2024 5th Vermont Community Leadership Summit - Vermont Council on Rural Development

On August 6, 2024, hundreds of community builders from across the state came together with over 100 presenters and panelists to engage with each other, make new connections, celebrate community successes, build leadership skills, talk through challenges facing communities, and think proactively about the future. The day was an opportunity to dig into what it takes for a community to thrive – capacity, economic vitality, emergency preparedness, youth engagement, inclusion, and more – and offered a diverse range of topics tailored to support and connect people in all aspects of local vitality and resilience through workshops, panels, and networking sessions. New this year were optional participation pathways which attendees could choose to follow:

Climate Resilience and Long-term Recovery
Youth Leadership and Engagement
Understanding and Solving Our Persistent Challenges

We also presented the Vermont Council on Rural Development’s 2024 Community Leadership Award to Charlie Hancock, and closed with Ben & Jerry’s ice cream!

Participants included youth; community organizers and volunteers; people with lived experience with critical challenges facing our communities; experts and technical assistance providers; regional, municipal, state, & national leaders; and others working to improve the economies and quality of life of their communities. Nothing gets done in Vermont communities without the people who put themselves on the line for their town and for the issues they care about.

Summit Resources

4th Vermont Community Leadership Summit Program (agenda, speaker bios, sponsors)
Agenda with Session Descriptions
Summit Participant List
Photo Album
Video produced by GNAT TV

And here are some slides and resources shared by Summit presenters and panelists:

W1. Project Management 101: From Vision to Planning to Implementation
W4. Community Engagement: Building Trust and Impact
W6s. Increasing Housing Options in Your Community
W7. Moving Through Conflict: Difficult Conversations in Complex Situations (presenter was not able to attend, but shared her slides)
P6s. Water, Wastewater: Building Community Support, Decision Points, Innovative Solutions
- Lynette Claudon of the VT Dept of Environmental Conservation offered these resources:
  - https://dec.vermont.gov/village-wastewater
  - https://rcap.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/RCAP-Getting-Your-Project-to-Flow-Smoothly.pdf
P11(c). Planning, Adaptation, Action! Strategies for Community Implementing Resilience
- F2P’s Vermont Food Security Road Map
P12. Universal Accessibility in Your Community
P16. Small Towns, Big Challenges: Exploring Regional Collaboration
- Leslie-Ann Dupigney-Giroux of UVM offered these ways to connect if you have questions for her:
  - https://www.uvm.edu/cas/geography/profiles/lesley-ann-dupigny-giroux
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesley-Ann_L._Dupigny-Giroux
N3. Connecting with Resource Leaders to Discuss YOUR Project
- Kevin Lambert from USDA RD shared these resources:
  - Website: https://www.rd.usda.gov/vt-nh
  - Program Menu: https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services
  - Agency Listing: https://www.usda.gov/our-agency/agencies
  - Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant (CF): https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/community-facilities/community-facilities-direct-loan-grant-program
  - CF Technical Assistance & Training grant (CF TAT): https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/community-facilities/community-facilities-technical-assistance-and-training-grant
  - Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG): https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/business-programs/rural-business-development-grants
  - Rural Energy for America Program loan and grant (REAP): https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/energy-programs/rural-energy-america-program-renewable-energy-systems-energy-efficiency-improvement-guaranteed-loans
  - REAP Technical Assistance Grant (REAP TAG): https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/energy-programs/rural-energy-america-technical-assistance-grant-program
  - Electric Infrastructure Loan & Loan Guarantee (EIL): https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/electric-programs/electric-infrastructure-loan-loan-guarantee-program
  - Water & Waste Disposal Loan & Grant (WWDLG): https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/water-environmental-programs/water-waste-disposal-loan-grant-programN3. Connecting with Resource Leaders to Discuss YOUR Project. Kevin Lambert from USDA RD shared these resources:
  - WWDLG TAT: https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/water-environmental-programs/water-waste-disposal-technical-assistance-training-grants

Leadership Award

2024 Community Leadership Award – Charlie Hancock

VCRD’s Vermont Community Leadership Award celebrates Vermonters who exemplify “dedication, integrity and honorable service to community and to rural Vermont,” and who have had a “transformational” effect on their communities. We present the award to highlight the work of community heroes who epitomize the best spirit of local community service, who volunteer their time, and who have made their community better.

This year, the Vermont Community Leadership Award was presented to Charlie Hancock of Montgomery Vermont. Charlie epitomizes the best of service to community. His contribution of time, energy and skill, and his unwavering commitment to Montgomery and to Vermont has been extraordinary. While on the Selectboard in Montgomery, he helped lead the community through several critical community development initiatives including a major village streetscape improvement project and municipal wastewater system, a project prioritized in Montgomery’s 2018 Community Visit process. Charlie shows up for his community and Vermont in so many ways. He has been chair of the Montgomery Selectboard since 2016, is vice-chair of the Vermont Land Trust Board of Trustees, sits on the Vermont League of Cities and Towns Board of Directors, and is vice-chair of the State of Vermont’s Working Lands Enterprise Board. Charlie also served as the chair of the Future of Vermont Action Team, a group convened by VCRD to advance the elements of the Vermont Proposition. All that while working as a full-time forester, currently serving as the Franklin and Grand Isle County Forester with the Vermont Department of Forest, Parks, and Recreation.

It’s an honor to recognize Charlie for his tremendous community leadership and celebrate all of the skills, talents, and dedication he brings to Montgomery and to his work and volunteerism across Vermont.