(12/1/2011) – A group of local artists and entrepreneurs have banded together to showcase their community – the town of Cambridge and its village center, Jeffersonville. Known as CAE or Cambridge Artists and Entrepreneurs this collection of business owners, professionals and artisans collaborated with e-Vermont to build the Cambridge Vermont Community Portal www.cambridgevt.com. CAE’s mission is to create a strong and sustainable business environment through “communication, area marketing and promotion, event sponsorship, community action and outreach.”
Cambridge is a diverse rural community known for its abundance of recreational opportunities, spectacular natural resources, vibrant businesses and farms, and is home to a large community of artisans. Located adjacent to Chittenden County and at the base of the Smugglers’ Notch Recreational Area, Cambridge has become an attractive destination for Vermont’s residents and visitors.
Steve Reed, owner of Tradewinds Images DBA and one of several Cambridge business owners who spearheaded the development of their community portal commented “We had a great group of community members meeting each week, all willing to volunteer their time to create an online presence to promote local businesses. We wanted to create a resource where tourists and locals alike could discover and contribute to community gatherings and events. With all of our good intentions we could not have gotten the Cambridge Artists and Entrepreneurs web portal off the ground without the contribution from e-Vermont.”
CAE received assistance from e-Vermont to create a website that is “All Things Cambridge.” e-Vermont funds were used to contract with a local web developer to build a portal that is informative, visually attractive, linked to other local resources and easily updated via a simple administrative site. The portal offers a business directory, calendar of events, public safety and emergency response information (including real time data from Cambridge Rescue’s Lamoille River Gauge), local video clips, and links to other community organizations.