By Molly McCarthy, Contributing Writer
Northborough – The late Simeon Fouracre was a well-known, successful Northborough businessman but he was also known by many as a man who was committed to serving his community. ?On May 21, the Northborough Lions Club, of which he was a founder and past King Lion, honored his service by dedicating the community message board sign located at the center of town to Fouracre.
A lifelong resident of the town, Fouracre owned S.A. Fouracre Vending Co., Simeon's Restaurant & Catering Co. and United Signs and Advertising. He was also a Founder and Past King Lion of the Northborough Lions Club and past District Governor of District 33A Lions Club. Fouracre served on the Northborough Parks Department, the Northborough School Committee, and the Building Committees for three of the town's elementary schools, as well as Algonquin Regional High School. He also was a former member of the Board of Selectmen.
In 1980, Fouracre asked his fellow Lions club members to fund a sign in the center of Northborough which would serve as a means of notifying residents of upcoming community events. Since then, the sign has been maintained by the Lions Club as one of its many community projects.
As the demand for sign usage has grown, the Lions decided to upgrade to the sign to an electronic format. This will now allow multiple organizations to post their events simultaneously. The update also allows the Police Department to override messages in the event of an emergency, such as an Amber Alert.
Town officials and members of the Lions Club attended the dedication ceremony and spoke of Fouracre's service.
“The Northborough Lions Club voted to upgrade the sign to meet the informational standards of today and continue their commitment to maintain the sign and provide information to the Northborough community. They also voted to dedicate the Northborough Community Sign to Lion Simeon “Sim” Fouracre because if it were not for his efforts this sign would not be here,” Ron Aspero, the club's current King Lion, said.
Fouracre passed away in 2011 at age 93.