The mayor of Messina, Federico Basile, met with Mr. Natale Schepis to give him a Certificate of Recognition on behalf of the City of Messina, as a testimony of gratitude and public appreciation for the courageous intervention with which he contributed to saving the lives of a mother and her daughter, in difficulty in the waters in front of the new promenade of the Agora of the Strait, in the area of the former Fair.
A gesture of great altruism and civic sense which saw Schepis intervene with timeliness and determination, making his experience available and facing the sea to reach and bring the two people in difficulty to safety. The incident, which occurred in recent weeks, attracted the attention of the city community precisely because of the promptness and courage shown by the protagonist. During the meeting, Mayor Basile presented Schepis with the certificate, in which the City expresses “deep gratitude and public appreciation” for his intervention.
“What Natale Schepis did is a gesture that deserves the recognition and gratitude of the entire city. In a moment of difficulty he did not hesitate to intervene, putting his own safety at risk to help two people who needed to be saved. This is the most authentic sense of the term community: being there, taking on a responsibility and extending a hand to those in difficulty. Our thanks go to Natale Schepis, not only as an Administration, but as citizens of Messina. His courage and altruism represent an example for all of us and make the place in which we give him this recognition today even more significant: the Agora of the Strait, a space returned to the city and which we want to increasingly be a place of meeting, participation and life of our community”, declared Mayor Basile.
The municipal administration thus wanted to give formal recognition to a behavior that goes beyond the simple individual gesture, enhancing those principles of solidarity, generosity, civil responsibility and attention towards others which constitute a fundamental asset for the community. The certificate underlines how Schepis, “with extraordinary civic sense and altruism”, contributed to saving two human lives, offering “the entire community a concrete example of the highest values of solidarity, generosity and civil responsibility”. The City of Messina, through this recognition, therefore intends to express its gratitude for a gesture of extraordinary humanity, capable of reminding how much courage, promptness and availability towards others can make the difference in the most difficult moments.