(Washington, DC – April 13, 2006) Charlie Turano Jr., president and founder of Riposto Enterprises in Dallas, Texas, was appointedNational Italian American Foundation (NIAF) area coordinator for North Texas by Ken Aspromonte, NIAF southwest regional vice president and principal at Lakeco Properties in Houston, Texas.

“Charlie Turano, Jr. will greatly enhance the NIAF presence in North Texas,” Aspromonte said. “He will work to increase NAIF’s membership base which will fund additional scholarships and youth programs in this important area of our country.”

As NIAF north Texas area coordinator, Turano will develop and execute programs with Aspromonte to increase NIAF’s visibility throughout the region. Over the years, many young people in Texas have benefited from the millions of dollars NIAF has devoted to scholarships, grants, mentoring, United States/Italy student exchanges and more.

Turano, 44, has spent much of his career in sports marketing, working with the Dallas Cowboys and serving as co-founder of Genesco Sports Enterprises. Upon his sale of Genesco Sports Enterprises in April 2005, after eleven years of business, Turano started Riposto Enterprises. Named after his great grandfather’s birthplace, Riposto, Siciliy, Riposto Enterprises invests in and manages numerous companies, including Lombardo Custom Apparel, Rick Stein’s Steakhouse and Trio Aviation Group.

A 1985 graduate of the University of North Texas, Turano is past president of the Italian Club of Dallas. He has been married to his high school sweetheart, Debbie, for 20 years. The couple has an 11-year-old son, Charlie III. <br.
According to the U.S. Census, Texas has 363,354 Italian Americans, approximately 1.7 percent of the population.

The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) is a non-profit, non-partisan foundation dedicated to promoting the contributions of Italian Americans. NIAF has a wide range of programs that provide scholarships and grants, conferences and cultural seminars. Visit our Web site at www.niaf.org.