In June of 1998, the Central Vermont chamber of Commerce and the Central Vermont community lost a friend so special and so rare it is safe to say there will never be another like her.

For 40 years the members of the chamber were Lorraine Beaulieu's children. Like a doting mother, she would do everything in her power to help and protect them. She didn't just know the owner, she knew the staff. She knew their children, how old they were, how they were doing in school, their favorite sports.
Lorraine Beaulieu was Central Vermont's finest ambassador. There is no place in the world like it. The people of Central Vermont are the best on earth. They are the friendliest. The air is the cleanest, the sky the bluest, the snow the whitest. Every visitor she met was treated like a personal friend who had come just to visit her, and she was the consumate hostess.

She had no ambitions for herself. She had every ambition for her co-workers, "Her Chamber", and her community. When Her chamber was in financial difficulty, she refused to cash her paychecks. Her organization wasn't going to go broke just because she got paid - no matter how little that might be.
When the financial picture improved, she was vocal in support of staff raises - for others. She said other salaries could be raised even more because she argued that she didn't need a raise.

After her 70th birthday, she began to worry that she might not be allowed to keep working - that she might not be allowed to keep helping people.
When the rigors of full-time work finally proved to be too much, she retired to "just doing the office payroll and managing the Barre information booth." With the help of friends and volunteers, she continued to help visitors over the next three summers.
Foliage was Lorraine's favorite time. For 25 years, there was her craft show. And there was always the influx of visitors. A shortage of rooms brought about the special opportunity to help people by finding the last commercial room or a private home. With her husband Jerry at her side, she would be found in the booth at the Barre Grand Union store most nights and every weekend during foliage.

Lorraine with President Carol Levesque, being recognized at the 1996 Annual Banquet

Lorraine being recognized by Former Lt. Governor Barbara Snelling.

Lorraine loved Her Chamber, her members, and her visitors with unequalled passion.
In 1989, when the Vermont Travel Conference initiated the "Vermont Travel Person of the Year", she was the first to be so honored. When the chamber purchased its office complex in 1990, it was appropriately named "Beaulieu Place." Yet these recognitions seem small in comparison to the dedication, commitment and tireless energy she brought to the travel industry and to her community.

 

When Jerry passed away in March of 1998, she lost her lifelong companion and sidekick. She missed him terribly. Now they are together again. Just inside the Pearly Gates, there is a booth where newcomers are welcomed and assisted, and there is no question who's there to greet them.