8 Vermont Rising Stars Named from Windham
Class of 2019 Recognized by Vermont Business Magazine
The winners of its Rising Stars recognition award were announced by Vermont Business Magazine this week. 40 winners under the age of 40 were selected by a panel of judges based on a commitment to business growth, professional excellence and community involvement. There were eight winners from Windham County: Michael Bruno from Bellows Falls; McKenna Hayes from Putney; Joshua Unruh and Christopher Parker from Vernon; Abbie Corse from Whitingham; and Steffen Gillom, Joshua Roberts and Sarah Lang from Brattleboro. Windham County had the second highest number of winners, after Chittenden County. VBM will honor these young leaders November 7th at the Rising Stars dinner, and featured them in the November VBM issue.
Many of the Windham winners were nominated through the Southern Vermont “Emerging Leaders” initiative, created to increase visibility and support for young leaders in the region, and to increase statewide recognition of southern Vermont’s young leaders. Emerging Leaders is a joint effort of Bennington’s Shires Young Professionals and the Southern Vermont Young Professionals, a Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) program. Nominations are open to everyone, and nominees are recognized annually at the Southern Vermont Economy Summit. All Emerging Leaders who qualify for VBM Rising Stars are submitted to that panel.
Alex Beck, 2017 Rising Star Award Winner, says he’s not surprised at the impressive number of Windham awardees, “This region has become more intentional about supporting and celebrating young leaders. Young people like BDCC’s Sarah Lang and Bennington’s Matt Harrington have worked especially hard to make this happen for our peers. And of course, the high number or Windham winners shows what we know already – we have a vibrant, diverse and growing community of young leaders here!”
Of 40 honorees statewide there are 15 men and 25 women. 15 hailed from Chittenden County, 8 from Windham, 7 from Rutland, 3 from Bennington, 2 from Caledonia, and 1each from Washington County, Lamoille, Addison, Orange and Franklin Counties.
Press Contact:
Adam Grinold, Executive Director
Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation
(802) 257-7731
agrinold@brattleborodevelopment.com
www.brattleborodevelopment.com
About BDCC and SeVEDS:
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/
Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) is an affiliate of BDCC that grew from a 2008 grassroots effort, initiated by BDCC, to understand and create long term strategies needed 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 received federal approval for the Windham Region’s federally recognized S.M.A.R.T. Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). SeVEDS partnered with Bennington’s Regional Economic Development Group in 2018 to develop the 2019 Southern Vermont Zone CEDS. For more information visit: www.seveds.com
