From the Caledon Citizen, July 19 ed.
For 30 years, Palgrave’s Rotary Club has been an essential part of the community, a small-town organization that’s worldwide in scope. From raising money for charities to encouraging international exchange of ideas, and even people, the non-denominational organization is a positive force for change in our world that begins at home. Although Palgrave’s chapter might only be in its third decade, the organization itself is 115 years old.
President Jim Firth’s mission is to keep things relevant, and that starts by changing the way things are done. In the past, the club had many notable speakers at their weekly meetings. But recent changes have seen the meetings go from weekly to biweekly, and the club is determined to bring five to six interesting speakers to the community who might appeal to everyone in the coming year.
Their first speaker this year, Brazilian Felipe Masetti Leite, is a perfect embodiment of the Rotary spirit. A graduate of Ryerson’s prestigious Journalism Program, and Robert. F. Hall Catholic Secondary School, Leite is now the best-selling author of The Long Ride Home: Guts, Guns and Grizzlies. He tells a story of perseverance and hope, and wishes to share with the world his belief that dreams are always attainable with enough hard work.
His desire to capture the true untold stories of the Americas from a different perspective, gained by travelling 10 countries in more than two years on horseback, has resulted in a compelling tale of adventure and the ties that bind humanity.
Inspired by a book his father read to him as a child, Leite spent two years looking for the funding and doing the necessary research that would get him from Calgary to the Barretos, Brazil via horseback. Finally, a production company called OutWildTV provided the backing he needed. On July 8, 2012, he left the Calgary Stampede with his quarter horses Frenchie and Bruiser and began his 803-day, 16,000-km journey south through an unforgiving wilderness.
He was told he was crazy, or that he would die on the way, and there were a few close calls.
He encountered a grizzly bear in Montana, witnessed two men shot to death in front of him in Central America, and was forced to befriend drug lords and move among cartels to survive. He witnessed migrants in their desperate struggle to move north, and his horse was even hit by a car.
He always knew quitting was an option, but he persevered, and eventually arrived to a hero’s welcome at the world famous Barretos Cowboy’s Festival. There, a statue over 10-feet tall of himself and his horses was presented to a crowd of 40,000 onlookers. After finishing his journey, he retired his horses to his family’s horse farm in Brazil.
On his journey, Leite gained much . . . a Mustang horse given to him by Native Americans in New Mexico, an appreciation for a more natural way of life and the importance of clean water, and all the stories that might otherwise not have been told about the realities of life in Latin America. Most importantly, he learned about the kindness of strangers and realized everything is possible if one is willing to put in the work.
Now, he looks to share what he has learned with the world. From talking to crowds of 5,000, to being on Amazon’s Bestseller list, and even now realizing his book as a major motion picture, Leite is spreading the message that everyone who has a dream should, and can, fight for it. Leite embodies the best of the Rotary Club’s values to drive positive changes in the world.
Tickets are available online through the Club website, rotaryclubpalgrave.ca. Simply click on the calendar links for an event and register.
He will also be doing a book signing at Wow Wing House in Bolton on Thursday, July 26 starting at 7p.m.