Marjorie E. Goudreault
Northern Essex Community College today dedicated a walkway and parking area at its Dr. Ibrahim El-Hefni Allied Health and Technology Center in Lawrence. The section was named in honor of Trustee Marjorie E. Goudreault of Haverhill who passed away in 2005.
Current and former trustees and faculty honored Goudreault, the college’s longest serving board chairman. Carolyn M. Morton, a former trustee and close friend, said Goudreault set in motion the vision for today’s Lawrence campus.
“The parking area, I looked around, and I saw a glaring omission,” joked Morton. She said Goudreault always looked for the closest parking space even if it took her much time to find one.
Morton then surprised the crowd by unveiling a sign, dedicating an easy-to-find reserved parking spot for the chairman of the board of trustees.
Another Goudreault friend and college trustee, William D. Cox Jr., said Goudreault’s dedication to nursing programs helped bring the Lawrence campus to where it is today.
Carolyn Morton joking displays reserved parking sign with NECC Chairman William J. Moynihan.
“She kicked out a lot of walls for women,” said William J. Moynihan, current chairman of the college’s board of trustees. He explained women were not active in politics more than 30 years ago.
Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera, a former trustee himself, also issued a proclamation in Goudreault’s honor.
Besides serving as a college trustee, Goudreault also was elected to multiple terms on the Haverhill City Council and School Committee.
Former Northern Essex Community College President John R. Dimitry, right, attended the dedication with his wife Audrey.
this is a fiting tribute
I am very pleased to see that NECC has honored Marjorie Goudreault. I got to know Marjorie when she served on the Haverhill City Council, and supported her in the 1983 special election to succeed Sharon Pollard. in the State Senate. She lost that election to Nick Costello, who went on to serve for four terms. Marjorie then focused her public service energy on her role chairing the NECC Board of Trustees. NECC and the entire Merrimack Valley benefited greatly from her vision and leadership.