PRINTER'S NO. 1598
No. 98 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY JACKSON, MARSICO, DININNI, CARLSON, SCHULER,
GIGLIOTTI, PETRARCA, KOSINSKI, STUBAN, ROBINSON, NAILOR,
DALEY, TIGUE, ANGSTADT, DISTLER, ALLEN AND TELEK, MAY 1, 1989
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON RULES, MAY 1, 1989
A RESOLUTION
1 Designating the week of May 14 through 20, 1989, as "Pasta Week"
2 in Pennsylvania, in recognition of the 75th anniversary of
3 the beginning of production of San Giorgio pasta.
4 WHEREAS, Founded in 1914 as the Keystone Macaroni Company by
5 Girolamo Guerrisi, San Giorgio has been a consistent employer in
6 Lebanon, Pennsylvania, for 75 years. Built from scratch and
7 family operated, Keystone Macaroni Company changed its name to
8 San Giorgio Macaroni Company in 1947. At the time, San Giorgio
9 pasta was Keystone's largest volume label, and the name change
10 reflected the brand's strength in its markets; and
11 WHEREAS, Girolamo Guerrisi and his company started with ten
12 original employees, and their product, packaged in 5, 10 and 20
13 pound bags, was sold primarily in Lebanon and Hershey,
14 Pennsylvania. As their market grew, so did the number of their
15 employees. With 237 people, San Giorgio's Lebanon manufacturing
16 plant is one of the largest employers in Lebanon County,
17 Pennsylvania; and
18 WHEREAS, For 75 years, the Guerrisi's and San Giorgio have
1 taken great pride in the quality of their product. Even today,
2 San Giorgio pasta is made with 100% Durum Wheat Semolina and is
3 not blended with other flours or wheat, making San Giorgio pasta
4 an important part of a highly nutritious and economical meal;
5 and
6 WHEREAS, San Giorgio has also respected its customers, and
7 this is reflected in its growth. The San Giorgio marketing zone
8 reaches north through New York into Connecticut and Western
9 Massachusetts, south into the Richmond/Norfolk area of Virginia,
10 and stretches west through Indiana and into its newest market,
11 Chicago. The brand is now also produced at a second facility
12 located in Louisville, Kentucky; and
13 WHEREAS, The Guerrisi's and San Giorgio also know the value
14 of the rewards of hard work on the part of their employees. This
15 was never more evident than when a fire leveled the San Giorgio
16 plant in 1960. Rebuilt from scratch, they were producing pasta
17 again in a year, and the Lebanon plant now produces more pounds
18 of pasta each day than any other plant in the Hershey Pasta
19 Group network; and
20 WHEREAS, The dedication, values and hard work of San
21 Giorgio's employees were a key factor in Hershey Foods
22 Corporations's (then the Hershey Chocolate Company) purchase of
23 the San Giorgio Macaroni Company in 1966. Although approached by
24 other companies, Hershey's philosophy better served the Guerrisi
25 family philosophy, and San Giorgio has continued to prosper. San
26 Giorgio is the cornerstone of what is now known as the Hershey
27 Pasta Group, a division of Hershey Foods Corporation.
28 WHEREAS, San Giorgio hasn't forgotten where it came from and
29 continues to give back to the community. In 1988 alone, it
30 contributed to the Lebanon County United Way, Easter Seals,
19890H0098R1598 - 2 -
1 United Cerebral Palsy, American Heart Association, Missing
2 Children U.S.A., American Cancer Society, and the American Red
3 Cross, as well as to many local organizations such as the
4 Jaycees and the Good Samaritan Hospital Street Fair; and
5 WHEREAS, San Giorgio is a tradition of people--people with
6 strong beliefs that are incorporated into their business
7 practices and in turn form the basis of the division's value
8 system. San Giorgio has a strong sense of values and a direction
9 for the future. For 75 years, San Giorgio has produced quality
10 products, has been a consistent employer and has been a
11 community leader. It's a good place to work, a good place to
12 grow and a good place to succeed; therefore be it
13 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
14 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, on the occasion of the 75th
15 anniversary of the first production of San Giorgio pasta,
16 congratulate all those involved in the production of that fine
17 product; and be it further
18 RESOLVED, That the week of May 14 through 20, 1989, be
19 designated as "Pasta Week" in Pennsylvania.
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