Southern Vermont “Get on Board” Program Seeks to Engage and Train Emerging Civic Leaders
Above: Shaftsbury Select Board member Martha Cornwell speaking at the Southern VT Economy Summit | Photo: Kelly Fletcher
Article by Chris Mays
Original article appears at https://www.reformer.com/business/get-on-board-prepares-next-generation-of-leaders/article_8149cc5e-2fae-11ee-b258-0b74f10a7628.html
BRATTLEBORO — A new program is set to prepare new members of all types of boards to lead their communities and know what roles are right for them. Get On Board sessions begin in October and end in early January. “Depending on who is in the course, we’ll invite appropriate local leaders from their community to come in and meet them,” said Meg Staloff, Southern Vermont Economy Project manager at Brattleboro Development Credit Corp. “We’re reaching out across both Bennington and Windham counties, and we’ll get to also use it as a way for people to get a chance to explore the region a little bit.”
The sessions occur over four Saturdays in different locations in the two counties with three shorter remote sessions in between. Lunches will be provided by local restaurants.
Having been on the Wilmington Planning Commission and worked on different community projects, Staloff noticed the difficulty in getting people to volunteer and serve on boards. “We see on the one hand, we need a lot of volunteers, and on the other hand, we see a lot of volunteers who might not be able to be as effective as they would want to be,” she said.
BDCC borrowed the model for the new program from one that had been offered at the Marlboro College Graduate Center, which focused on nonprofit boards. Get On Board will be looking at a wider array of civic engagement opportunities.
Part of the program is about helping people learn how to “interact with their local government in a constructive way” and keep civil discourse civil, Staloff said. One homework assignment will involve going to a school board or select board meeting and making notes or coming up with questions about the process.
Staloff said the plan is to have people who serve on boards, committees, commissions or rotary clubs answer questions such as, “What do you love about your role? What do you wish you knew when you started? Who helped you? How did you learn how to do what was needed from you as part of that role?
A representative from the Vermont League of Cities and Towns is going to discuss the different roles of local government such as the Select Board, Planning Commission and Development Review Board. The Council on Rural Development will conduct a community project leadership class.A conversation about how to make government more inclusive and equitable will be held. The last session is for leadership coaching and making a personal plan for action in the community.
Staloff said the program isn’t just about recruiting local leaders but giving them tools and resources to become effective. “I hope we’ll be able to help towns get involved in the process of recruiting people and training them, understanding what it takes to really get people engaged in a way that’s going to be lasting and healthy,” she said. “If this all goes well, we’ll definitely run this again.”
With this being the first iteration, Staloff said, “We’re very open to learning as we go and always improving the curriculum and the timing and the locations.” Like the annual Southern Vermont Economy Summit, she plans to improve upon the program over time.
At the summit in May, a sort of preview of the program was offered in a panel on “Increasing Local Engagement.” Last month, Staloff and other staff reached out to young professionals groups across the region to discuss scheduling and content of the Get On Board sessions.
The course costs $150. Scholarships and child care stipends are available.
Money for the program comes from the USDA Rural Development, which funds Staloff’s work with the Southern Vermont Economy Project. She hopes some towns will sponsor residents interested in joining.
“It should be a pretty well rounded course,” Staloff said, hoping to register about 20 and 25 participants.
Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis now through Sept. 29 at sovermontzone.com/get-on-board. Staloff can be contacted at mstaloff@brattleborodevelopment.com or 802-257-7731 ext. 222.
