When he speaks of the necessity, indeed, the duty for Lions worldwide to provide civic leadership, to serve as the backbone of the towns and cities in which they reside, he speaks from a sense of deep commitment. It is one that reflects years of action as a leader in civic causes and the memory of harsh wartime childhood experiences. Prof. Dr. Giuseppe "Pino" Grimaldi, past president of Lions Club International, insists that Lions need to embrace this concept of leadership and meet the challenges they face because of the unique place they occupy in the communities where they reside. 

"Lions Clubs should be the hub, the nucleus of any community" he says. "We must be in continuous dialogue with the leaders of local government to ensure that our leadership is recognized. In this way we will know how best to carry out our humanitarian mission to serve people need." 

A sense of duty to his family, his profession, his own community and the world community and the ideals of Lions Club International have shaped the life of this man who, by accepting the oath of office in Phoenix, Arizona, on July 15 became the 78^th President of this Association. 

Giuseppe "Pino" Grimaldi (the "Pino" he explains is a nickname taken from "Giuseppino") was born in Enna, Italy a city of 30'000 inhabitants, in the central part of Sicily, the eldest of four children.

He has two brothers, Bruno now a lawyer, and Ugo, an engineer. His sister tragically died when she was one year old. 

Prof. Dr. Grimaldi's awareness of the consequences that ensue when civic responsibility and concern for the welfare and rights of one's fellow citizens are disregarded, was given dramatic substance during his childhood. He had barely entered his teens when war engulfed his country. While the childhood memories of most men include those of sports and parties, his are those of bombs hurtling down on his city with the death and destruction they wrought. Enna, Prof. Dr. Grimaldi recalls, was headquarters of the 6^th Italian Army and the site of an airforce base. Thus, it was a prime target.

His most vivid memory was being in a bunker with his family and neighbors as the bombs rained on the area. They were safe or so they believed, until the unspeakable happened. "A bomb burst outside the entrance" he says. "Flames leaped in, consuming nearly everything and everybody. Scores died. My father was a high ranking public official in Enna and saw it as his duty that everyone else escaped the bunker first. We were the last, grasping one another's hands as we ran through the flames. It was only a few yards, but it seemed like a lifetime. I saw one of my best boyhood friends lying on the floor. He had not been so lucky as we. It was horrible. Perhaps then, although I didn't know it, I wowed in my heart that if given the opportunity, I would have done everything I could to prevent this senseless, murderous violence of war from ever again killing and maiming the innocent."

Prof. Dr. Grimaldi's awareness of the consequences that ensue when civic responsibility and concern for the welfare and rights of one's fellow citizens are disregarded, was given dramatic substance during his childhood. He had barely entered his teens when war engulfed his country. While the childhood memories of most men include those of sports and parties, his are those of bombs hurtling down on his city with the death and destruction they wrought. Enna, Prof. Dr. Grimaldi recalls, was headquarters of the 6^th Italian Army and the site of an airforce base. Thus, it was a prime target. 

His most vivid memory was being in a bunker with his family and neighbors as the bombs rained on the area. They were safe or so they believed, until the unspeakable happened. "A bomb burst outside the entrance" he says. "Flames leaped in, consuming nearly everything and everybody. Scores died. My father was a high ranking public official in Enna and saw it as his duty that everyone else escaped the bunker first. We were the last, grasping one another's hands as we ran through the flames. It was only a few yards, but it seemed like a lifetime. I saw one of my best boyhood friends lying on the floor. He had not been so lucky as we. It was horrible. Perhaps then, although I didn't know it, I wowed in my heart that if given the opportunity, I would have done everything I could to prevent this senseless, murderous violence of war from ever again killing and maiming the innocent."

To this day, he remembers the date and the hour the war finally ended for him, his family and the citizens of Enna. "How can I possibly forget. It was July 20, 1943, 9:15 in the morning," he says with a smile, "when the Allied forces entered the city. As my father was such a high-ranking person in the government, he was taken prisoner. I was the eldest son, so before he left, he instructed me to take care of the family. But much to our relief he was released in a few hours."

The war having ended, young Giuseppe continued his education and soon left Enna for historic Catania on Sicily's East Coast to attend its University, one of the oldest in Italy, founded over 500 years ago. Which academic discipline should be his major field ? A difficult choice, to be sure, but the young Grimaldi chose medicine, and not only medicine, but a most specialized field: neurology. For the following 6 years he immersed himself in his studies related to neurological and mental diseases, receiving his degree in 1953. He continued advanced studies at the University in Modena, where he worked with some of the most acclaimed neurologists in Europe. In three years, He received in specialist degree in mental diseases.

All work and no play, however, appealed not at all to the budding doctor. Still another gravitational pull affected him greatly. This was his love for the theatre and for 5 years he was an actor, blending this with his studies. His group traveled to major cities in Italy, a time of his life he enjoyed immensely. The crossroads of acting and medicine came more quickly then he may have thought when, one day, his father took him aside and announced, "Pino, you like to become an actor or a doctor ? You are free to choose, but you have only one choice."

"The choice was easy" says Dr. Grimaldi. "I definitely wanted to become a doctor and I maintained my course."

Not only did he become one of the foremost neuro-psychiatrists in Italy, but he was also appointed Professor of Neurology and Head of the Department of Neurology at Enna General Hospital.

He has been a director of the Italian Medical-Surgical Order and a member of the Italian Read Cross, the Medical Court of Justice and many international academies. In recognition of his many contributions to his profession and his community, Dr. Grimaldi has received the medal of "Grande Ufficiale", one of the highest honors granted by the Italian Government, and the Premio Garipoli or "Man of the Year" in Sicily.

As a doctor and a Lion, an actor and a civic leader, Dr. Grimaldi has balanced it all with his family life. He is married to Ariane, a citizen of Switzerland, and they have four sons: Luigi, Giancarlo, Marco and Stefano. While he maintains his official residence and office in Enna, he and Ariane manage to enjoy the charm of both locations, sunny Sicily and picturesque Lugano, in the heart of the Italian-speaking area of Switzerland.

Download Prof. Dr. Grimaldi's curriculum vitae (.pdf file, 79 Kb)