3rd Annual BOUGHTON Scholarship Fundraiser

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Do you go by ed Is it ed Bouton?

Speaker 2 (00:02):
Oh yeah, that's fine, ed Bouton correct.

Speaker 1 (00:05):
I appreciate you taking the time to come on the show,
and I know our paths have crossed before, but I
did not know about your loss. You know, I probably
did at the time. It was did you say four
years back.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Four and a half years ago, right March twenty one?

Speaker 1 (00:23):
And whereabouts did this automobile accident take place? And how
old was your son at the time.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
He was eighteen, And it was in North Branford, our hometown.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
In the town. One of the off ramps.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
Yeah, right on the main trag Rude eighty, which has
actually been a pretty dangerous road in the in the
last career.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, and usually involving a lot of motorcycle
and quad nonsense there too, and I announced a lot
of it often. I don't know if I did. Here
my condolence, it's.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
The biggest I appreciate.

Speaker 1 (00:57):
It was late at night, you really do. I'm waiting
for him to get home one or.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
Well, that's correct, that's how it went down. It was
waiting to come home, yes, sir.

Speaker 1 (01:08):
So we've got the third annual. You've been doing this
for three years, so I don't know what took you
guys so long to get it to me. Happy to
help spread the word here this annual scholarship fundraiser. I
do have to say, d not to switch gears really quickly.
I had no idea that Q and Brew was still open.

Speaker 2 (01:27):
You'd be surprised how many times people will say that
I've heard.

Speaker 1 (01:30):
That I had great times at the Q and Brew
back in the time ago. That was a long time ago.
I didn't think.

Speaker 3 (01:37):
I don't even know if i'd be able to Where
is it again? Exactly in Branford.

Speaker 2 (01:41):
So it's one thirty one Commercial Parkway, which is behind Walmart,
next to that beautiful Vox church that they put in
Cuban Brew's been there since I was a kid. I
mean I played there when I was you know, was
in my late.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
Teen How do you get gap me too? I mean
I've been there a million times. I used to think
it was where the Walmart act actually is now like
Walmart replaced It was my belief.

Speaker 2 (02:04):
No, it's been back there behind there, kind of like
a hit in gym behind there.

Speaker 1 (02:08):
I wondn't even know how to access it. They were
actually they've been around so long. Q and Brew was
a sponsor on my old case you on on one show.
I mean they were an advertiser. Wow. We had a
couple of good nights of you know, a lot of
just a lot of fun there. And I've got friends
who still it was a while back, but they they

(02:28):
say you should meet us one night for drinks. We
shoot pool at Cumbrew and I'm like, oh, there must
be a new one. They can't possibly mean that one.
And then I see here that tomorrow night Branford's C
and Brew and Commercial Parkway and Branford from six to nine.
You're having the Jonathan r about in memorial scholarship fundraisers.

(02:50):
So tell me a little bit about it, what people
can expect, how they can sure sure.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
I'll start at the beginning, after our you know, like
you said, a tragic series of events. You know, people
want to reach out, they want to help you, and
you know there's not much that people can, you know,
pragmatically do. So we set up a GoFundMe page, you know,
back you know, within a few days of the tragedy,
and my wife and I our thoughts were that we

(03:16):
would take whatever donations we got, and we would donate
it to ELI Whitney Technical School, their their automotive program,
which he was a graduate of. And we came to
find out that there's no real mechanism to donate a
significant amount of money. We ended up raising around fifty grand.
There was no mechanism to get this money into the

(03:36):
program at the school, and it was we had a
conversation with the principal and he said, why don't you
guys start a scholarship program for these students? And my
wife and I just, you know, like a light bulb
went off, and you know, the fact is is that
if you are a student in a technical school, if
you're in an automotive program, if you're in a carpet
sheet program or whatever. When you graduate high school, if

(04:00):
you want to go directly into the workforce, if you
want to just get out of school and go to work,
there are no real programs to help you out with that.
You know, if you're going to college, you can you
apply to FAFSA, you look for aid and you know,
government loans, but nobody loans you money to go buy
yourself tools to go to work, or to get your
transportation or if you did want you know, some link

(04:23):
in tech style additional education, that there's no money there
for that. Some other wife and I decided that what
we were going to do is we would set up
a scholarship program where gifted students in the technical trades
would be able to apply and we would give them
cash awards so that they could buy tools, they could
buy supplies, transportation or whatever they needed to enter the workforce.

(04:45):
Because we both we both felt that the you know,
the workforce is lacking technical technical employees and mechanics and
stuff like that. And my son was a it was
a mechanic. It was great in a whole family of mechanics.
I went to a technical school. And we wanted to
give something back in that way directly to the students

(05:07):
so that they could more easily enter the workforce and
uh and get to work and start doing the dirty
work force.

Speaker 1 (05:13):
All I got a gut feeling. Uh, your son loved it.
He loved he loved Eli Whitney. He loved the program.

Speaker 2 (05:21):
Oh yeah, he really did, you know. He loved the program,
he loved the students, he loved the diversity. It was
a it was a good place, a good fit for him,
and he was I'll just say he was a character.
Let's let's put it that way. Anybody who met anybody
who met Jonathan you didn't forget him, that's for sure.
And anybody who hears this, who has you know, knows
that that's the case. He was. It was a it

(05:42):
was a bright light bulb. Let's put it that way.

Speaker 3 (05:44):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (05:46):
I got to say too really quickly. Uh, And it did.
It's just for the proof that I don't know how
I'm still on the air around here. I went about
three years thinking Eli Whitney was long gone too. I
didn't even think that school was still open anymore.

Speaker 2 (06:00):
They are, and they have an amazing automotive program. I
visit them every now and then and and helped them
out with classes from time to time. All but these
are good kids, and they just want to learn, and
they want to they want to get hands on, they
want to work.

Speaker 1 (06:15):
All all of the guys that I graduated, uh grade
school with who went to Eli Whitney, and I remember
at the time, you know Eli Whitney, like where are
you going? You know, we we had friends who were
going to Fairfield Prep, we were going to Notre Dame.
I went to Notre Dame this and every guy I
know who went through Eli Whitney got immediately into an

(06:35):
apprenticeship and had a very busy, successful life and are
now all retired and have done very well for themselves.
But I did. I stopped hearing about it for a
few years, so I thought, oh, that's too bad that
trades you know, ELI Whitney clothed, but it's still doing
its thing and still churning out tradesmen and beyond. I

(06:57):
know a Gallat graduated there. She took fat shouldn't design
ed Eli Whitney or something along those lines.

Speaker 2 (07:03):
They do have fashion design. Yeah, and it's interesting you
mentioned that you thought it might have fallen off the radar,
But that's because for so many years, parents and the
education system have pushed college, college, college on all these kids.
And there's nothing wrong with that, but there are a
lot of kids that just want to go to work.

Speaker 1 (07:22):
Yeah, I stopped here and talk about it, So that's
why I and there was so much talk about it
when I was in middle school. You know, ELI Whitney
was one of the many schools that got brought up.
And I didn't hear any of my friends with children
because I got to having kids a little bit late.
I don't know how old you are, Ed. I was
about ten years after most of my close friends at

(07:43):
that time, and none of them were ever bringing up
Eli Whitney, so I didn't know they were still doing
their thing. Great to hear, Great to see you giving
back to this. It's seventy five dollars per ticket that
gets you a free pool at the old Q and
Brew all night long, or Derv's complimentary drink tickets, cash bar,
cash menu. And there are sponsorship opportunities silver and silver

(08:05):
and gold.

Speaker 2 (08:07):
There are. In fact, what we started doing was we
were sponsoring tables for anywhere between two hundred and fifty
and five hundred dollars a table, and which of course
is clearly on most people's budget. And that's fine, we'll
take anything. But the Cubebrew has twenty one tables and
we have sold them all out.

Speaker 1 (08:26):
Wow, that is fantastic to hear. Yes, sir, So right
now it's like a standing room only situation. Come support, play,
have fun, but you're still accept obviously you still want
the more the merrier.

Speaker 2 (08:41):
The more the merrier, And I have to add, please
have the most amazing raffle I think anywhere in the state.
We have around eight thousand dollars worth of donated Raffle prizes,
things like tools from Home Depot, snap On, matt Co,
tools of Weber, grills rare with these and bourbons. You

(09:03):
wouldn't believe the kind of support that we get. And
of course entry gets you Raffle tickets as well, and
it's an amazing time. We have DJ music and we
give all this stuff away and everybody has a really
good time.

Speaker 3 (09:17):
Ed, did you want I don't know, did you want
me to give you a signed headshot? Do you want
me to give you a signed head shot? I don't
even have hedgehots. Ed, come sure?

Speaker 2 (09:29):
You know the friends hanging on the wall, the enemies
with poor dark Dad.

Speaker 1 (09:33):
I was just going to say, there's probably some good
dart action there. Do you are you going to do
the raffle? That that fun way where like do you
pull the first ticket and it's like all right, come
and pick here and everybody has to groan while they
watch someone pick what they want. That's always a great
way to do it.

Speaker 2 (09:49):
It is we've had. There's so many great prizes. I
mean we're talking probably fifty sixty items, and for the
sake of time. What we've done is when people, you know,
put their raffle ticket in the bucket, we haven't put
their cell phone number on it. And what we'll start
doing is somewhere around seven thirty eight o'clock, we will
just start picking tickets every five minutes or so, and

(10:12):
you know, we call out the number, but at the
same time we send a text to your phone so
that you don't have to you know, you could keep
drinking and playing pool and having a good time. And
it is a first come, first to serve. So you know,
you got to get your raffle tickets in a bucket.

Speaker 1 (10:25):
Yeah, yeah, I have to say, and I mean this
with a degree of awe. I don't mean this in
any other way other than a degree of all your
sew together. I admire your strength. I mean this is
the kind of staggering I have horrible anxiety about this
type of loss, and you're very together. This is a

(10:47):
wonderful scholarship fundraiser, and it's a way to honor your Clearly,
this was something, like I said, that made him very happy.
So you found the thing which I think is is
a and I'm in awe of your strength. How is
the missus equally like just coming along. You know this,
this would this kind of loss divides a lot of couples,

(11:10):
and it sounds like you two are stronger than.

Speaker 2 (11:12):
Ever we are. You know, at the end of the day,
there's only one other person, you know, when you're a parent,
whether your father or mother, is only one other person
that shares the feelings that you do. So you stick
close to them and you work it out, and that's
the only person that all stands what you're going through.

Speaker 1 (11:31):
Yeah, I'm in alle of you guys, and it's it's
a wonderful thing that you're doing here and born out
of tragedy. So I'm glad it got brought to my attention.
I don't know who steered you toward me, but I'm
so glad that they did. Just under the wire. It's
tomorrow night, the third annual Jonathan R. About in a
memorial scholarship Q and Brew is still open. That's huge news,

(11:54):
I think too for a lot of you.

Speaker 2 (11:57):
It's that for Inford, great place for a great time.

Speaker 1 (11:59):
Oh absolutely, we just have to such raucous events there
in the early two thousands. I'm glad to hear.

Speaker 2 (12:07):
And I appreciate their help. They they donate the table
time for the entire building.

Speaker 1 (12:11):
I'm sure, yeah, yeah, I've always heard they're very charity minded.
That's why I haven't. I'm surprised I haven't heard of
other things. You know, it's been it's been a while,
it's been a minute. But I'll make sure I continue
to spread the word on this for the rest of
today's show and through tomorrow, and Ed, stay in touch,
and I hope all goes well tomorrow night. And please
give my best to your to your wife as far

(12:34):
as this is concerned.

Speaker 2 (12:35):
And thank you very much. I appreciate you giving us
some airtime and a plug, and I appreciate that effort.