TAMPA, Fla. (WFTS) — Service matters on the clock and off the clock for Rafael Pizano.
ABC Action News reporter Jada Williams met up with Pizano at a place that's special to him.
"This park right here, I used to come here with my family," he said as we sat on a bench at Al Lopez Park.
Our particular seat: the most special part of the park.
"Her efforts and her dedication to others in the community, it made a mark, a very positive mark for others. And this bench is just an example that," he said.
That bench is dedicated to his late sister, Dr. Anh-Kay Pizano.
"Part of the things that my sister and I inherited from my family was that service to others, the spirit to give back," he said.
His father, Roberto Pizano, once a young political prisoner of Fidel Castro, continues to dedicate his life to helping others.
Service is equally as important to the youngest Pizano.
"This was my first car," he joked, showing pictures of his youth.
At just 17 years old, he joined the military.
"Since my family came, they were exiled here from a country that lost everything to a dictatorship. They instilled these values early on that, hey, this country gave us everything. I know you may love your roots, and that's important, but you have to give back and serve the country that gave us all the freedoms that were stripped away from us," he said.
Today, his service continues at his day job.
"I'm a firefighter, a firefighter paramedic. I've been doing that coming up 11 years in January," he said. "It's been an experience as well. It's given me the opportunity to serve again in a different format."
And after work, his attention is focused on two communities special to him:
"I try to work with former veterans as well what they may be experiencing, get them the support system they need, and maintain that sense of camaraderie that's very important to me," he said.
His other passion: helping his community.
"Serving on the Mayor's Hispanic Advisory Council, I've helped provide my little grain of sand to help another family, help another student rise up. That finances should not necessarily hold someone back, but if they have the spirit and the will to push Themselves to higher education, then it's nice when a community comes together and makes that happen," he said.
And through all of the volunteer work and giving back and the recognition that has come with it, Pizano credits his passion to his upbringing
"I'm fulfilling my life concepts, which pretty much how we were taught at early age, revolved around service of certain pillars in your life; God, country, family, community. And we're raised that if you serve those wholeheartedly and faithfully, then you're destined to live a fruitful life. And I'm thankful that I've been able to have the opportunity to do that."
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