Entrepreneur,
farmer, vintner, outdoorsman, former professional athlete, and now author,
Joseph Kulbacki is living the “American Dream”. Born in 1938, the proud son of
a small, rural community in Northwestern Pennsylvania, Kulbacki remembers a
time of moral imperatives and defined values, of commitment to family, and a
strong sense of community. His early years were idyllic. He swam in the back
wood streams, fished, trapped and hunted, tracked deer, hiked through the
valleys and over the mountains of his native state.
Kulbacki received his early education in public schools. He remembers, vividly
and wistfully, that classes each day began with recitation of the Lord’s
Prayer, the pledge of allegiance, and a spiritual hymn. This daily regimen
reinforced the values espoused by his family and his Christian faith, which
today continue to be the supportive and compelling forces in his life.
Kulbacki was a star running back in high school, and his prowess on the
gridiron earned him scholarship offers from several of the top universities in
the nation. Enamored with the prospect of playing in the Big Ten Conference –
and with a keen interest in engineering – he entered Purdue University in
1956. He graduated with a B.S. degree in Industrial Economics, combining
curricula in both engineering and economics, including advanced studies in
marketing.
Upon graduation, having successfully completed the ROTC program, he received
his commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
Kulbacki was a high draft choice of both the Washington Redskins of the NFL
and the Boston Patriots of the newly formed AFL. However, it was the Buffalo
Bills, who had obtained his draft rights from the Patriots, for whom he would
play. After one year of professional football, Kulbacki interrupted his career
to fulfill his service obligation to the U.S. Army. Following his 2-year stint
as an officer in the military, he returned to the Bills in 1963; he later
formed his own engineering consulting company,
specializing in the integration of manufacturing systems for industry.
Some may call it an epiphany; those more secular might prefer another frame of
reference, a moment of self-realization, perhaps. Kulbacki, however, is
unequivocal when referring to his spontaneous decision to write America, A
Nation That’s Lost Its Way, calling it “divinely-inspired.” Suddenly awakened
from a dream state in the early morning hours, he was urged to rise, go to his
desk and write. His “dream” posited 10 major crises confronting the United
States, each and collectively of enormous import. Fearful that any delay would
cause him to forget even one of these critical issues, he immediately began to
document them.
While Kulbacki has long been concerned about the all-consuming political
self-interest of America’s leaders and their patent lack of courage, he was
also deeply upset by the nation’s economic mismanagement; a growing
abandonment of America’s founding principles, popular disinterest in
governmental affairs, and moral malaise. He found himself called to do
something, to change America’s direction, and to help refocus our national
energy toward solutions to these seemingly insurmountable problems. Kulbacki
believes strongly that discovering and implementing those answers will
determine America’s continuity, as we know it, or more significantly, our
survival as a nation. To help recapture those ideals, which America alone in
the world once embraced is the central intent of Kulbacki’s work.
