Southern Vermont flood recovery officers hired

Inquiries may be directed to:
Laura Sibilia at 802-384-0233 or by email atlsibilia@brattleborodevelopment.org
Susan McMahon at 802-257-4547 or by email at susan@sover.net
William Colvin at 802-442-0713 x. 1 or by email at bcolvin@bcrcvt.org

FOR RELEASE: 
Friday February 22, 2013
Southern Vermont flood recovery officers hired
Summers and Woods will lead revitalization efforts in Windham and Bennington Counties
The Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation has announced the hire of Anthony Summers and Wendy Rea Woods to Southern Vermont’s two federally funded flood recovery officer positions.  The flood recovery officers will work collaboratively to expand the capacity of public officials and economic development organizations in work effectively with businesses and encourage the development of innovative public/private approaches to economic restructuring, revitalization and resiliency in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene.
Summers, of Spokane, WA, recently graduated from Eastern Washington University with a Master of Urban Planning and a Master of Public Administration. While in graduate school, Anthony held an outreach position with Eastern Washington University’s Business Resource Center where he worked with small business owners to develop environmentally responsible business practices. It is Anthony’s interest in working directly with business owners and community members to improve economic conditions in Southeastern Vermont that drew him to the Flood Recovery Officer position. Anthony looks forward to applying his abilities to assist with identifying immediate and long-term solutions for strengthening the region’s economy.
Woods, of Dorset, VT, career has been focused in the non-profit sector where she has developed her programming and community outreach skills working with and advocating for women and families.  She was a featured speaker both in national and local media markets on the topics of non-violence, issues pertaining to diversity and women’s rights in the Middle East.   She has coordinated community-wide projects with YWCAs and United Ways in Connecticut and Vermont and identified human and financial resources to achieve social stability and positive economic impact. Her most recent project has been forming a citizens’ committee that serves as liaison between the public, state agencies and a contracted consultant to study the feasibility of passenger rail restoration to southwestern Vermont.
The positions and project are possible due to an award of $472,000 in disaster recovery funds by the US Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration to the Windham Regional Commission (WRC) and the Bennington County Regional Commission (BCRC). This EDA investment supports disaster recovery capacity building for the Southern Vermont region and is funded through the FY 2012 Disaster Relief Opportunity administered through the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Each disaster recovery investment is intended to support a community’s long-term recovery, spur job creation, leverage private investment, and promote disaster resiliency.
Summers and Woods will work collaboratively on the two county project with Summers based at BDCC’s Brattleboro office and Woods based out of the Wilmington Town Offices.
More information on the project can be obtained athttp://windhamregional.org/ or http://www.bcrcvt.com/
About WRC:
In the absence of county government, the Windham Region Commission provides the essential link between local, state and federal government.  A public entity, constituted by law and required to meet statutory obligations, the Windham Region Commission is an important resource to the 27 towns of the Windham Region in Windham, Windsor, and Bennington counties.  Its mission is to assist towns in Southeastern Vermont to provide effective local government and work cooperatively with them to address regional issues.  Towns choose to be members of the WRC.
About BCRC:
The Bennington County Regional Commission was created by the seventeen towns and villages it serves and works with and 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.
About BDCC:
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. The primary objective of the BDCC is to create and retain a flourishing business community in the Windham Region that supports vibrant fiscal activity, and improves the quality of life of all its residents. BDCC is affiliated with the State of Vermont as the certified Regional Development Corporation (RDC) serving the greater Windham County area.  BDCC is one of 12 RDCs throughout Vermont.  In this capacity, BDCC serves the twenty-seven towns of Athens, Brattleboro, Brookline, Dover, Dummerston, Grafton, Guilford, Halifax, Jamaica, Londonderry, Marlboro, Newfane, Putney, Readsboro, Rockingham, Searsburg, Somerset, Stratton, Townshend, Vernon, Wardsboro, Westminster, Weston, Whitingham, Wilmington, Windham and Winhall.