Born and raised in Arlington, Vermont, where his father ran a funeral home, Lee, in fact, grew up in the funeral home. He went to college at UVM and graduated in 1981 with a B.A. in psychology. Lee and his wife now calls Barre, Vermont home. He enjoys reading Vermont history books and novels by Vermont authors, including Chris Bohjalian and Howard Frank Mosher.

With Bouchard Pierce for 18 years, Lee worked his way up through the ranks to general manager. The two elements of being a good manager are problem solving, and "reading the tea leaves," as he calls it. "What separates us from other businesses is how we deal with the variety of issues that confront us every hour of every day," he explains. "How we handle those issues is where we really succeed or fail. We have to be prompt, fair, personable, cost effective, and reasonable," he adds. He also is proud that the folks at Bouchard-Pierce believe in answering the phone, so customers can speak directly with a staff person when they call!

Reading the tea leaves is paying attention to future trends, another critical area that will influence a business's success. Lee listens closely to Bouchard Pierce's customers, and pays attention to regional, national, and world events and trends in order to provide what customers will purchase. "Since making these decisions and changing the business accordingly can be somewhat slow, it is important to have a sense of what our world will be like in one, two, three, or even more years," he says. "This allows us to be ahead of the curve, instead of behind. If we react to something that has already happened, it is too late. If you respond to something that a competitor is doing, it is too late. I think the successful businesses are good at reacting to the future before it arrives."



Something that might surprise people about me is: I have never been to Florida
Professional Certification/Education:  Bachelor of Arts,  Psychology
Your most unusual job (before BP): Digging graves
Favorite movie: To Kill A Mockingbird
Favorite TV show growing up: Star Trek
Favorite musical performer: Cream
Who makes you laugh most:  Robin Williams
Favorite food: Chocolate
Favorite animal:  Cats
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be:  Right here
Favorite cartoon character:  Sherman and Peabody
Favorite sports hero: Bill Russell
Do you play a musical instrument?   No
Favorite thing to do on a day off:  Absolutely nothing