CAV. FRANCESCO FIORENTINO is a "selfmade", noteworthy person. He came to Canada at age thirteen and literally had to start with nothing, all over again, in grade one. He has always held tenaciously to the belief that one is capable of taking control of almost everything in one's life. His strong belief in himself, and in "carpe diem", i.e. the courage to seize whatever opportunity comes your way, has served him well indeed, and his illustrious career and success-oriented life attest to that.
While in high school, he turned his considerable skills in music into a moneymaking venture by forming a ballroom dance band, and that was sufficient to pay for his six years he would attend university education. Subsequently he then became a high school teacher with a very high qualification classification and was thus able to advance to the levels of principal and the pinnacle position of superintendent of a total urban-rural school division.
After an early retirement at age fifty-five, he turned his influential attention to volunteer work as a consultant in education and training, particularly with Indigenous First Nation communities. After three years with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba, he returned to the Italian Community of Winnipeg as its president, providing his leadership for the building of the Centro Caboto Centre, and also becoming its Vice-Consul for almost ten years. For this, he received the Order of Italy along many other awards in recognition for his great efforts.
