DOVER -- The agenda for the Southern VT Economy Summit is now live and can be found at www.sovermontzone.com/summit, along with a link to register.
The Southern Vermont community and business leaders will join hosts Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) and Bennington County Regional Commission (BCRC) at Mount Snow in Dover on May 12 for the 9th annual Southern VT Economy Summit.
The theme of this year’s Summit is “Envision. Act. Grow!” Attendees are urged to lean into these imperatives as they work together to tackle our region’s biggest challenges. Breakout sessions at the event are centered around the findings of the 2024 SoVermont Zone Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), further emphasizing the regional nature of this work.
Sarah Waring, the executive director of the Northern Border Regional Commission, is this year’s keynote speaker. Waring will discuss the important role that federal agencies play in supporting economic and community development in rural communities. She’ll also explore the importance of having a regional perspective and how we, as community leaders, can continue to envision and work towards growth for our region in an economic and funding environment marked by instability and change.
Throughout the day-long event, breakouts will cover topics on a wide variety of subjects. Panels are designed with multiple audiences in mind. Community and municipal leaders can choose from sessions on creating, accessing, and leveraging data for actionable economic development, learning how the local option tax can open up economic development options, or investigate how leveraging pre-development funding at the municipal level can open up investment in housing development. Business leaders can explore leadership succession and shared leadership models that work, learn how new businesses are taking advantage of shifting systems for a climate-ready future, or understand how new partnerships between academia and economic development institutions are empowering business and workforce development.
The final sessions of the day are set up as roundtables and interactive discussions where attendees can make connections with speakers, funders, and colleagues from across the state and region. From a resource room full of technical assistance providers (for businesses and municipalities alike) to roundtable conversations about the important role that arts and culture play in our regional economy and how regional business coalitions are empowering our rural businesses, attendees will leave the Summit with a plan to put new ideas into action.
BDCC and BCRC host the Summit on behalf of the Southern Vermont Economic Development Zone. The Summit is part of the Southern Vermont Economy Project, which helps build capacity, expertise and resources in the Zone, with support from the USDA Rural Community Development Initiative.