Can Windham and Bennington counties recruit employees and market to tourists more effectively by working more closely together? This is the key question a project underway by a host of Southern Vermont partners will answer. A public meeting to present the findings of initial research will be held on Thursday November 15th at 6 PM at the Wilmington Town Meeting Room.
The Southern Vermont Sustainable Marketing Project has been named as a high priority project in economic mitigation plans for the announced closure of Vermont Yankee and as a Vital Project in the Southeastern Vermont CEDS due to be released on December 5th.
The project is twofold: Atlas Advertising of Denver Colorado has been contracted to develop both a brand for Southern Vermont and a sustainable marketing mechanism for employers and tourism entities to utilize in leveraging their collective efforts to yield more effective results.
Working with the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC), Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS), Bennington Regional Chamber of Commerce, Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce, Mount Snow Valley Chamber of Commerce and Manchester and the Mountains Chamber of Commerce, Atlas has researched perceptions and needs from visitors, employers and tourism entities. On the 14th, they will present initial findings which will drive the next stage of the Southern Vermont branding development.
Atlas Advertising was chosen from the Southern Vermont Sustainable Marketing Project from amongst a pool of responders to a request for proposals issued in March.
The $100,000 Southern Vermont Sustainable Marketing Project (SVSMP) is being funded by Windham Regional Commission (WRC) and the Bennington County Regional Commission (BCRC) from their $472,000 disaster recovery grant from the US Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration. That EDA investment also supports disaster recovery capacity building for the Southern Vermont region by having established two flood recovery offices that expand the capacity of public officials and economic development organizations to work effectively with businesses and encourage economic restructuring, revitalization and resiliency.
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Laura Sibilia
Director Economic Development
Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation
76 Cotton Mill Hill
Brattleboro, VT 05301
www.SeVEDS.com
www.brattleborodevelopment.com
work 802-257-7731
cell 802-384-0233
