Get to Know Paul
This starts not with me... but with my mom...
In 1942, when my mom (Lucyna / Lucy) was 16 years old, she was taken by the Nazis from her parents where they lived in the Ukraine and shipped to Germany to work in a labor camp during World War II. She never saw her family again. My father (Wasyl / William), who was 5 years older, joined the British Army Polish Division. He also never saw his home again. After the war, both met in refugee camps and eventually married. I was born Pawel Partyka on January 30, 1949, in Emsdetten, Germany. On January 19, 1952, my parents, my younger sister (Helen) and I entered Ellis Island and America as displaced people (DP's)! ...to find the American dream... I was 2 1/2 years old!... (No, I do not remember any of this)...my sister was a year old.
We moved to Philadelphia where I grew up, in a typical Philly row home... the first house was only the front half of a two story row home... we had to go to an outside outhouse for several years until my father built a bathroom toilet in the basement of our half house. In 1956 we moved one block away into a 3-story row home... get this... with our own bathroom inside the house!
My brother (Michael) was born in the US and is 4 years younger... we all went to the neighborhood parochial school and we all walked to school every day. Our class had about 36 students... about 18 boys and 18 girls... in one room... those nuns were tough! During this time my mother and father both worked days and evenings to make ends meet. They also went to adult education classes at the local boys club facility to learn English so that they could become US citizens. That day finally came when I was going into the 8th grade on June 14, 1961. All four of us went as a family to downtown Philadelphia near Independence Hall to be sworn in as US citizens (my citizenship certificate is shown). I was 13 and my sister was 11 years old. There was no big group, just us.
Two other less significant but memorable 8th grade accomplishments were becoming president of the Altar boys and winning the mashed potato dance contest!
I graduated from 8th grade and went to LaSalle High School in Philadelphia. There I lettered in track, played some football, was president of the Math Club, was picked as one of the outstanding seniors, and yes, made some extra money selling weekly football pools. During summers I worked at the local grocery store (sometimes during the evenings). After I graduated from high school at 17... my first summer job (had to say that I was 18, I looked older so they believed me) was with the Alan Wood Steel company as a steelworker... where I proceeded to work every summer for the next 5 years. I applied to several colleges and got accepted to the University of Notre Dame... yeah the fighting Irish... on a scholarship and some student loans... if I did not get the aid my parents could not afford the school... my backup was Penn State... also got scholarship aid there.
At Notre Dame, I played interhall football (full equipment with 3 refs for all the jocks that are not on the varsity football team)... the championship is played in THE Notre Dame Stadium... my freshman dorm team (I was one of the halfbacks) was a great team and we played the senior dorm for the school championship (we lost in a close match in the snow) but I played on hallowed ground!
I was president of the Bengal Bouts Boxing Club, (a non varsity club sport; all revenues go the missions in India) and won three boxing titles. This tournament is one of the premier boxing tournaments in the country, drawing up to 8,000 people. This year it is celebrating its 80th year. During my senior year I also won the interhall wrestling title. I graduated in 1970 with a degree in Chemistry... which I never used... since I wanted to be in business and I liked sales. During this time, I did a short stint as boxing and wrestling coach at Culver Military Academy.
After I graduated times were tough (just like now) for graduates... but I had to make ends meet... so I started to work as a substitute teacher in Philadelphia, working nights at Alan Wood Steel. Then I got a job as an insurance agent for College Master (little did I know that selling insurance was the best sales training and formed the base for my future career at Procter & Gamble). As a side note, I was assigned Villanova University as my insurance territory... I used to hang out at the student union while waiting for my appointments. On one particular day, Jimmy Caras, the reigning US Open Pocket Billiards champion needed an opponent for an exhibition match at the school. I was asked to be his opponent (had played in previous open qualifying matches)... it was close for awhile but Jimmy proceeded to show why he was the world champion... but I did get some applause for a few terrific shots!
Finally, the economy started to improve and I joined Procter & Gamble as a salesman in January, 1972 in Philadelphia. I proceeded to work in a number of positions as I climbed the corporate ladder. During my P&G career I lived in Manhattan, Long Island, New Jersey, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Pennsylvania again, Jacksonville, and Orlando (District Sales Manager for the Florida Food & Beverage Division with $100 million in revenues) over a 19 year career. Between Pennsylvania and Jacksonville (the 80's), I got married with two stepchildren... Unfortunately this ended in divorce. While waiting for a new international assignment, I began training for a triathlon. During a stress test to determine workout schedules, my doctor told me that I had 3 blockages and that I needed a triple bypass right away... that date was Dec 23, 1990. The last day of disability March 31, 1991 was the last day at P&G. By the way, twenty years and 3 marathons later (including Boston and Disney)... going strong!
I then embarked on my entrepreneurial phase. During this time I started several companies... from sports marketing to soft luggage to marketing a super pooper scooper (still wish I had one for all the crap I see in Washington). Made money! Eventually, sports marketing led me to the golf equipment business. My partner was considered the top club fitter on the PGA Tour. We got together to develop the first two-piece composite club in golf (way ahead of our time, today everyone has composite clubs). Unfortunately after 8 years of trying to make a go and after one of our pros finally won a PGA event using our club, we had a 30 minute infomercial ready to go, but had no money to air the commercial. By this time I was 13 months behind on my mortgage... and the newspaper headlined. Mayor of Winter Springs in danger of Foreclosure... puts all his money into his company! That's when I decided to change careers and go into commercial real estate. It took 5 years of hard work to pay back everyone, including a well known pro golfer. Oh yes... I did get re-elected to a second term during this time! I eventually became a partner and then the managing partner of NAI Realvest, one of the premier commercial real estate companies in Central Florida.
I have been privileged to serve on many community boards and organizations, including Florida Hospital, Central Florida Zoo, Rotary, the Emergency Medicine Learning & Resource Center, to name a few. Most recently I served as President of the Oviedo Winter Springs Regional Chamber of Commerce (one of the more dynamic Chambers in Central Florida) and am serving as President of my Notre Dame class.
During my time in Florida, I have had the opportunity to do many things. I have travelled to Scotland, Ireland, England, Iceland, Taiwan, Mainland China, Dubai, France, Germany, Poland, Italy, and Spain to name just a few of the 29 countries I have visited. I have been both a tennis and a golf rules official as well as a boxing referee. I have attended Wimbledon and the US Open in tennis and have been at boxing matches at the Olympics. I rode my motorcycle during Sturgis Week in South Dakota, went fly-fishing on the McKenzie River in Oregon and jumped out of plane skydiving in Merritt Island. I have worked with doctors helping the poor in Haiti and worked to help the homeless and abused in Orlando. I have had the privilege to represent the UCF Medical School to twin (join) with Dubai Healthcare City in Dubai and Winter Springs to twin with a city in Ireland! Oh by the way, I am a proud Godfather five times! I will continue to live and enjoy life my way, but...
My life path has led me to the realization that I am not pleased with what is happening in Washington. And after much thought... I decided to enter politics again to change the way business is done there.
Regardless of where this latest venture leads... my journey has been exciting, frustrating, heartbreaking, full of surprises, and ultimately a lot of fun with many great memories!
I look forward to 2010 and the excitement of making many new friends as I campaign for Congress in District 24!
Now that is living the American Dream!
