Born in Boston and grew up in South Boston to a blue collar family, DeBenedictis worked his way to a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering. He began his career as a State environmental re...voir plusBorn in Boston and grew up in South Boston to a blue collar family, DeBenedictis worked his way to a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering. He began his career as a State environmental regulatory engineer serving a term as President of his employee union. In 1976 he received a Masters Degree in Engineering. Recruited into the private sector by a small local engineering firm, his entrepreneurial spirit was revealed when he took over the struggling company. In less than twelve years he guided it from a fifteen person local firm to a major northeast environmental engineering company with a staff of more than two hundred.
In 1988, his company was recognized by INC. Magazine as one of the 500 fastest growing privately owned companies in the U.S. and by Engineering News Record as the 321st largest engineering firm in the country. In 1989, in the aftermath of more than 700 banks failing as a result of “Trickle Down Economics” he was forced to sell his company to pay a demand note to its troubled credit-line bank, which merged soon after with a larger bank.
Within a year after losing everything to financial predators and without financing, he rebounded to create a new company. In less than two years and in a time of deep recession, he had twenty six employees, many of whom had also been unemployed. His story is not unique. It is shared by millions who believed in the American Dream, only to see it become the bounty of the Privilege Few.
He walked the walk and now he talks the talk about how the past 50 years have impacted the lives of the average American in this fact-based fiction novel. Once touted by a mentor for his resiliency and perseverance, quitting has never been an option!voir moins