2021 Honorees
Honoree Degree
Elizabeth A. Poirier, Former Massachusetts State Representative
Elizabeth A. Poirier is the former Massachusetts State Representative representing the 14th Bristol district in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1999 to 2021. During that time, she also served as Massachusetts' Third Assistant House Minority Leader.
Elizabeth has lived in North Attleboro for her entire life and attended North Attleboro High School before graduating from Johnson and Wales University in Providence, R.I., where she earned a bachelor's degree in business. Prior to becoming a State Representative, Elizabeth worked for many years in the banking industry before co-owning a retail business in downtown North Attleboro.
While in office, State Representative Poirier’s accomplishments included membership on the Special Joint Committee on Redistricting, the Foster Care Committee Caucus, the Special House Committee on Ethics, the Executive Committee of the House Women’s Caucus and a special appointment to the House Commission on Child Abuse and Neglect. During this time, she also served as the Assistant House Minority Leader. She considers it the honor of a lifetime to have served the good people of the 14th Bristol District.
She is equally dedicated to her local community and has served as a board member and former Vice President of the North Attleboro/Plainville Chamber of Commerce, a board member and former President of the Downtown Associates of North Attleboro, and as a member of the Board of Directors for the Attleboro YMCA.
Elizabeth is the recipient of the Community Impact Award, presented by the North Attleboro High School Alumni Association in 2014; the Legislator of the Year Award, presented by the International Interior Design Association in 2019; as well as the New Hope President’s Award, presented by the United Regional Chamber in 2020.
She is married to her husband, Kevin Poirier, Town Clerk of North Attleboro, who retires in early April this year. Mr. Poirier formerly served as Director of Development at Sturdy Memorial Hospital and as a Massachusetts State Representative for 23 years. She has three grown sons and six grandchildren. When she is not volunteering in her community, she enjoys reading and spending time with her family and friends.
Distinguished Citizen
Fall River Fire Department Division of Emergency Medical Services (FRFD EMS Unit)
When the coronavirus impacted the South Coast region, the Fall River Fire Department’s Division of Emergency Medical Services (FRFD EMS Unit) was tasked with keeping our communities safe, with limited personal protective equipment (PPE). The unit rallied to collect and distribute the PPE and rapidly initiated a COVID-19 testing program to keep first responders as safe as possible. This combined effort has kept hundreds of first responders healthy and safe, enabling their dedicated service to our community without interruption.
In early August of 2020, the department’s EMS unit, under the direction of Fire Chief John D. Lynch and EMS Director Timothy Oliveira, quickly volunteered to assist Bristol Community College to develop an on-campus COVID-19 testing site and administered weekly COVID-19 testing for Bristol’s hybrid students, faculty and on-campus employees who remained learning and working on-campus or in face-to-face learning environments, such as classrooms, labs and clinical settings.
This critical effort enabled Bristol to continue its mission to keep its college community, learning and working on campus, safe and make a seamless transition to a specialized COVID-19 testing service. The initiative also ensured that the college’s students in degree programs requiring face-to-face components remained academically on track for success.
The collaboration between the college and the Fall River Fire Department has continued since Bristol’s Fall River Campus began serving as the host location for a regional COVID-19 vaccination site, provided by the Fall River Board of Health and Fall River Fire Department Emergency Medical Services. This coordinated effort has resulted in an ongoing, large-scale COVID-19 vaccination for our region’s qualifying general public and first responders.
Collaboration between Bristol Community College and the Fall River Fire Department is not new. The department has long supported the college’s Fire Science Technology program with equipment demonstrations and instruction. The first two directors of the college’s Fire Science Technology program were former Fall River Fire Chiefs Thomas Moore and Louis A. Shea and many of the program’s instructors have served as ranking members of the department.
The Fall River Fire Department’s Division of Emergency Medical Services (FRFD EMS Unit) responds to approximately 12,500 emergency calls annually. The department is highly rated as one of the best in Massachusetts by the Department of Public Health Division of Emergency Medical Services.
The college extends its heartfelt gratitude to the Fall River Fire Department’s Division of Emergency Medical Services (FRFD EMS Unit) including Fall River Fire Chief John D. Lynch, Director of Emergency Medical Services Timothy Oliveira, Deputy Director of Emergency Medical Services Beth Faunce, EMS Captain Robert Camara, EMS Captain Jen Farias, EMS Captain John Morin, EMS Captain Jennifer Rodriques, EMS Lieutenant William Lonardo, EMS Lieutenant Nicholas Silva and the department’s many dedicated paramedics.
Last Lecture
Manal Mogawer, RDH, MSD, BDS, Assistant Professor of Dental Hygiene and Sophomore Clinical Coordinator at Bristol Community College was selected by students to deliver the Last Lecture at Bristol’s 2021 Virtual Commencement Ceremony.
Grand Marshalls
Silvino Ferreira, Associate Professor of Computer Information Systems and Victoria Revier, Coordinator and Professor of Medical Administrative programs at Bristol Community College, have been honored to serve as the Grand Marshalls at Bristol’s 2021 Virtual Commencement Ceremony. Continuing Bristol's tradition of awarding this honor to one of the college's longest-serving faculty or staff members, Ferreira and Revier will lead this year’s graduates and proud viewers to the virtual commencement stage.