Randolph Will Kick Off

Forums on Vt.’s Future

What do Vermonters value, believe or worry about? What trends do residents see impacting their future and the future of the state?

The citizens of Randolph will have first dibs on answering those questions as part of a statewide discussion and listening session being initiated by the Council on the Future of Vermont (CFV).

The CFV announced Sunday its plans to hold forums throughout Vermont in 2007 and 2008 to listen to residents, as they describe their understanding of Vermont values, priorities, challenges and opportunities.

The CFV will begin this state-wide project in Randolph on Monday Nov. 19 from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Old Dorm Lounge at VTC.

Randolph has a good history of coming together for this kind of visioning session, most lately with the "Creative Communities" program, Council officials said. Its central location and the diversity of its economy and residents also helped steer Randolph to the head of the line.

In a release, project manager Sarah Waring explained that the Council on the Future of Vermont is building its work on the history of public dialogues in Vermont. About once a generation, she said, "Vermonters have ventured beyond the issues of daily life to take part in statewide conversation that considers where we are, where we are going, and the realities and trends that will influence our common future."

Such studies included the Commission on Country Life in the late 1920s and the Commission on Vermont’s Future in 1988. The goals of the CFV’s new project are to articulate Vermont values, to summarize important trends and conditions in the state and to provide a process that will inform community, state and federal leaders, and everyday citizens about the values, beliefs and attitudes that Vermonters share today about the state and its future.

"This project has a history in Vermont," says Richard Mallary, the former U.S. Congressman and state administration secretary, who now lives in Brookfield. "While town meeting is a place to discuss timely issues relating to your community, these forums will be place to think together about what the future holds for the state as a whole."

At the forums around the state, the council willl ask such questions as::

• What does Vermont mean to you? What common values do Vermonters share?

• What are the trends taking place across Vermont? What are the important qualities that Vermont must protect or maintain in the face of change?

• What characteristics make Vermont a place you want to live?

Forum Here Nov. 19

The first Community Forum will be held in Randolph, on Monday, Nov. 19, from 6.30 to 8.30 p.m. at Vermont Technical College’s Old Dorm Lounge.

"Everyone is invited;" Waring said. "This is a discussion for all Vermonters."

Local co-sponsors are Randolph Area Community Development Corporation, the Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission, Chandler Center for the Arts, the Town of Randolph, VTC, RUHS, Central Vermont Community Action Council, and the Chamber of Commerce. The Council on the Future of Vermont is a project of the Vermont Council on Rural Development with special partnership from the Vermont Community Foundation.

For more information, contact Sarah Waring at 223-6098 or cfv@sover.net.