolo from Calzaturificio Maripè in Fiesso d’Artico (VE); Lorenzo Sempio from SF Italia in Vigevano, and Fabrizio Tagliafierro from Calzaturificio Tavares in Taverola (CE).
This year’s Special Award was granted to Daniela Aniassi from Cimac in Vigevano: a qualified industrial chemist, he is recognised for the work he has been doing in the heart of the Italian Centre for Footwear Application Materials since 1988, which today sees him at the head of the chemical analysis laboratory.
Awarding the employees were the companies: Brustia Alfameccanica granted awards to Ferdinando Bertolle (39 years old), Angelo Cardano (45 years old) and Paolino Sapelli (41 years old); Calzaturificio Moreschi awarded Anna Maria Bressan (37 years old), Andrea Camola (38 years old) and Anna Maria Currao (40 years old); and Calzaturificio Caimar-Martinoli granted the award to Rosanna Pepe (30 years old). The last award went to the most senior employee: Carlo Fossati with an amazing 65 years of service behind him, of which 30 have been spent at Calzaturificio Speroni!
