The 2009 VCRD Summit on the Future of Vermont marked a watershed point. It served as the official “report out” to Vermonters on the findings of the Council on the Future of Vermont. It turned their findings into a challenge to Vermonters, and especially the leaders gathered together for the day, to consider specific ways to work together to advance a positive vision for the future of the state. It shared ideas and directions with state, federal, non‐profit, and private sector leaders with the power to work together to advance them. It articulated the beginning elements for a five‐year plan of work for the Vermont Council on Rural Development (and our many partners) toward developing working teams of Vermonters at both the local community and state levels to address fundamental challenges ahead.
Over 500 Vermonters participated in the Summit process on May 11, 2009, coming from all parts of the state, from all sectors of government, business, non‐profits, and communities. Participants considered the values, visions, and conclusions of the two‐year Council on the Future of Vermont project and worked together in fourteen task forces to define concrete action steps that could advance key elements from its final report, Imagining Vermont: Values and Vision for the Future.