Author Spotlight: Jeno Paulucci, author of Jeno, The Power of the Peddler

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Jeno, The Power
of the Peddler
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In the Author Spotlight:
Jeno Paulucci, author of
Jeno, The Power of the Peddler

Meet Jeno Paulucci! You’ve never met anyone like him. Born to Italian immigrants, Jeno was raised during the Depression in Minnesota. There he helped his poor family survive by selling fruits and vegetables in a local market at the age of 10, beginning his lifelong career in the food industry.

In his new book Jeno, The Power of the Peddler, Jeno has finally agreed to do what his friends have long been urging: tell his uniquely American story. "I've always hated the idea of an autobiography, there are already too many of them around. Who needs another book that could be titled 'How I got rich and became a pompous ass!'," he laughs. "This isn't an autobiography, per se, but more of a collection of stories. You don’t just read this book. You feel it. If others learn something from it to use in their lives, all the better."

Jeno's energy and business creativity has revolutionized the food industry, bringing us products such as Jeno's Pizza Rolls and the Chun King Divider Pak. His Luigino's Inc. (producers of the Michelina's and Budget Gourmet brands) is one of the world's leading packers of frozen entrees, but his achievements in business are just part of his amazing story. He has also advised every America President since Dwight D. Eisenhower and is very active in social and environmental concerns. He not only founded and financed the National Italian American Foundation, Washington DC, but also led his family in the development of Heathrow, a new city in Florida that has become the hub of one of America's fastest growing regions.

"The Incomparable Entrepreneur" believes that every business owner has a responsibility to give back to his community. "I would like to impress on the business community that they not only derive a measure of power and prestige as leaders within their community, they also acquire a degree of responsibility to use those advantages for the common good," Jeno says.

Jeno has been married to Lois Mae Trepanier Paulucci for 59 years. "Getting her to marry me was the best deal I ever made and I will be forever grateful to her for these many years of support," he says. They have three children, four grandchildren and three great grandchildren -- with more on the way. Besides spending time with his family, he also enjoys occasionally fishing with friends.