BRATTLEBORO — This past year has presented enormous challenges for southern Vermont, but it also offered unique opportunities for ordinary people to support their communities in crucial ways.
Community members are being asked to identify extraordinary individuals by nominating young professionals from the Windham Region (encompassing Windham County and the towns of Readsboro, Searsburg, Winhall, and Weston) or Bennington County to be honored as one of this year's Emerging Leaders of Southern Vermont.
The annual recognition - cosponsored by the Southern Vermont Young Professionals Steering Committee and the Shires Young Professionals Steering Committee - highlights those young professionals who went above and beyond during this unprecedented time.
Nominations are due by Monday, March 15, and can be submitted using a brief online form at sovermontzone.com/emerging-leaders. Nominees must be between 21 and 45 years old and must live or work in Bennington County or the Windham region. Previously recognized emerging leaders will not be honored again. One may submit as many nominations as they like.
Typically, Emerging Leaders are honored at the annual Southern Vermont Economy Summit. With the 2020 event canceled due to the pandemic, last year's 31 Emerging Leaders were recognized with a press release, highlight reel, and a locally made gift from Better Wheel Works. This year's competition will follow a similar model.
As in previous years, all eligible Emerging Leaders will also be nominated for the Vermont Business Magazine (VBM) Rising Stars competition. In the past two years, 12 southern Vermont Emerging Leaders have become Vermont Rising Stars.
The purpose of the Emerging Leaders nomination is to highlight and honor Young Professionals in their roles as leaders and change-makers in the southern Vermont economy and community. For more information, email Sarah Lang at slang@brattleborodevelopment.com.
The Southern Vermont Economy Summit is an initiative of the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation's Southern Vermont Economy Project (SVEP).
SVEP works to stabilize, improve and expand the rural economic and workforce development network in southern Vermont. Its goal is to increase capacity and collaboration among partnering organizations and communities.
For more information on the summit, visit SoVermontZone.com/summit.