Page 4 - BusinessWest November 28, 2022

4 NOVEMBER 28, 2022 FEATURE BusinessWest
Building a Foundation
Bob Bolduc’s Next Chapter Is a Focus on Helping Others Achieve Sustainability
BAy George O’Brien
s he talked about the foundation he created
with some of the proceeds from the sale of Pride Stations and Stores — the business he started more than 40 years ago — and the many difficult societal problems it will address, Bob Bolduc summoned an often-paraphrased quote from
John F. Kennedy.
It went this way:
“The great French Marshal Lyautey
once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow-growing and wouldn’t reach matu- rity for 100 years. The Marshal replied, ‘in that case, there is no time to lose — plant it this afternoon!’”
Bolduc recalled the story to drive home the point that the country, and Kennedy’s administration, faced some stubborn, deep-rooted problems, and because they would take a long time to resolve, no time should be wasted in addressing them.
Bolduc, the hugely successful entre-
preneur also known for his high level of
involvement in the community, and espe-
cially Springfield, struck those same tones
while talking about the Hope for Youth & Families Foundation, launched earlier this year, and its broad mission.
“Helping youth and families achieve sustainability is the ulti- mate goal, and that’s not going to happen overnight,” he told Busi- nessWest. “It starts with the youth, and it’s going to take time to get them from pre-kindergarten into a career. So we’re looking at a long-range plan.
“And along the way, a lot of things have to be done right,” he went on. “So it’s absolutely a long-term, major project.”
Even before Bolduc launched the Hope for Youth & Families Foundation, back when he was planting the seeds and talking in broad strokes about its mission and how it would be carried out, he stressed repeatedly that this endeavor was not about writing checks — although it would undoubtedly write some.
Instead, it was about creating a foundation that would be — and he would use these three words early and often — a convener, a facilitator, and a catalyst.
Shannon Mumblo, who became executive director of the foun- dation — and its first employee — just a few months ago, agreed.