In 2022, Putney community members turned out in record numbers to discuss the future of their town and choose priorities that would help move toward those goals. The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) and community groups are celebrating the momentum of Our Future Putney by coming together on January 29th at 6 pm at the Putney Central School to celebrate their progress. The event will include a free community dinner, time to connect with neighbors, and an opportunity to brainstorm points of vision for the future of Putney.
Our Future Putney was a 3-month Community Visit facilitated by VCRD to help the community identify and take action on important priorities. Community Visits help towns identify and prioritize goals, foster local leadership, and connect to resources to achieve their goals. Through the Our Future Putney process, community members chose three community priorities for action and signed up for task force groups to move them forward.
“The Celebration will be a chance for Putney community members to hear updates from their neighbors about what’s happening with downtown vitality, community gathering, and housing,” said Alyssa Johnson, VCRD Community Visit Program Director. “Local groups will be tabling and looking for volunteers to keep up the energy, and there will be an opportunity to brainstorm points of vision for the future of Putney. Whether you were part of the 2022 events or not, we hope all Putney community members will join us for a free dinner and opportunity to connect with neighbors.”
“So much has happened since the first Community Visit by VCRD,” said Mike Cosco, owner of the Putney General Store and chair of the Our Future Putney process. “Each of the three task forces accomplished a lot of important work and the stage has been set for the next chapter. We hope to see the same massive turnout on Jan 29 as we did in 2022 when this all began.”
Our Future Putney Celebration will be held on January 29th from 6 to 8pm at the Putney Central School with a free community dinner from The Putney Diner and Putney General Store. For more information on accommodations or transportation, contact Alyssa Johnson at [email protected] or 802-222-6896. To sign up for free childcare or to learn more about Our Future Putney, visit bit.ly/FuturePutney.
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 facilitated community processes with over 90 towns, resulting in hundreds of locally defined projects including new childcare centers, wastewater infrastructure, downtown redevelopments, and much more.