Vermont Business Magazine Members of the business community are invited and encouraged to register for the Southern Vermont Economy Summit on May 12 at Mount Snow in Dover, VT. The Summit is a learning and networking event focused on the long-term development of Southern Vermont’s economy. It’s a time to gather, think big, learn something new, ask questions and – most importantly after two years of the pandemic – make stimulating personal connections with people from our region and beyond.
A Passing the Torch workshop explores business transition strategies and succession planning as an opportunity for both retiring business owners and aspiring young entrepreneurs. A panel of experts will be moderated by Alyssa Baldino, a local emerging executive currently involved in the acquisition of a company in transition. The panel includes Tommy Vorio, Development Director, Ready For Next Cities (RFN), Tammy Richards, Business Broker, Country Business Inc., Debra Boudrieau, Area Advisor, VT Small Business Development Center, and Matt Cropp, Executive Director, Vermont Employee Ownership Center , at .
In another session, Advisor Daniel Schoener will moderate a panel titled “Recognize the Elephant in the Room: Prepare Your Business for Change and See Opportunity.” Passionate about radical innovation, Schoener is an active mentor in New England’s innovation ecosystem, who up-and-coming start-ups supported in diagnostics, digital health and clean tech.
A key theme of this year’s summit is creating welcoming communities. In a session dedicated to creating welcoming and diverse workplaces, Summit participants will be able to have a direct conversation with employers in the region. In the morning, keynote speakers from the new Brattleboro Refugee Resettlement Office will address regional efforts to accommodate people displaced from Afghanistan. Özge Savaş from Bennington College will offer a workshop on the cultural and psychological context for new Americans and what it feels like to start life anew in our community.
As always, a key focus of the Summit is community development and revitalization. National expert Daniel Herriges will offer two workshops: “Housing for a Strong Town” and “Jumpstarting Main Street”. Herriges is Senior Editor and Founding Member of Strong Towns, a preeminent organization dedicated to revitalizing small and rural communities.
To wrap up the day, Summit attendees will enjoy a themed networking session where everyone is invited to come face-to-face with speakers, sponsors, and colleagues from across the state and region—something we’ve missed over the past two years to have . Visit https://www.sovermontzone.com/summit for a full schedule, workshop descriptions, expert and speaker profiles, and to register to attend
The Summit is made possible by Summit Sponsor People’s United Bank along with session and keynote sponsors Brattleboro Savings and Loan, MSK Engineering and the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, among many other community sponsors. Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation and the Bennington County Regional Commission are co-hosting the event on behalf of the Southern Vermont Economic Development Zone and as part of the Southern Vermont Economy Project, which helps build capacity, expertise and resources within the zone. The aim of the event is to build knowledge, dynamism and partnerships in our region. To learn more about past Summits, to view workshop recordings and presentation materials, visit sovermontzone.com.
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