Vermont Business Magazine On Thursday, April 28, all Brownington community members are invited to join a free community-wide dinner, live music, and the opportunity to play a key role in developing new ideas for the future of Brownington and work towards achieving a vibrant, prosperous, and dynamic future.
This is the first of a three-part series of facilitated discussions to engage members of the community to brainstorm ideas and identify top priorities for the town. Residents are encouraged to join the process to share their thoughts for the future and play an active role in implementing actionable steps and progressive change for Brownington.
Community members in attendance will participate in a series of forums to discuss assets, challenges, and opportunities for action within four focus forums being held throughout the evening. The four forum topics were chosen by a Steering Committee representing individuals from Brownington with diverse backgrounds and experiences. All members of the community are invited and encouraged to attend on April 28 to kick-off the “Brownington Connects” process. Community members will be joined by a Visiting Team of State, Regional, Federal, and Non-Profit experts and leaders who are there to listen in, share reflections, and sign on as a resource to support the community as they begin this work.
Participants are encouraged to attend the forums that they are most interested in. Forum topics and times include:
· 4:30 – 6:00 pm - Community Connection & Communication
· 4:30 – 6:00 pm – Businesses in Brownington
· 7:00 – 8:30 pm - Recreation, Entertainment & Fun
· 7:00 – 8:30 pm - Infrastructure: Roads, Broadband, Cell
A free community dinner will break up the forums at 6:00 p.m. along with live music by local musicians Phil and Eileen Baker. All forums and activities will be held at the Brownington Central School. School staff will be on site to provide free childcare.
For those unable to attend in person a separate virtual forum option is also available and can be found at bit.ly/BrowningtonConnects. Masks will be encouraged and made available to all in-person attendees.
The process is facilitated by the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD), who was invited to the community by the Brownington Selectboard. VCRD is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the advancement of Vermont communities. In the past 20 years, VCRD has worked with over 80 communities throughout Vermont to bring residents together through their facilitated and structured process to share ideas and move toward common solutions.
“At this first meeting, Brownington residents are invited and encouraged to share their ideas for the future of the community - and we hope to hear as many ideas from as many people as possible," says VCRD Executive Director, Brian Lowe. “We are looking forward to working with Brownington, listening to local priorities for the future, and helping connect to resources that can support community-driven initiatives for the future of the town."
Parts two and three of the broader community process will take place on Wednesday, May 25 and Thursday June 16 when all residents will be invited to champion action ideas, set priorities, and have the option to sign up for task forces to take on each priority initiative. The final step will also include a visiting resource team of Vermont leaders to help support the work of the new task forces with technical and financial resources as they create action plans to move their priorities forward.
"The Brownington Selectboard and Planning Commission are very excited to be working with the Vermont Council of Rural Development at this moment in Brownington's history. We are asking all residents to please come together on April 28 with their neighbors!” says Brownington Slectboard Chair, Beverly White. “This process will encourage feedback and help us come together to recognize our greatest priorities, as well as the most critical challenges that we face for our Town.”
Brownington Connects is funded with support from the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, Northern Borders Regional Commission, and VCRD members and donors.
For more information, bit.ly/BrowningtonConnects visit or contact VCRD at 802-223-6091 or [email protected].
Vermont Council on Rural Development
The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of the locally-defined progress of Vermont's rural communities. VCRD is a dynamic partnership of federal, state, local, nonprofit and private partners. Actively non-partisan with an established reputation for community-based facilitation, VCRD is uniquely positioned to sponsor and coordinate collaborative efforts across governmental and organizational categories concerned with policy questions of rural import. The organization has successfully completed 83 community visits, resulting in locally defined projects like new childcare centers, wastewater infrastructure, and downtown redevelopments.