TBL Ep. 14 - Ray Boa

Ray — local business owner, entrepreneur, exceptional idol.

 

Ray Boa is The Boa Life in the flesh. He is the co-owner and President of A&J Construction based in Brookfield, CT. He was born in Portugal but moved to Angola, Africa at a young age where he lived a very modest life with both of his parents and older brother Joe. The family eventually immigrated to the U.S. to seek greater opportunities and settled in Danbury, CT.

 

As a young man Ray had many aspirations. His focus was developing the tools needed to excel at soccer, be a positive community leader as well as a family man. He is currently fluent in four languages but was only capable of speaking Portugese when he arrived at NYC on February 28, 1968 aboard the ship Christopher Columbus. He knew he had to work exceptionally hard. The love, dedication and ambition his parents instilled in him has led to the many successes he continues to reflect on today.

 

Ray graduated from Danbury High School and Western Connecticut State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. He dominated the soccer field and was proudly inducted into Soccer Hall of Fame at both schools. More recently he received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award and was selected to be on the Advisory Board Center For Compassion, Creativity, & Innovation at Western Connecticut State University. He was also honored by the Danbury Old Timers. After school Ray quickly rose through the ranks as a Supervisor at Grolier Inc. and then Manager of Export Sales and Service for International Development Markets at Duracell Inc.

 

Ray's accolades are endless. The list begins with being on the Board of Directors at the Portuguese American Club and President of General Assembly and Marching Band at the Sons of Portugal, all while starting a new family and venturing out of the corporate world into business with his brother-in-law Arlindo Augusto. A&J Construction was in its infancy but Ray knew that his entrepreneurial spirit could not be held down. He continued to work hard and serve his community. The Portuguese Cultural Center was born and Ray served as the President of the Board of Directors and Board of Trustees. Ray also served as member of Economic Advisory Committee at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, the Board of Directors at Danbury Hospital and currently serves on the Board of trustees at Union Savings Bank.

 

Ray lives in Danbury, CT with his wife Zulmira. They have three adult children Kelly, Lori and Joseph. The also have six grand children Nina, Jax, Luke, Nora, Mila and Reese.

 

Find Ray at https://www.ajpaving.com/

 

For full video version visit link below:

https://youtu.be/VWJziRcZezA