How does a high school dropout grow up to become president and CEO of two international banks, run multi-million dollar enterprises, manage over a thousand employees and socialize with the Queen?

“Luck,” says author, Pat Blewett. Really?

A Lucky Boy from Buffalo is the heartwarming memoir of a boy starting out wrong who ended up right. With humorous candor, Blewett describes his roller coaster life.

Born in 1947 in Buffalo, New York, a city fronting Lake Erie and overlooking the Niagara River, this “lucky” boy was the middle son in a middle-class family that did its best to keep him straight. He grew up working hard and playing hard—ice hockey, baseball, lemonade sales, shoveling snow—as a kid he could do it all. In fact, there was only one thing he couldn’t do—stay in school.

A strict Catholic upbringing brought structure but not discipline to young Pat. After a disappointing record and repeated truancies he was bounced from both parochial and public schools. Ultimately there was only one option left for a seventeen-year-old boy without direction: Blewett signed up for the United States Army. In an era when other voices cried, “Hell no! We won’t go!” Blewett took on the war. He recalls, “The fight in Vietnam was a time in history, I was in the time, and I needed to be in the place as well.” It was in that place that Blewett’s personal story changed: He got “lucky.”

He emerged honorably from military service with the discipline and determination to avoid mistakes and to correct missteps. Exuberance replaced recklessness. Casual acquaintances became loyal friends. A gift for numbers enabled him to master the language of profit and loss. And, remarkably, lifelong love entered his life.

Of his life ride, the author says, “I’ve been up, and I’ve been down. Up is better.”

To anyone who has been up and down in life, this endearing story will engage the heart. To parents of a rowdy son or an impetuous daughter, this magical tale will provoke smiles. To youthful readers who march to their own distinctive drummer, this book will offer hope.

5 Axioms That Have Served Me Well Over the years…

1. There’s a difference between trying and doing.
2. If you strive to do all the right things all the time, things will work out.
3. Tell the truth – it’s easier to remember.
4. Winston Churchill’s famous quote – “Never, never, never give up.”
5. Enjoy your life.

Meet Patrick Blewett

Pat Blewett spent 33 years in financial services rising to president and CEO of MBNA International, a $2.6 billion dollar credit card bank in the United Kingdom and Ireland.  Following that, Patrick Blewett was president and CEO of Bank One International, which he expanded in Ottawa, Canada and Cardiff, Wales.  He returned to MBNA and retired in 2003 as senior executive vice president of MBNA America Bank.

After a lifetime of domestic and international pursuits, Pat is at home on his farm in Aiken, South Carolina with Theresa, his wife of 44 years, their two horses, and a German shepherd who “thinks she’s a horse.”  They have two children and three grandchildren.

What’s more? He’s Local on 6/19!

Mr. Blewett will be offering book signings in key locations that have been the most influential in his life. He chose Wilmington since a good portion of his career was spent at MBNA and First USA. On Thursday, June 19th,  he will be in attendance at the 8th Annual B+ Evening 5K Run/Walk | Wilmington not only signing his memoirs but also Mr. Blewett will be graciously donating $10 of every book sold that night to the B+ Foundation to help fight childhood cancer.

Learn more about The Lucky Boy from Buffalo, visit www.aluckyboy.net.