2022 Southern VT Economy Summit: Cultivate Change, Save the Date for May 12th, 2022
Southern Vermont – The Fifth Annual Southern Vermont Economy Summit will be held May 12th, 2022 in Dover, Vermont. The theme is “Cultivate Change.” The event is always a time for this region to think big, learn something new, and ask questions and connect. The second week of May is also the International Economic Development Council’s (IEDC) Economic Development Week.
Like many organizations, we had to cancel our biggest annual event, the 2020 Summit, due to COVID19. We decided to hold the 2021 summit virtually. The virtual three-day 2021 Southern Vermont Economy Summit was a huge success, with over 80 panelists, speakers, sponsors, and facilitators, presenting to 168 attendees from 63 towns and 113 organizations. We’re looking forward to being back in person for 2022. This is subject to change, but currently, we can’t wait to see you at Mount Snow!
The economic impacts of COVID-19 have been devastating, but the crisis has helped more people understand the importance of economic development as the struggles around unemployment, workforce and small businesses have played out before our eyes. The pandemic has also highlighted stark realities in the region like lack of housing, dwindling population, and the challenges businesses face to survive and recover. We hope to help you cultivate change in your community through our workshops at the 2022 Summit.
The Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation and Bennington County Regional Commission co-sponsor the event on behalf of the Southern Vermont Economic Development Zone, and as part of the Southern Vermont Economy Project which helps build capacity, expertise, and resources within the Zone. The goal of the event is to build knowledge, momentum, and partnerships. To learn more about past summits, view recordings and workshop presentation materials, visit sovermontzone.com.
The 2022 Summit program will be hosted at www.SoVermontZone.com with registration opening in March. Register your email to receive updates here or contact Sarah Lang at slang@brattleborodevelopment.com.
Press Contact:
Sarah Lang, SVEP Manager, Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation
(802) 257-7731 slang@brattleborodevelopment.com
About the Southern Vermont Economy Summit
The Southern Vermont Economy Summit is an initiative of Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation’s Southern Vermont Economy Project (SVEP) works to stabilize, improve and expand the rural economic and workforce development network in Southern Vermont. Its goal is to increase capacity and collaboration among partnering organizations and communities. SVEP is funded by the USDA Rural Community Development Initiative, as a program of BDCC & SeVEDS. For more information on the summit, please visit: www.SoVermontZone.com/summit
About the Southern Vermont Economy Project
The Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation’s Southern Vermont Economy Project provides training and technical assistance to increase local capacity, skills, and resources in order to advance local projects critical to Southern Vermont achieving community, economic, and workforce development goals. In its second round of funding by the USDA Rural Community Development Initiative, SVEP 2.0 partners include; the Towns of Rockingham, Brattleboro and Bennington; the Windham Regional Commission; Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies; Bennington County Regional Commission; Bennington County Industrial Corporation; Readsboro Hometown Redevelopment Inc.; and Bellows Falls Area Development Corporation. For more information please visit: www.brattleborodevelopment.com/svep/
About the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation
The Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation is a private, nonprofit economic development organization that serves as a catalyst for industrial and commercial growth throughout Southeastern Vermont, including Windham County and the towns of Readsboro, Searsburg, Winhall and Weston. BDCC serves as the State of Vermont’s certified Regional Development Corporation (RDC) for the greater Windham County area. BDCC is one of 12 RDCs throughout Vermont. This BDCC activity was made possible in part by a grant from the State of Vermont through the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. For more information visit: https://brattleborodevelopment.com/
About Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies
Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) is an affiliate of BDCC that grew from a 2008 grassroots effort, initiated by BDCC, to reverse the economic decline of the Windham Region and plan for the economic impacts from the closure of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. In 2014, after multiple years of regional input, education and data gathering, SeVEDS submitted the Windham Region’s federally recognized S.M.A.R.T. Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy for federal approval. For more information visit: www.seveds.com
About the Bennington County Regional Commission
The Bennington County Regional Commission (BCRC) was created by the seventeen towns and villages it serves and works on behalf of those municipalities to build strong, resilient, and sustainable communities, to foster economic prosperity, and to promote a high quality of life for residents of the region. The BCRC is one of Vermont’s eleven regional planning commissions, and it also provides the services of a regional development corporation. For more information visit www.bcrcvt.org
About Bennington County’s Regional Economic Development Group (RED Group)
The Regional Economic Development Working Group (RED Group) is a volunteer body committed to increasing the shared prosperity and quality of life for the seventeen municipalities in southwestern Vermont. The group has a diverse membership that reflects the varied community, business, workforce, and demographic characteristics of the region. The RED Group focuses on the internal and external economic development issues that affect the Bennington County region as a whole; the regional implications of local economic development issues; the process of regional economic development from local, state, and federal perspectives; and options for future initiatives.
About the Southern Vermont Economic Development Zone
The Southern Vermont Economic Development Zone was established by an act of the 2015 Vermont Legislature. The Zone convened a Committee which called on Bennington County and Windham County to develop a region-wide CEDS. For more information please visit: www.SoVermontZone.com
About the Southern Vermont Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy
A Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, or CEDS, is a strategy-driven plan for regional economic development. The CEDS development process is designed to bring together public and private sectors in the creation of an economic roadmap to diversify and strengthen the regional economy. The CEDS development process analyzes the regional economy and serves as a guide for establishing regional goals and objectives, developing and implementing a regional plan of action, and identifying investment priorities and funding sources. The Windham Region’s federally approved CEDS was completed in 2015 by SeVEDS and is being implemented by BDCC. The 5-year update will include Bennington County and all Towns within the Southern Vermont Economic Development Zone. For more information please visit: www.SoVermontZone.com/CEDS
