Car Show at the HUB Sunday will Honor Sgt. Jeff Boucher

This article first appeared on Meriden Patch.

Last August the Sergeant Jeff Boucher Auto, Bike and Truck Show brought more than 1,000 people to the Meriden HUB. This year organizers are expecting even more – and according to Boucher's mother, there couldn't be a more appropriate way to honor her son.

Boucher, who died in an auto accident in Southington in 2006 at 26 years old, was a Meriden Police Officer and member of the Neighborhood Initiative Unit. His patrol area was downtown Meriden.

"His whole purpose in the Neighborhood Initiative was to make it safe in the inner city," Boucher's mother Linda Carabetta said. "That's the thing that motivated me to bring it to the HUB."

On Sunday, organizers will hold their fifth annual show, the second at the HUB site between Pratt and State Streets in downtown Meriden. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., there will be cars, motorcycles, trucks – even a helicopter – for vehicle enthusiasts.

Spectators get in free, and can peruse what organizers anticipate will be more than 300 cars, refreshment booths like the Elks Club Italian ice stand, as well as take in different auto-oriented events – including a burn out pit. There is a $10 entry fee for those who want to show their vehicles.

All funds go to the Sgt. Jeff Boucher Scholarship, which assists students who are associated in various ways with law enforcement or community leadership and are pursuing an advanced degree.

This year the organization will be awarding five new $1,000 scholarships at noon Sunday to Timothy Murphy, Nicole Lavoie, Zachary Milslagle, Alyssa Laurenza and Catherine Nesci, and renewing scholarships for previous winners at $500 for Sara Woznicki, Emilie Parker, Nicole Williams, Andrew Zajac, Chelsea Sullivan and Melaina Barillaro. (More information on the scholarships and an application can be found HERE)

The group behind the event is made up of some of the many people the gregarious Boucher knew in his life, including Meriden Police officers, downtown business leaders, government officials, and family members.

"Jeff had a lot of friends," said local developer Ross Gulino, who knew Boucher and is an organizer. "He was an all around good kid. He grew up around here...and he gave back."

Boucher was raised in Meriden until the age of 7, when his family moved to Southington. He attended Southington schools, then college at Central Connecticut State University and joined the Marines partway through. He was deployed to Paris Island, and during his service applied and was accepted to the Meriden Police, according to Carabetta.

He moved back to Meriden and worked as an officer in the city for more than four years prior to his death, in several capacities – including in the Neighborhood Initiative Unit, DARE, and the SWAT team.

"He was exhilarating to be around," Carabetta said. He would have a large party each year, she said, that everyone called "A Boucher Fest." She said she can't wait to get up on stage in front of the crowd of friends, family and car enthusiasts this year and say, "This is one awesome Boucher-Fest."

More event information is on the show's website HERE and its Facebook page HERE.