Former Castor resident Maurice Fritze was the guest speaker at Stettler’s business and citizen-of-the-year awards last Thursday evening.
“Castor was a great town to grow up in,” said Fritze, 63, a communications specialist.
Fritze attended Theresetta Catholic School in his youth.
He became a motivational speaker after a rollercoaster ride of life experiences — filled with highs and lows.
His work was varied and took him to four continents. He was held captive in India. Today, he’s a cancer survivor — it’s an ordeal that he said has had a major impact on his life.
Fritze’s love of pop music led to his early career in the music business, where he had a few singles air on radio.
He later was a disc jockey on CFCW and followed that by producing entertainment for the Canadian Armed Forces, NATO and the UN World Peace Keeping Force.
He owned a travel agency and has worked as a lobbyist. Some of his business ventures had success, others did not.
He said the low ebb in his life was when he was fighting leukemia. At that time, he decided to turn his life around with more positive thinking.
Today, Fritze is a highly sought after motivational speaker.
Last week in Stettler, he urged a full house at the community hall to think positively. His motivational speech touched on inspiring confidence and personal achievement.
Fritze said his regular visits to Castor ended two years ago, when the family sold his mother’s house in Castor.
Fritze and his wife live in Edmonton and have four children.