Ray Rapaglia

Ray Rapaglia was a former Senior Vice President for Paine Webber and Shearson Lehman Brothers during his 20+ year Wall Street career which started in 1979. He achieved much success however he was unable to stop abusing drugs and alcohol. After traveling by limousine and making a six digit monthly income, he became homeless and ate out of garbage pails. On June 23, 2010, he attended his first AA meeting and has been clean and sober ever since. He resides in a house now with his beautiful wife, Tracey and their three children.

Ray founded James Club Recovery on September 11th, 2016 and is dedicated to giving back to the community. James Club is a long-term FARR Certified Recovery Residence which has helped thousands of men. James Club Recovery & Foundation has a beautiful Center in Oakland Park, Florida. The Center provides many services for individuals suffering from substance abuse and offers a Certified Mentoring Program that includes a mental health component. The Center is also a satellite office for the Florida Association of Recovery Residences (FARR).

During his time in recovery, Ray has been presented with the “2014 Recovery Man of the Year” award. As well, Ray received the “Golden Rule Award” recognized by the United Nations and the African Council. In 2016, Ray was asked to share his story on Capitol Hill and received the 2017 ‘Shomrim Man of the Year’ Award (the nation’s largest Jewish law enforcement society). Also, in August of 2019, Ray received a “Proclamation” from Mayor Mark Bogen in Broward County, Florida. More Recently, Ray and James Club Recovery received a proclamation from Broward County Mayor Michael Udine on February 26, 2022 proclaiming James Club Recovery Day. Ray was featured in November of 2016 on the hit series “Intervention,” and was interviewed on NBC News discussing his efforts to battle drug addiction and how he looks to save lives. Ray is determined to provide a solution to the opiate crisis, lower overdoses, reduce homelessness and the recidivism rates. As well, Ray sits on the board of
directors of Barc (Broward Addiction Recovery Center) detox where he was a patient 13 years ago.