For the fourth and final week of Seniors’ Month, we got to speak with Tino Riccio!
Our final Featured Senior for June is Tino Riccio. Tino, who founded, owned and operated Tino’s Auto Service is a man who is always on the move. He may have retired, but he has never stopped working to improve and support the community he says has given him so much.
“I believe you have to give back to the community – to the people,” Tino said. “I was lucky enough to have been successful, but it was not me who made me successful; it was the people of this town who made that happen.”
Tino’s determination and drive developed early, having come to Canada from Italy when he was only 20 years old, despite not speaking a word of English. He moved to Amherstburg shortly after to marry his current wife of 46 years.
Tino now gives back by volunteering with the River Lights, the Miracle League, the Verdi Club, several organizations in Windsor, and the Meals on Wheels program. If that list isn’t long enough, he also used to volunteer at the Shores of Erie Wine Festival, and still somehow finds time to work as a driver for Amherstburg Community Services.
Tino explains that he was brought up to be humble and generous, and he tries to pass those same lessons on to his three children and six grandchildren.
“I tell my kids that you should never look down on people unless it is while you’re picking them up,” he said.
Though not quick to accept praise, Tino most certainly serves as an inspiration and sets an example for the rest of us – no one can stop us but ourselves, and it is up to each of us to be vibrant individuals within our communities.