Page 12 - BusinessWest February 7, 2022

Editorial
Region Can Take Pride in This Story
BusinessWest
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John Gormally [email protected]
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George O’Brien [email protected]
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The news shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone. Indeed, Bob Bolduc, the founder and owner of the Pride chain of gas stations and convenience stores, had
announced his intentions to sell his business back in June, noting that it was time to retire and there was no one in the family inter- ested in carrying on the business.
The search for a new buyer ended with the Boston-based pri- vate equity firm ArcLight Capital Partners, with the sale finalized at the end of last year.
Local press accounts have indicated that ArcLight plans no seri- ous changes in the operation and intends to keep the chain intact and the name ‘Pride’ over the door. We hope all that is true. Any time a local business is sold to a national entity, there is concern that the region will be losing something in the translation.
And in this case, there is a lot to lose. That’s because, while Bolduc has been a bold, innovative entrepreneur who has authored one of the region’s more intriguing business success stories — the Pride chain boasts 31 stores (with more in various stages of devel- opment) and more than $300 million in annual sales — he has also been a philanthropist and strong supporter of many of the region’s nonprofit agencies.
Much was made of one particular act of philanthropy — actu- ally, one act with many parts to it. That was Bolduc’s decision to donate Pride’s $50,000 ‘bonus’ for selling the single largest lottery win in U.S. history to one Mavis Wanczyk to a number of elemen- tary schools and youth-focused nonprofits.
Some called it a publicity stunt — and he certainly got a lot of publicity from it — but Bolduc’s decision to share the wealth, and
Editorial
the manner in which he did, speaks volumes about how he gave back to the community, and especially its young people — and also why BusinessWest bestowed its coveted Difference Makers award on him in 2018.
“I decided to give it to the kids,” Bolduc said of his lottery bonus. “It’s a windfall; it’s not my money. So it was an easy decision to make.”
He has made many such decisions over the years, becoming a strong supporter of many local nonprofits, especially those focused on young people and families. That list includes Square One; Lin- coln Elementary School in Springfield, which Pride has partnered with over the years; Brightside for Families and Children; WMAS and its Coats for Kids campaign; and many others.
Bolduc has always emphasized the need for businesses to give back, but especially to local agencies that can make a real impact on the quality of life enjoyed by people living and working in the 413.
We wish ArcLight well as it takes over the chain Bolduc started, nurtured, and grew over the past 45 years or so. We hope it contin- ues Bolduc’s track record for innovation, including the placement of Subway shops, Dunkin’ Donuts stores, and, most recently, Ches- ter’s chicken restaurants in his stores.
More importantly, we hope the company can continue Bolduc’s legacy of philanthropy and support of agencies focused on the region’s young people. By doing so, they’ll not only be keeping the Pride name over the door, they’ll be continuing the proud tradition of this company (and not just its founder) being a real difference maker in our region. v
Ronn Johnson: A Legacy of Impact
Ronn Johnson, who spent the last four decades making a difference for children and families in the
Springfield community, died on Jan. 15 at age 63.
The date — Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday — was a significant one for the long-time president and CEO of the Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services Inc., who not only led that organization over the past decade but modeled much his of work around King’s example of service.
“I do what I do because I have a pas- sion for making a difference for people. It’s that simple,” Johnson told BusinessWest in 2020, when he was named a Difference Maker by this publication. And I’ve been fortunate enough where I’ve been able to make a career around doing that.”
That’s an understatement.
Early in his career, he worked at the W.W. Johnson Life Center, an organization that dealt in mental-health issues, and the Dunbar Community Center, where he was involved in grant writing in an effort to
meet the needs of an “underfunded com- munity,” as he called it.
After that, he served as vice president
of Child and Family Services at the Center for Human Development (CHD), where he worked for 13 years. Gang violence was on the rise during the early part of the 1990s, and it was creeping into local schools, so he created a CHD program called the Citywide Violence Prevention Task Force, among many other initiatives.
Johnson then worked for six years as director of Community Responsibility at MassMutual, after which he launched a consulting firm, RDJ Associates. One of his clients was MLK Family Services, which approached him, during the summer of 2012, with an offer to take over leadership of the venerable but financially struggling agency.
When he came on board, the first goal was simply to make payroll, but eventu- ally he righted the ship and oversaw the success of many MLK Family Services programs, from helping people access
healthier food to a College Readiness Acad- emy that gives students tutorial help while bringing them to college campuses to raise their educational aspirations.
But no effort has been more personal
to Johnson than the Brianna Fund, named for his daughter, who was born into the world with multiple broken bones from the brittle-bone condition known as osteo- genesis imperfecta. Twenty-two years later, the Brianna Fund has raised more than $750,000 and helped the families of more than 50 children purchase a vehicle, reno- vate a home, widen hallways, install ramps, secure a service dog, and meet many other needs.
“I do believe that God has a plan for every one of us,” Johnson told Business- West. “I’m a very faith-driven person. I’ve been blessed to be in places where peo- ple see my interests and read my heart, and where I’m able to make some things happen.”
His leadership, passion, and ability to inspire others will certainly be missed. v
12 FEBRUARY 7, 2022
OPINION
BusinessWest