Rick was born and raised in upstate New York at the foothills of the Adirondacks. He played football in the fall, was a passionate skier in the winter and ran track in the spring. He graduated from Baldwin-Wallace University with a BA in Marketing and went on to get his MBA from the University of New Mexico. After Grad School, Rick was recruited under the fast-track corporate hire program with CIGNA. During his 38 years with CIGNA, he progressed up the corporate ladder from Branch Office Manager, Regional Director, Assistant Vice President, Vice President and Senior Vice President of Global Field Operations. Every promotion corresponded with a move to another city. During Rick's career, he moved 9 times and lived in 11 different houses. During his time as Assistant Vice President, Rick had the unique opportunity to lead a task force to realign US local offices into a regional structure. He quickly became involved in many major real estate decisions. This restructure project and his personal residential real estate transfer experience have greatly prepared Rick for his career with Balistreri Real Estate. Rick has now taken the best practices of each of his former realtors, that he dealt with across the country, to enable him to assist and guide his clients for the best possible buying/selling experience. For the past 11 years, Rick has been a resident of Fort Lauderdale after relocating from his summer home on Cape Cod. He loves everything Fort Lauderdale has to offer and likes to refer to it as the “little” big city. He feels lucky to have the perfect weather, beautiful beaches, the Intracostal waterway and numerous cultural events. During Rick's spare time, he is an avid snow skier, golfer, boater and immensely enjoys his 4 wonderful grandchildren. Of course, his beloved boxer Duke receives a lot of attention as well.  Rick is active in the Idlewyld Homeowners Association, Citizens Board for the University of Miami, the Beaches Broward Realtor Association and the National Realtor Association.