BRISTOL — Bristol American Legion Post 19 honored two local residents with its 2016 Above and Beyond Awards at the annual Legion Birthday Dinner on March 12 at the Bristol American Legion. This award is designed to recognize public employees or volunteers that exceed expectations of their job or the position they hold in the organization they belong to. This year’s recipients are Peter Bouvier, road foreman for the town of Bristol, and Brett LaRose, chief of the Bristol Fire Department.
Bouvier was nominated by Therese Kirby, Bristol town administrator. Kirby said she has worked with Bouvier over the last 10 years and could not imagine another town in the state of Vermont having a better road foreman.
“He is a tremendously hard worker that continuously has the best interest of Bristol residents in mind; whether it is maintaining the roads or monitoring his budget, you can be sure he has it all under control,” Kirby said. “Peter manages a department with four employees who have a lot of respect for him and the job he does. The town of Bristol does not have a facilities manager, so some of these duties fall to the Road Department.
“You can find Peter changing light bulbs in Holly Hall, the library or working with other department heads to get a piece of equipment working,” Kirby added. “Peter is always good natured, kind and considerate. If the American Legion wants to recognize a public employee for going Above and Beyond, you would not find anyone better to honor than Peter Bouvier.”
LaRose was nominated by the Bristol Fire Department’s Awards Committee. Their comments included the following:
“Brett joined the BFD on April 5, 1995. It became very apparent to the membership that Brett had those qualities you look for in an officer: leadership and trust. As a firefighter, he spent his early years as an aggressive and knowledgeable firefighter. Those qualities were quickly recognized and he was voted in as line captain, a position he held for a number of years. During this time, he challenged and successfully completed the criteria to become a Certified Level 1 Firefighter.
“In 2008, Brett was voted in as 1st assistant chief, and in 2013, he was voted to the rank of chief. Under his leadership, BFD has 27 personnel certified firefighter 1 and another seven certified firefighter 2. Also, BFD has three members that are PADO certified, four personnel certified fire service instructors and one person certified as fire officer l and fire officer 2.
“The BFD, and more importantly the town of Bristol, has reaped the benefits of Brett’s grant-writing abilities. The BFD has received thousands of dollars in grant monies as a result of his efforts. They were able to gain new members as a result of a promotional function that Brett implemented through these funds. Outdated bunker gear, radios and heavy equipment have been replaced because of his efforts.
“Brett’s involvement over the years is highlighted above, however, his commitment to the community, dedication to the fire service and safety of his firefighters can be realized from one of the most ambitious undertaking the BFD and the town of Bristol has ever taken: building a new fire station. He revitalized the BFD’s Building Committee. Through his leadership he moved the committee forward with a goal of bringing a proposal to the voters during the March 2015 Town Meeting.
“The voters defeated this proposal, but Brett did not stop. He worked with many groups of people and agencies to look at the needs for a new fire station. He put in countless hours then and continues today as his pursuit to build a new fire station was realized. Construction started in the fall of 2015 and the new fire station should be completed in June 2016. This project is one of the largest Bristol has passed in years and would not have been possible if not for Brett’s neverending efforts.
“Brett is also serving as the president of the Addison County Firefighters Association. He has worked and implemented the automatic mutual aid protocol across the county. Brett is a long time member of the ACFA Training Committee. Just like the BFD, Brett gives countless hours as president of the ACFA.”