Southern Vermont Economy Summit Returns May 23rd

Registration now open; 2019 theme: “Investing in Southern Vermont’s Future”

The 3rd Annual Southern Vermont Economy Summit will take place on May 23rd at the Grand Summit Lodge at Mount Snow in Dover, Vermont. Registration is now open at www.SoVermontSummit.com. The perennial event’s focus is to connect economic development practitioners, private and public sector employers, investors and all levels of government and from across Southern Vermont’s Bennington and Windham Counties. Speakers and sessions for the day long event are chosen and structured in order to share knowledge and best practices relevant for increasing capacity and collaboration in the region. This year’s theme is “Investing in Southern Vermont’s Future”.

The 2019 Summit speakers and sessions will focus on strategies for developing the regional economy, from financing business growth and infrastructure, to strategic investments in workforce and community development. Sessions highlighting workforce strategies for today and the future, town and village development fundamentals, building community resilience, and financing community projects will complement the “Regional Economics 201” session which offers a deeper dive into Southern Vermont’s economic data. Trade experts will convene for a session on opportunities and impacts of the current trade environment on this region’s businesses.

The day also features a celebration of this year’s local Emerging Leaders, completion of the Windham and Bennington County 5-year 2019 Southern Vermont Zone Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) and announcement of the 2019 Vital Projects.

The Summit is an annual event which grew out of the establishment of the Southern Vermont Economic Development Zone, a special region encompassing Windham and Bennington Counties (plus the Town of Weston), authorized by the Vermont Legislature in May 2015. A Study commissioned at that same time called for the creation of a Southern Vermont Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). The 2019 Southern Vermont Zone CEDS was completed early in 2019.

The Summit is hosted by the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation, Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies, Bennington County Regional Commission, Bennington County Industrial Corporation, and Bennington’s Regional Economic Development Group. The 2019 lead sponsors are Brattleboro Savings and Loan and the Bank of Bennington. Other major sponsors include: USDA Rural Development, Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, TPW Real Estate, Stevens & Associates, Green Mountain Power, Vermont Electrical Power Company (VELCO), Marlboro College, The Richards Group, and the Edward Jones office of Joshua Roberts. Media sponsors include New England Newspapers and Front Porch Forum.

For more information about the summit, a link to registration, and the complete agenda, visit www.SoVermontSummit.com, or contact Sarah Lang at 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. Our partners are Bellows Falls Area Development Corporation, Rockingham Arts and Museum Project, Great Falls Regional Chamber of Commerce, Windham Regional Commission, Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategy, Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce, Strolling of the Heifers, Readsboro Hometown Redevelopment Inc., Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce, Bennington County Regional Commission, Bennington County Industrial Corporation, Town of Bennington, and the Bennington Downtown Alliance. For more information please visit: https://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, 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. 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 Industrial Corporation

Bennington County Industrial Corporation (BCIC) is a non-profit economic development corporation. It is overseen by a board of business people and professionals from throughout Bennington County, Vermont. Its office is in Downtown Bennington. BCIC’s mission is to promote quality jobs in Bennington County. It provides services and information to businesses, runs an industrial incubator, does development projects, and advocates policies that support its mission. For more information visit: www.bcic.org

About the Bennington County Regional Commission

The Bennington County Regional Commission created the Regional Economic Development Group (RED Group) in early 2017, in response to a directive from the Vermont General Assembly to establish a steering committee “to serve as the foundation for economic development work in the Bennington County region.” The RED Group meets monthly to review and discuss internal and external economic development issues that affect southwestern Vermont, consider the regional implications of local economic development issues, and pursue options for future initiatives across Southern Vermont​.

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: https://brattleborodevelopment.com/update-southern-vermont-economic-development-zone/

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: https://brattleborodevelopment.com/ceds-overview/