THE “EXEMPLARY GENEROSITY” OF THE FOUNDATION PRESIDENT AWARDED WITH THE AMBROGINO D’ORO MEDAL

THE “EXEMPLARY GENEROSITY” OF THE FOUNDATION PRESIDENT AWARDED WITH THE AMBROGINO D’ORO MEDAL

On Sunday, December 7, 2008, almost one hundred members of the 8 Ottobre 2001 Committee applauded President Paolo Pettinaroli during the Ambrogino d’Oro awards ceremony. The head of the foundation received the medal for civic merit from Milan Mayor Letizia Moratti and from the municipal council president Manfredi Palmeri during the ceremony held at Teatro Dal Verme in Milan.

This was the motivation for the Ambrogino d’Oro award given to Paolo Pettinaroli: "Father of Lorenzo, one of the 118 victims of the Linate tragedy, is the soul and President of the 8 Ottobre Committee and the foundation with the same name. Immediately after the accident in 2001, the most serious in our history, he was able to unite and sustain the Italian and Scandinavian families during the long and drawn-out court process, working alongside institutions, not all of which were willing to cooperate to transform sorrow into hope. Committed to seeking truth and justice, testimony to a traumatic event that has forever changed Milan and the country, he has dedicated himself with exemplary generosity to a cause of vital importance for the entire international community: the safety of flights and airports, for the benefit of passengers and workers.”

“Milano still cares deeply about us,” said President Pettinaroli. “This award arrived quite unexpectedly. It is very important for us because it acknowledges what we’re doing for air transportation safety,” he said to journalists. Pettinaroli thanked everyone – politicians, members of public and private institutions, and journalists – who have always supported the work of the foundation, and he also dedicated the award to his family that “is always near and dear to me.”
“This Ambrogino d’Oro,” concluded President Pettinaroli, “is not for me, but for all of us.”

(See Messages of the President and Photo Gallery)