Paul Hresko, Vice-President

Paul Hresko, Vice-President
Paul Hresko

Paul was born and raised in Flint Michigan. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelors of Science degree in Computer Science and Psychology. Paul worked sixteen years in Materials Management for the following divisions of General Motors: AC Spark Plug, Delco Electronics and Powertrain. He then relocated permanently to Elk Rapids Michigan in 2000 where Paul met & married his wife Patti who is a Nurse Practitioner & critical care nurse in the intensive care unit at Munson Hospital.

Currently Paul is a Manager for a local Tier One Automotive Supplier. He also developed, owns and operates commercial real estate holdings, weekly vacation rental properties, an Antique Mall and Candy Store.

Paul is active in the community. He is a member of the Elk Rapids Merchant Association, a member of the Chamber of Commerce and a Eucharistic Minister for Sacred Heart Catholic church.

Paul holds the following positions on the respective Boards:

Paul enjoys his personal time landscaping, playing tennis, networking and most of all spending time with family... preferably at the beach!

Personal Mission-To utilize my God given gifts and talents to help bridge the personal, physical, financial & spiritual gaps between "What is" and "What can be". To ultimately kneel before my Lord and Savior and hear him say... "Well done".

Chalfonte Inspiration & Reason for Paul's Dedication-I remember meeting a young man 20 years old, at my first summer camp at Chalfonte House. Respectively, I will not use his real name, rather I will refer to him as Justin. This young man was born with Cystic Fibrosis & struggled his whole life with this debilitating illness. I saw him come to life at Chalfonte house. I saw him smile brightly and weep quietly. I saw him interact with the others at camp throughout his week long stay. I saw how alive he really was. I saw how he made others laugh. I saw how he shared his being with those that reached out to him. I saw permanent bonds develop before my eyes. I saw friendships grow and commitments to one another be made without a word being said. I saw dedication & respect for one another that blew me away! What I saw 4 months later changed my life forever.

I remember getting a phone call that Justin was in the hospital. My heart sank. But I immediately remembered that Cfer's (as those with Cystic Fibrosis are commonly called) will often be hospitalized & surely this must be one of those set backs (or clean-out) I had learned about. It was just a clean-out right? Right? I was told this was more than just a clean-out- Justin was in fact dying. But just a few months ago he was dancing and laughing...right?

The core of Chalfonte: Justin asked the Chalfonte kids that he had just met months before, the same Chalfonte kids that had been surrounding his hospital bed ever since he had been admitted to the hospital, to help him with the unthinkable. The unimaginable. He asked them to help him die. He asked that they make all the necessary funeral arrangements with certain specific requests. He asked that they handle all the preparations as to NOT make his mother have to do this. Justin explained that he had not seen his father in fifteen years. His father left Justin and his mom when Justin was just five years young. He never phoned, visited or even wrote to Justin. Justin's mom was left to handle the responsibility of raising a child alone. A child with tremendous physical, medical and emotional needs. Justin stated he did not want to leave her with the task of burying him as well. This is why he asked the other Chalfonte kids to make the arrangements- which they did! They even helped locate Justin's father for a hospital bedside visit - which I can only surmise was a huge gift of forgiveness towards Justin's father. I couldn't begin to imagine. At Justin's funeral the Chalfonte kids approached the microphone near Justin's body and spoke words Justin wanted conveyed to his mother-his queen as referred to her. With eyes fixed on her and never breaking contact, they one by one delivered most eloquently the feelings and emotions Justin had felt towards his mother. They concluded by playing a song by Boyz 2 Men called Mama. I would encourage you all to purchase this song, find a quiet place, play this song and climb into the words while visualizing the venue I described above. Then, if you can remotely grasp even a fraction of what I felt and experienced that day, only then you will just BEGIN to understand why I am dedicated to Chalfonte House and each and every one of the Chalfonte Kids that pass through our hearts.