Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation’s Southern Vermont Economy Project Receives Excellence in Economic Development Award from the International Economic Development Council
Washington, DC – Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) won a Bronze Award for the Southern Vermont Economy Project (SVEP) in the Resiliency, Recovery and Mitigation category of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC)’s 2020 Excellence in Economic Development Awards Program. The honor was presented at an awards ceremony during the IEDC Annual Conference last week.
SVEP is made possible through funding by USDA Rural Community Development Initiative, BDCC, and municipal investment in Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies. Adam Grinold, BDCC’s Executive Director, credits SVEP Program Manager Sarah Lang with the program’s success, “Gaining traction for new rural economic development programs can be extremely challenging. Sarah’s enthusiasm and passion for her work are only outmatched by her skills and talents in building relationships and establishing meaningful program engagement.”
“It is an honor to be receiving this recognition from IEDC for the Southern Vermont Economy Project,” said Sarah Lang. “I feel grateful to work closely with the regional and community partners that make this work possible. SVEP helps local projects succeed, which makes southern Vermont more vibrant and thriving.” The Southern Vermont Economy Project 2.0 provides webinars, small conferences, mini-summits, technical assistance and training to help advance local economic and community development projects that are critical to creating prosperity in rural Southern Vermont. When SVEP began in 2016 it focused on building capacity around economic literacy in our region. With a new round of funding from USDA RCDI in 2019, SVEP 2.0 continues the successful work with a greater focus on helping communities and non-profits increase their capacity around designing, funding and implementing great economic and community development projects.
IEDC’s Excellence in Economic Development Awards recognize the world’s best economic development programs and partnerships, marketing materials, and the year’s most influential leaders. 35 award categories honor organizations and individuals for their efforts in creating positive change in urban, suburban, and rural communities. Awards are judged by a diverse panel of economic and community developers from around the world, following a nomination process held earlier this year. IEDC received over 500 submissions from 4 countries.
“The winners of IEDC’s Excellence in Economic Development awards represent the very best of economic development and exemplify the ingenuity, integrity, and leadership that our profession strives for each and every day”, said 2020 IEDC Board Chair and One Columbus CEO Kenny McDonald. “We’re honored to recognize the more than 100 communities whose marketing campaigns, projects and partnerships have measurably improved regional quality of life.”
About the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC)
The Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) 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, Winhall 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. This BDCC activity was made possible in part by a grant from the State of Vermont through the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. For more information visit: https://brattleborodevelopment.com/
About the Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS)
Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) is an affiliate of BDCC that grew from a 2008 grassroots effort, initiated by BDCC, to understand and create long term strategies needed 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 received federal approval for the Windham Region’s federally recognized S.M.A.R.T. Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). SeVEDS partnered with Bennington’s Regional Economic Development Group in 2018 to develop the 2019 Southern Vermont Zone CEDS. For more information visit: www.seveds.com
About the Southern Vermont Economy Project
The Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation’s Southern Vermont Economy Project provides training and technical assistance to increase local capacity, skills, and resources in order to advance local projects critical to Southern Vermont achieving community, economic, and workforce development goals. In its second round of funding by the USDA Rural Community Development Initiative, SVEP 2.0 partners include; the Towns of Rockingham, Brattleboro and Bennington; the Windham Regional Commission; Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies; Bennington County Regional Commission; Bennington County Industrial Corporation; Readsboro Hometown Redevelopment Inc.; and Bellows Falls Area Development Corporation. For more information please visit: https://brattleborodevelopment.com/svep/
About the International Economic Development Council
The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) is a non-profit, non-partisan membership organization serving economic developers. With more than 5,000 members, IEDC is the largest organization of its kind. Economic developers promote economic well-being and quality of life for their communities, by creating, retaining and expanding jobs that facilitate growth, enhance wealth and provide a stable tax base. From public to private, rural to urban and local to international, IEDC’s members are engaged in the full range of economic development experience. Given the breadth of economic development work, our members are employed in a wide variety of settings including local, state, provincial and federal governments, public-private partnerships, chambers of commerce, universities and a variety of other institutions. When we succeed, our members create high-quality jobs, develop vibrant communities, and improve the quality of life in their regions. Learn more at iedconline.org.
