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The Portuguese-American Leadership Council of the United States
Serving our Community for 26 Years!
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LUSUS Newsletter
The Online Newsletter of PALCUS
September 2017
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Table of Contents
PALCUS NEWS
- Are you going to the PALCUS Gala?
- PALCUS Index Survey Now Available in Portuguese
- Meeting U.S. Ambassador George Glass
- PALITICUS Podcast is Live!
- Annual DES Breakfast
- 2017 National Scholarship Winners
- What's New at PALCUS?
COMMUNITY NEWS
- A Children's History of Portugal
- NYPALC Entrepreneurship Program
- LUSO The Movie
- Calcada no Mundo Exhibit
- Meet the Founder & CEO of Ginja9
- Bucaneira - Um Arriscado Resgate
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PALCUS 21st Annual Leadership Awards Gala!
Do you have your tickets for this year's Gala? What are you waiting for?! We have a spectacular line-up of awardees, an internationally renowned keynote speaker and other special guests.
Saturday, September 23, 2017
Reception: 6:00 p.m.
Dinner & Awards: 7:00 p.m.
followed by Music and Dancing
Portuguese-American Community Center
Yonkers, New York
A
dditional details are on our
website
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Honorary Gala Chair
H.E. João Vale de Almeida
Head of the Delegation of the European Union to
the United Nations
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Keynote Speaker
H.E. Kay Rala "Xanana" Gusmão
Minister of Planning and Strategic Investment,
First President and former Prime Minister of Timor-Leste
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Master of Ceremonies
Diniz Borges
Honorary Consul of Portugal (CA),
World Languages
Dept. Chair,
Tulare Union High School
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Leadership in the Arts
Ana Ventura Miranda
Founder & Director, The Arte Institute
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Leadership in Scholarship
Francisco Cota Fagundes, PhD.
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
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Leadership in Entrepreneurship
Maria Lawton
Author, "Azorean Cooking: From my family table to yours"
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Leadership in Education
Alan Tenreiro
2016 National Principal
of the Year
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Leadership in
Community Service
Rosa Leal
Founder & President, Daughters of Portugal
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"Promessa" Award
Adam Costa
2017 United Kingdom Fulbright Scholar
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PALCUS Index
The PALCUS Index Survey was released on July 25th. The first-of-its-kind bi-annual survey seeks to collect data on matters important to the Portuguese-American community and how connected people feel to Portugal. The survey will be available online until DATE. The data will be analyzed and shared with the public, taking note of trends. The survey is available in both English & Portuguese.
You can also
download and print the survey to fill out manually, scan and email back to PALCUS, or mail it back to us at PALCUS, 9255 Center Street, Suite 404, Manassas, VA 20110
Please take the survey and share with fellow Portuguese-Americans!
Thank you to our supporters, including:
- Institute for Portuguese and Lusophone World Studies at Rhode Island College
- Portuguese Fraternal Society of America (PFSA)
- Anderson University
- Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture, UMass-Dartmouth
If you would like to help support the PALCUS Index, please contact us at
[email protected].
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Meeting with New Ambassador of the United States to Portugal, George E. Glass
On August 22, US Ambassador-Designate to Portugal, George Glass met with PALCUS Vice Chair Katherine Soares and Past Chair Fernando Rosa in Washington DC. PALCUS' role in US-Portugal relations as well as within the Portuguese-American communities were on the day's agenda. He traveled to Portugal shortly thereafter to present his credentials to the Portuguese government and was officially confirmed as Ambassador.
PALCUS congratulates Ambassador Glass and wishes him well in his duties!
Click here to view the Ambassador's message from Portugal
Click here to view the presentation of credentials to President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
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PALITICUS Podcast is Live!
PALCUS launched the PAL
ITICUS podcast to drive conversation about politics and public service from the Portuguese-American perspective. Listen to the podcast on SoundCloud or iTunes. Please share with family, friends and colleagues, and send feedback on who we should interview, what questions to ask or what topics to discuss.
Listen to the first three episodes here:
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(L-R) Marie Fraley (RI), Fernando Rosa (CT), Katherine Soares (NY), Secretary Carneiro, Deputy Head of Mission Frederico Nascimento, Odete Amarelo (MA)
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Annual Breakfast for the Visiting Delegation to
Grandes Festas do Divino Espírito Santo,
Fall River, MA
PALCUS hosted the 9
th Annual Breakfast in honor of the visiting delegation to the Grandes Festas do Divino Espírito Santo da Nova Inglaterra in Fall River, Ma. on Sunday, August 27
th. The guest of honor was José Luís Carneiro, Secretary of State of the Portuguese Communities Abroad. Secretary Carneiro addressed over 70 attendees emphasizing the global importance of the Portuguese language and the values shared between Portugal and the United States. The Secretary was accompanied by Rui Jorge da Silva Leite de Bettencourt, Azorean Regional Assistant Secretary of the Presidency for External Relations.
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Announcing: 2017 PALCUS National Scholarship Recipients
Five Portuguese-American students have been selected from a highly competitive field of applicants to receive the 2017 scholarship awards. Winners are selected using a blind merit-based process: academic (40%), essay (20%), recommendations (20%), community service (20%).
The 2017 winners are:
Graduate Division
Catarina Marques, Vanderbilt University - Sponsored by the Luso-American Fraternal Association of New Jersey
Robin Curry, Seattle University
Undergraduate Division
Gabriel Thelonius Marques Borg, University of Texas at Austin
Celina Caetano, University of Connecticut
Gina Raquel Silva, Colorado State University
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What's New at PALCUS?
Welcome Graci! Gracielle Camilo, Executive Assistant
Graci joined PALCUS in late July, 2017 and has hit the ground running. A graduate of Santa Catarina State University, Brazil (UDESC), she is fluent in English and Portuguese. Her skills have already been invaluable updating our website and databases, curating social media and translating the PALCUS Index National Survey into Portuguese.
Graci is standing by to assist you Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. at
[email protected] or 202-466-4664.
 PALCUS announces that we are now using
memberplanet, a user-friendly platform that will help us to serve you better. It is an interactive service that will allow you to update your PALCUS member profile, track donations and dues and join PALCUS circles with members of similar interests all with the click of a mouse.
When you become a PALCUS member, you will be prompted to join us on
memberplanet. As always your information is confidential and will never be shared without your permission. Questions? Contact Graci for more information!
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A Children's History of Portugal
This colorful book, the first history of Portugal for very young readers published in English, narrates the exciting history of one of the oldest nations in Europe from the time of the ancient Lusitanians to the contemporary moment. It arrived at the Center on Wednesday, fresh from the printing press at Reynolds DeWalt. Written for elementary and middle school students, this history has been placed on the Plano Nacional de Leitura, a national education initiative sponsored by Portugal's Ministry of Education.
Now in its fourth edition, A Children's History of Portugal was written by prize-winning author Sérgio Luís de Carvalho, director of the Museu do Pão [Bread Museum] in the Serra da Estrela and author of numerous books of fiction and non-fiction. It was translated into English by Inês Lima, a PhD candidate in Luso-Afro-Brazilian Studies and Theory at UMass Dartmouth.
This book represents a substantial financial investment by the UMass Dartmouth Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture; we are now looking forward to disseminating it in the United States and beyond with all interested organizations and individuals.
For more information or to purchase a book, please contact Lisa Tavares at 508-999-8255 or email: [email protected]
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NYPALC Entrepreneurship Program
The
NYPALC Entrepreneurship
is the
New York Portuguese
's catalyst to invaluable resources in the form of networking, mentorship, entrepreneur forums and contacts for financial support to bring a great business idea to life.
NYPALC always keeping in mind the professional growth and success of our New York Portuguese entrepre
neurs.
@NYPALCentrepreneurship
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LUSO The Movie
The LUSO movie is currently in development and it will be a patriotic and inspiring cliffhanger film that is based on the true story of George Washington's secret weapon named Peter Francisco. "Without him, we would have lost two crucial battle, perhaps the war, and with it our freedom." George Washington stated. "He truly was a One-Man Army."
Travis brought Peter Francisco to life for the first time in 2008, and he has now performed over 100 times to tens of thousands of people around the world including numerous US and Portuguese dignitaries. In 2009, he released a novel called
Hercules of the Revolution, and in 2011 he produced
The Peter Francisco Story which has been seen by millions on several television networks across the US.
After working with the US & Portuguese governments in 2015 to dedicate a new statue for Peter Francisco in the Azores, Travis re-released his novel with a new title called
LUSO.
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Interview with Alexander Dias - Founder & CEO of Ginja9
Where were you born?
I was born in Fall River, MA. I moved to Lisbon when I was 5 years old.
How did you become interested in ginjinha and what gave you the idea of starting a company?
Ginja was always my to go spirit when I was living in Portugal. Although the real idea of importing our Portuguese delicacy came to me when I was working at JP Morgan.
With the surge of Tourism in Portugal in the past years, a few of my customers were visiting Portugal and coming back asking where they could find ginja to buy in the U.S. After looking for the best Ginja in the market, Ginja de Óbidos, I realized there was none available in the market.
After more and more inquiries about ginja from my customers, I saw that there was a real demand for it. So I went to Portugal and partner with Licobidos (probably the best producer of ginja in Portugal) and r
elabel their brand to the U.S. Market
and that's how Ginja9 was created ...
Did you always want to be an entrepreneur?
Inspired and fascinated by my grandparents business, since I was in my teens I always had the desire to become a business owner, it did happen, but at age 40.... Hehehehe!
What has been the most exciting part of this adventure?
The most exciting event till now was the day I held the first bottle of Ginja9. It was the fruition of 3 years of hard work. It was a very special and emotional moment, only superseded by the birth of my son!
What's been challenging, and how have you overcome those challenges?
Honestly everything in this Industry is super challenging. From getting the importer, distributor and label licenses, to where you can store your product, taxation and finally to be able to put product in a shelf. Daily there are a lot of road blocks, and a lot of doors closing on you. Like in any other business you need to be persistent, never take "no" for an answer and move step by step. Create d
aily goals, monthly goals and make sure you check them all. At the end of the day all your hard work will payoff. The outcome is an amazing feeling of joy and a job well done!
Any words of advice for anyone thinking about starting their own business?
I'm probably not the best person to advise new entrepreneurs or new business owners, since I'm in an early stage of my business, but what I can say is you need to be passionate about what you are about to start, do your research on that Industry, your potential customers, find your niche and connect with the right people. Then be ready to work hard, very hard, long days, long weeks. You will have days of feeling very lonely and that the world is against you, but the reward... is amazing- there's nothing like it!!!
Ginja9 is a sponsor of the PALCUS 21st Annual Leadership Awards Gala.
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Bucaneira - Um Arriscado Resgate
Do y
ou like pirate stories?
The book Bucaneira innovates by highlighting an incredible woman who, with her courage and wits, wins the respect of fearsome pirates and the admiration of a captain as they sail in search of a treasure.
This work is written by the Brazilian author Silvio Melo and is being distributed in Portugal and Brazil initially, within a program that includes all Portuguese-speaking countries.
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Help strengthen PALCUS as we continue working for the community!
Please consider including PALCUS in your giving plans in 2017.
Does your employer have a matching funds program? Check with your Human Resources office to double your contribution.
PALCUS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law and will be acknowledged.
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There are more ways than ever to donate to PALCUS!
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Paid advertisement. Does not imply an endorsement or recommendation by PALCUS.
Getting Your Portuguese Citizenship Service with 25% Discount
Portugal ReConnect is offering PALCUS members* a 25% discount on their service to obtain your Portuguese citizenship. If you didn't have a chance to watch PALCUS' webinar, "Getting Your Portuguese Citizenship: Benefits and Advantages" live, you can still watch it by following
this link. In the webinar, Portugal ReConnect's attorneys guide you through the criteria to help you find out whether you're eligible for the citizenship program.
*PALCUS Member in good standing, who has paid his/her 2016 or 2017 dues
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Did you enjoy this newsletter? Do you know about all the programs PALCUS offers our community? Please visit our website and become a member today!
We can't do what we do without your support!
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Jobs for Portuguese Speakers
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PALCUS Mission
In order to create a singular voice to advocate for the Portuguese-American and Luso-American communities at large, the Portuguese-American Leadership Council of the United States Inc. (PALCUS) was founded in 1991 as a 501(c)3 non-partisan, non-profit, organization headquartered in Washington D.C.
The PALCUS mission is to address domestic and international concerns of the Portuguese-American Community.
The Council conducts an expanding program of educational and public affairs activities on issues of interest to the Portuguese-American community and of salience to the Luso-American Relationship.
PALCUS is committed to serving the community through increasingly active government relations efforts, the promotion of a greater awareness of ethnic accomplishments and encouraging stronger ties between Portugal and the United States. In this role PALCUS advances the community professionally, politically and culturally while working to ensure that issues directly affecting our community are addressed through our network of government and community leaders.
PALCUS is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization incorporated under the laws of the District of Columbia. Donations are tax deductible to extent allowed by law.
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