About

Gary is the Author of the best-selling book NOT MY TIME. He speaks publicly about surviving the attempted murder on his life while he was a Detective assigned to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), as well as how he miraculously survived a horrific wingsuit Skydiving accident during which he broke his neck while a mile high in the sky, instantly paralyzing him from the neck down.

He shares his miraculous recovery from being a quadriplegic and how he fights his way back to everyday life, including Skydiving—embracing lessons learned while leaning into his faith and confirming that a higher power exists. Gary speaks of realizing that we are all here for a higher purpose and that, since we never know how our story ends in advance, we can never give up; we “have to fight till the lights go out.”

Gary did his first solo skydive as a recovering quadriplegic five months and twelve days after his terrible accident and has done one hundred and eight solo skydives as of the time of this writing for a total of four hundred and sixty-five skydives.

Gary Pacelli was a career Law Enforcement Officer; he worked at every level of Law enforcement, from a county Jail and county Motorcycle Officer to a County Detective. While a County Detective, he was assigned to a Prosecutors Gang and Narcotics Task Force while simultaneously assigned to the Drug Enforcement Administration as a Task Force Officer. He was a Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team Member (SERT), a Police Diver, a Police Academy Physical Fitness Senior Training Advisor, and a Police Academy Drill Instructor. Gary is also a certified commercial diver and a United States Marine. Upon retirement, he worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

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He was awarded two of the highest medals in Law Enforcement: the Legion of Honor and the Combat Cross.

Gary is an active Skydiver and the Chief of Ground Operations at Skydive Shenandoah in New Market, Virginia.

He lives in the Hudson Valley region of Upstate New York with his wife, Kristin, two kids, and dog, Hennessy.

Gary would love to share his story and message of hope, faith, and perseverance at your next event.