PRESQUE ISLE – H.O. Bouchard Transportation Services, one of the largest trucking companies in the Northeast, and a firm that bears the name of Harold Bouchard, the Fort Kent native who founded it nearly five decades ago when he began hauling gravel with a single Dodge truck, is giving back to its roots in the form of a $10,000 contribution to the Campaign for the County’s College at Northern Maine Community College.
Photo courtesy of Northern Maine Community College
BRIAN BOUCHARD, president of H.O. Bouchard, Inc. of Hampden, presents a contribution to Sonja Fongemie of Northern Maine Community College on behalf of the transportation services company. The $10,000 gift to the Campaign for the County’s College has been designated by H.O. Bouchard to benefit NMCC’s diesel hydraulics program and commercial driving academy.
The gift, which is directed to the College and Community Advancement Fund to support immediate and emerging needs in the college’s transportation industry-related programs, was announced recently by Brian Bouchard, the second generation company owner.
“H.O. Bouchard is proud to help the young people of northern Maine prepare for the future. Our roots are in Aroostook County and we will always remember the lessons we learned there,” said Brian Bouchard. “Hard work, dedication and knowledge can help transform the raw products from the forests and fields into products that the world wants and needs. We are proud to be associated with the fine people of NMCC.”
The effort to secure the H.O. Bouchard contribution was coordinated by Paul Bouchard of Fort Kent, who served on the Campaign for the County’s College leadership team.
“H.O. Bouchard and any of the companies that are looking for individuals in the trade related fields certainly benefit from graduates of Northern Maine Community College. The realization that company officials, led by Brian Bouchard, have come to, as well as those of us working with NMCC on this major gifts campaign, is that we need to ensure there is a qualified and well-trained workforce to meet the needs of employers across industry sectors throughout Maine. In this case, graduates of NMCC’s diesel hydraulics program and commercial driving academy are vitally important to the industry that H.O. Bouchard has built its stellar reputation on over the years,” said Paul Bouchard. “We are very excited that H.O. Bouchard has recognized the important contribution of NMCC to their industry, and as such have made this significant contribution.”
The first priority for funding under the gift, as established by H.O. Bouchard, Inc, is NMCC’s diesel hydraulics program, and the second is the Commercial Driving Academy.
According to NMCC President Timothy Crowley, the investment in transportation-related programs at the College is not only critical to the institution but to the overall economy of the region.
“The transportation industry is vitally important to the economy of Aroostook. Given our geographic location, it is essential that we are able to get products produced in this region to markets elsewhere. In addition, more recent initiatives over the past decade, such as operations at the Maine Military Authority, rely on NMCC for a qualified and well-trained workforce,” said Crowley. “This most appreciated contribution from H.O. Bouchard, as with all of the support we have been most fortunate to receive through the Campaign for the County’s College, will have a positive and direct impact on the economic livelihood of ‘The County.’”
Founded by Harold Bouchard in 1958, H.O. Bouchard now has the largest fleet of specialized flat bed and tank trailers in northern New England. Trucks owned by the company are rolling every day in Maine, Atlantic Canada, and throughout the entire continental United States.
In addition to their fleet, H.O. Bouchard employs a large group of professional drivers, who are supported by a maintenance team and dispatchers.
The Campaign for the County’s College, named to reflect both the impact of the campus in the region as well as how the College community mirrors the aspirations of Aroostook and its people, is designed to support the outstanding tradition of teaching and learning for which NMCC is known.
The first-ever major gifts campaign for the institution to raise $2 million through February of 2008 will support student scholarships and instructional technology, as well as assist the College in new and ongoing efforts to respond promptly to community needs.
