FITCHBURG — On a recent beautiful Sunday afternoon, over 100 people from all across New England gathered at Coolidge Park to witness the unveiling of Inspire, a bronze memorial statue honoring city native and NASCAR champion Ron Bouchard.
The June 14 ceremony brought together members of City Council, Board of Parks Commissioners, Mayor Sam Squailia, the RB Racing Foundation, and generations of Bouchard family and friends and community members.
The Inspire monument, created by renowned artist Meredith Bergmann, features Ron Bouchard seated on a curved granite bench beside a young child sharing a calm, encouraging moment. The piece serves as the anchor for a brand-new, interactive story walk around the park’s walking loop, which features read-along panels of the children’s book “From Impossible,” written by Fitchburg native Jim Desrosiers.
The entire project was funded through the extraordinary generosity of the RB Racing Charity and Ron’s widow Paula Bouchard, representing a significant enhancement to the park at zero cost to local taxpayers. The inspiration for the monument began decades ago with a young Fitchburg kid facing tough odds. After watching Ron Bouchard win at the Westboro Speedway and meeting him in victory lane, Desrosiers found the spark he needed to believe a bigger future was possible. Years later, he turned that life-changing moment into his children’s book to pass that hope on to the next generation.
During ceremony, Fitchburg Parks and Recreation Department Director James Bunnell highlighted how Bouchard belongs among the highest tier of the city’s historical icons, drawing parallels to figures like George R. Wallace, Alvah Crocker, Arthur Longsjo, and Pat Moran.
“Ron Bouchard is right up there with the famous people who have come from the city of Fitchburg,” Bunnell noted during the dedication. “Most importantly, they never forgot where they came from and contributed to help make the community a better place. Now Ron Bouchard is being immortalized with a permanent fixture in our community.”
Bunnell also extended immense gratitude to the city’s parks and recreation department team, who worked tirelessly to install the panels and prepare the grounds, noting that the staff “literally put all they have into making the parks a great place for the community to enjoy.”
Squailia shared remarks on the deep emotional and cultural impact the new installation will have on Coolidge Park, emphasizing that the interactive nature of the public art piece is what makes it so vital to the city’s future.
“This memorial is about more than racing,” said Squailia said. “It is about what happens when one person’s success permits another person to believe in themselves. ‘Inspire’ is not loud. It is not flashy. It is a conversation, a small moment between an adult and a child, the kind of moment that can change the course of a life.”
The mayor highlighted how the combination of the bronze sculpture and story walk transforms the footprint of the municipal space into a hub for both physical and mental enrichment.
“Today, Coolidge Park gains a new destination, one that connects movement, literacy, history, and hope,” Squailia continued. “Public art works best when it belongs to the people. This piece belongs here because it carries a Fitchburg story, honors a Fitchburg son, and invites Fitchburg children to see themselves in the next chapter. Now, people will come here to meet Ron and young Jim, to read ‘From Impossible,’ and to be reminded that big dreams often start in ordinary places.”
The ‘From Impossible’ story walk begins and ends at the Inspire bench. Families, students, neighbors, and visitors are invited to walk the loop, read the panels page-by-page, and utilize the built-in prompts designed to invite meaningful conversations between adults and children about what they want to become.
Original article
Comments