Charlie Hancock of Montgomery, the Franklin and Grand Isle County forester with the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, was honored Aug. 6 by the Vermont Council on Rural Development with the organization's 2024 Vermont Community Leadership Award.
The award is presented each year to celebrate Vermonters who exemplify “dedication, integrity and honorable service to community and to rural Vermont” and who have had a “transformational” effect on their communities.
Hancock epitomizes "the best of service to community," VCRD officials said. As a member and chair of the Montgomery Selectboard, he helped lead the community through several critical community-development initiatives, including a major village streetscape improvement project and municipal wastewater system.
Hancock is board president and co-founder of Cold Hollow to Canada, sits on the Vermont League of Cities and Towns Board of Directors, is a past vice chair of the State of Vermont’s Working Lands Enterprise Board, past chair of the Future of Vermont Action Team and former trustee of the Vermont Land Trust.