SoVT Faces in Economic Development: Matt Harrington, Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce

Meet Matt Harrington, the Executive Director of the Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce. We’ve asked him to tell us about some exciting projects they are working on and what economic development means to him.

“Here are some of the projects the chamber is currently working on:

Chamber Celebrations – providing ribbon-cutting, celebratory events for businesses who are doing big things (anniversaries, milestones, expansions) within our region.

The Bennington Made Show – this award-winning TV show is a behind-the-scenes series that showcases unique Bennington businesses making Bennington products.  With a focus on quality, craftsmanship, and locally-made products, the series puts a spotlight on the pride and celebration of products made by residents of Bennington.

Shires Leadership Series – A competency-growing initiative to provide a series of relevant, classroom-style, half-day workshops in order to build the needed skill development for area employees.  These workshops will create skills to help employees better manage, coach and lead the workforce in Southern Vermont.

Regional Visitors Guide and Regional Mobile App – Producing the first-ever Shires of Vermont Regional Visitors Guide with over 100 pages directing visitors and tourists to the best parts of the Shires. Being unveiled in the next month, in partnership with New England Newspapers, we are launching the Shires of Vermont mobile app to help those tech savvy travelers find the best arts, entertainment, dining and lodging scenes in the Shires!

The Chamber Website and Community Calendar – this newly redone, dynamic, content-rich website provides the visitor with necessary information on events, places to eat and stay, and ways to relocate to one of the most pictresque New England towns in southern Vermont.  The community calendar works in real-time and is updated daily with member’s events and projects.

There was a saying in my household of 8 while I was growing up, “many hands make light work.”  Economic development is about finding challenges within our economic ecosystem and collaborating with many people of diverse talents to find the best solution to overcome those challenges.”

Be sure to “like” the Southern Vermont Economy Project on Facebook to follow the rest of this series happening during Economic Development Week!