MSP CEO Leading The Charge To Give Back To Veterans And His Community

“I‘ve always thought in my whole life, that boy, it be nice to be that rich guy that could give back and do stuff. Well, I’m not that rich guy, but I can give back,” Pat Grillo, CEO, Atrion Communication Resources says.

Pat Grillo is not only the CEO of Atrion Communications. He’s a Vietnam Veteran who loves to give back.

“Just, my personality…I remember coming home, and we didn‘t get a whole lot of respect coming back from Vietnam. And I wanted to make sure that guys that were coming back from the new wars we’re getting that and getting whatever they could, so that was part of what inspired me.“

Grillo continued, saying, “It was just a matter of wanting to help people. You know, we needed help when I was growing up, so I figured if I could give help to someone that needed it then great.”

The Atrion CEO is also inspired watching his five granddaughters attend and help at events to give back. They get to hear first-hand stories from veterans who have served.

“I want to do more things like that. Show why we‘re giving them back and let them learn a little something about what people did to get them to where we are, so we could be the United States.”

Grillo had a health scare that almost took his life. Now, he’s working even harder to extend a helping hand even further.

“Biggest thing is I‘m not doing enough yet. And so, I needed to do more. Especially since in December, I almost died. My doctor tells me I’m lucky to be alive. Now, I have to speed up even more. So, I‘m pushing real hard,” Grillo said.

Grillo is connected to about a dozen charities. It includes Tunnels to Towers, an organization that provides smart houses for disabled veterans.

His kind gestures include but are not limited to anonymously paying off people’s layaways at department stores.

“I‘ve always thought in my whole life, that boy, it be nice to be that rich guy that could give back and do stuff. Well, I’m not that rich guy, but I can give back.”

He is always looking for ways to help someone in need.

“When you‘re helping someone or a family that lost someone or you know, pay their mortgage, or do something with it… It’s God your heart, just, you know, wants to explode, your happiest can be, and so happy it brings tears to your eyes.”

Grillo gives more than just money. He gives his time to mentor and is focused on education for children. Grillo has been putting on an annual charity golf outing for more 20 years that takes both. His company has back him all the way.

“We don‘t pay anybody a penny for what we do. So, whatever we make on any event, we do, it’s 100%. [If] there‘s any expenses, I cover personal…because I don’t want to take it. I don‘t want to take a penny out of the amount of money we have to give to our other charities that we’re trying to support,” Grillo said.

He went from hosting two a year to combining them into one. Since then, he’s been able to raise about $100,000.

“I‘ll set the goal. And if I don’t make the goal, I‘ll pay the difference. So last year, we actually only raised 33,000. So, I put the other two [thousand dollars] because I did, I was not going to meet the goal.”

And Grillo hopes that his efforts will help others to also spread the wealth.

“I want to be able to inspire others to say, hey, you know, that‘s pretty neat. I can do that.”

For anyone who wants to start giving back, Grillo suggests people to start small.

“It doesn‘t have to be big, it could you can raise 100 hours, I mean, it’s do something that you enjoy doing. And that also gives you a chance to do something that you‘re going to enjoy even more, you know, raising the money is great, giving it out is better. You know, it’s, it‘s when you can, you don’t have a lot of cases get to see the smile on the faces.”