Getting Ahead : A Family's Journey from Italian Serfdom to American Success

by Dean A Cortopassi

An engaging and inspiring story about an Italian family's progress towards success spanning several generations. The story begins in Italy in the late 1800s with Serafino Cortopassi's first step out of sharecropping serfdom and into small farm ownership.In 1921 Serafino's grandson, Amerigo Cortopassi emigrated to America at age 17. With only three years of elementary education, Amerigo strived to "Fare Progressi" (Get Ahead), relying on personal values of family honor, perseverance, and hard work. By 1926, he and five immigrant partners began farming, barely surviving the Great Depression. In 1957, vetoing son Dino's desire to farm his property, Amerigo leased it to a neighbor for 17 years and retired.Three years later Dino began part-time farming on rented land in partnership with a younger brother. From that "scratch-start" beginning and relying upon family values and hard work, Dino significantly expanded farming operations and went on to build several successful Agribusinesses. Told in rich vivid vignettes, Getting Ahead reveals the inside stories of a 50-year entrepreneurial career in both good times and bad.Beyond lessons learned from experience, Dino credits family values as the foundation, and a willingness to take risks, leavened by constant search for the "why" of things others take for granted, as keys to success. Additional entrepreneurial components include: seeing opportunity where others see problems, loving what you do, and remaining true to core principles especially when facing epic challenges. Success means doing what you do better than the competition, never resting on your laurels, and never forgetting who you are and where you came from

330 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2014