Forging Our Future: The 6th Annual Southern VT Economy Summit
Nearly 300 attendees, representing a wide range of community stakeholders – business owners, community leaders, and elected officials – joined with state, local and regional economic and community development professionals at the Hermitage Club in Wilmington on May 23 for the 6th Annual Southern Vermont Economy Summit.
Following an introduction by the Summit host organizations and the lead event sponsor, Brattleboro Savings and Loan, keynote speaker Rob Riley took the stage. Riley, the president of the Northern Forest Center, framed the day with a call to action: build communities that are welcoming to essential community members like firefighters, midwife nurse practitioners, and teachers. Rather than concentrating solely on job creation as a metric for economic development, Riley encouraged the audience to focus on creating a community that welcomes and meets the needs of the people, aged 25-40, who will guide and sustain our rural future.
Over the day, attendees chose from 15 different breakout sessions that looked at the work of building a shared and resilient economy – ranging from an update on the Welcoming Communities program that is supporting New Vermonters, to a panel featuring high school students talking about their needs and aspirations as they consider their career prospects and whether to stay and settle in the region. 50+ attendees engaged in a conversation about increasing local civic engagement. Panelists also shared community success stories that attendees were encouraged to adapt for use in their own communities, such as Bennington’s pop-up shops and Guilford’s community pavilion. Leaders from Stowe and the Northeast Kingdom spoke about ways they have worked to strengthen connections between their recreational assets and the local small business economy. Another panel helped local business owners ‘demystify’ the process of working together to hire foreign workers for their seasonal workforce needs, expanding the available pool of workers in our region. Several sessions also focused on increasing the capacity of municipalities, with examples of successful cross-town collaborations and a panel on how to make the most of the “big money” currently available to towns by leveraging grant funds for big municipal projects.
Special events also took place throughout the day. These included a video by GNAT-tv detailing the progress of 4 projects selected as Vital Projects for the Southern Vermont Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, or CEDS (which can be viewed at https://gnat-tv.org/ceds-vital-projects/), and a recognition of 18 Emerging Leaders who were honored in an awards ceremony sponsored by Community College of Vermont (CCV), Shires Young Professionals, and Southern VT Young Professionals. Before lunch, an announcement was made that 3 local employers have pledged their support to BDCC’s Pipelines and Pathways Program (P3) which provides training and activities to Windham County high school students, ensuring the continuance of P3 for the next three years.
Over and over, attendees commented on how energizing it was to connect with such a wide array of people who are working to make their community better. Patricia Moulton, President of Vermont Technical College, remarked that her big takeaway was “how much more expansive ‘community and economic development’ must be in these and future times.” Another attendee remarked “that there is a lot of good work happening in the region, and people from other parts of the state are noticing.”
Program details and materials are hosted at the Summit Website: https://www.sovermontzone.com/2023-summit.
The Summit was made possible in part by this year’s Summit Sponsor, Brattleboro Savings and Loan, as well as the location sponsor, the Hermitage Club. Other major sponsors included MSK Engineering, M&T Bank, the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, and CCV. The Vermont Economic Development Authority, Efficiency Vermont, and the Richards Group also sponsored sessions. A full list of sponsors, including media sponsors, can be found at www.sovermontzone.com/summit.
The Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation and Bennington County Regional Commission host the Summit on behalf of the Southern Vermont Economic Development Zone. The Summit is part of the Southern Vermont Economy Project, which helps build capacity, expertise and resources in the Zone with support from the USDA Rural Community Development Initiative.
