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Sustainability Fair Organized by Montpelier Community Crew

This summer VYCC hosted its second Leadership Retreat at the Leadership, Education and Training Center, which was attended by our Community Crews. At the retreat Corps Members developed the framework for projects that focused on their leadership ability as well as sustainability in their communities. These projects ranged from cleaning up a local park to growing food for VYCC crews.

Crew members from the Montpelier Community Crew developed a Sustainability Fair to raise awareness for action in their community. The Fair will take place on Saturday, October 13th in Montpelier. The event will feature live music along with information from Vermont sustainable businesses and organizations. For more information about the event contact sustainabilitymont@gmail.com, or read the crew-created flyer! (pdf)

VYCC staff will follow up with Corps Members this month about the projects they planned at the retreat. If you have a project you’d like others to know about, contact Cara Butterly at 802.434.3969 ext. 144 or cbutterly@vycc.org.

Last Chance to be a part of Denim and Diamonds!

We have sold over 140 tickets, but there are still a few seats left at the second annual Denim and Diamonds event on Saturday, October 13th, 2007!

This fundraiser supports our programs, which have grown significantly since our move to the Leadership, Education and Training Center. The event will be comprised of a seated dinner by Dish Catering and live music by the Chrome Cowboys, and you will also have the opportunity to place bids at the silent auction or try your luck at Games of Chance. It is an event not to be missed!

We are still looking for a few good silent auction items to help round out our offerings. Gift certificates, tickets, jewelry, furniture and more are welcome, and all proceeds from the auction will directly benefit the Corps! For more information, to buy tickets, or to make a donation, check out the event website, or contact Polly Goddard at 802.434.3969 ext. 130 or polly@vycc.org.

Statewide Lakes Inventory Continued!

This fall, in partnership with the Natural Resources Board (NRB), the VYCC Lakes Crew completed Phase II of the Statewide Lakes Inventory Project which was begun by a VYCC Crew last fall.

The goal for this year’s Lakes Crew was to visit public access points on all Vermont lakes over 20 acres and install permanent Use of Public Waters (UPW) signage. The signage displays rules and regulations developed by the NRB that will inform the public about how to safely enjoy Vermont’s public waterways. Equipped with GPS units, cordless drills, bolts, and wrenches, the VYCC Lakes Crew traveled all over the state in teams of 2-3 to install UPW signs at each access point that they visited, and successfully completed Phase II of the project on September 28th.

A special thank you goes out to Crew Leaders Kendra Stedman and Carl Ciarcia, as well as AmeriCorps National Direct Members Kristen Burg, Jamie Heinchon, Kristina Kaminski, Paul D’Agnolo, and Jessie Upton for their work in making this project a success.

To learn more, visit the Conservation and Community Leadership Program webpage.

Alumni Rendezvous 2007

On October 6th , the third annual Alumni Rendezvous brought many people to the West Monitor Barn from all over the country! These alumni represented many different crews and projects throughout VYCC’s history. The day was filled with pumpkin carving, cider making and our highly competitive crosscut saw competition.

VYCC’s own Matt Dragon and Lisa Passerello took the crosscut competition crown with the fastest time and their names will be engraved on an honorary saw as the 2007 champions. Choose your partner early and get in some practice before next year’s competition!

New and exciting things will be happening to our alumni program this upcoming year and plans are already in the making for next year’s Rendezvous which will happen on October 12, 2008. For more information visit our Alumni program webpage. If you have any suggestions or ideas for alumni events please contact Cara Butterly at 802.434.3969 ext. 144 or cbutterly@vycc.org.

West Monitor Barn Weathervane Dedicated

At the Rendezvous VYCC dedicated the barn’s weathervane in memory of John A. Osmond, former chair of the Board of Directors and VYCC enthusiast. A replica of the barn’s original weathervane, the bronze bull will be installed atop the cupola of the West Monitor Barn. The weathervane was crafted by John’s son John Jr. and Eric Bauer of Bauer Art Metal in Waterbury with over 200 hours of time invested in it. The weathervane installation signifies the completion of the West Monitor Barn project which began in 2001 and raised over $3.3 million.

For information on how to donate to this project contact Kate Villa at 802.434.3969 ext. 110 or kate@vycc.org.

First Annual Trails Symposium

The first annual Vermont State Trails Symposium hosted by the Vermont Trails and Greenways Council coincided with the Rendezvous and was a huge success with twenty attendees! The Symposium held six workshops which ranged from learning trail design and layout to technical aspects of moving rock, a bbq lunch, and a series of awards. To learn more about the council visit www.vermonttrailsandgreenways.org.

Project Profile: Thundering Falls Reroute Open for Hikers!

In 2005, the VYCC joined the Green Mountain Club in the effort to relocate a section of the Appalachian Trail near Thundering Falls in Killington, Vermont.

The goal of the project was to reroute a half mile of the trail through a more remote area rather than having it coincide with a public road. Eight VYCC crews worked on the project over a three year span, building spectacular rock staircases, breaking new trail, building boardwalks, and making an overlook to the Falls accessible to those with disabilities. A few finishing touches will be made next summer in order to make the entire section accessible for all. A special thanks to all of the alumni from those crews that worked so hard on this project!

Read more about this project in the September-October 2007 issue of A.T. Journeys, which features an article about the Thundering Fall reroute. For more information on how to sponsor a VYCC crew contact John Leddy at john@vycc.org or visit our Projects webpage.

Brattleboro Retreat Trail Celebration

Two years ago VYCC became involved in a project with the Windham Foundation and the Brattleboro Retreat to revitalize nine miles of public trail network in Brattleboro.

VYCC sent two crews to Brattleboro to work on this project for a total of eight weeks of work, and on September 19th a public celebration was held in honor of the project’s completion. The 2007 Brattleboro Community Crew and 2007 Roving 7 Crew helped stabilize eroded sections and maintain overgrown areas. The project was sponsored by The Windham Foundation, Retreat Healthcare, an anonymous donor, Entergy Corporation, the Crosby Foundation, and the Dunham-Mason Foundation.

For a map of these trails click here (pdf). For more information on how to sponsor a crew contact John Leddy at john@vycc.org or visit our Projects webpage.

Quote of the Month

“I learned that by living in the woods with eight random people, you can make some of the best friends you will ever have.”” – Liz Refino, 2007 Roving Corps Member

Faces behind our Success

Polly Goddard joined the VYCC headquarters staff in 2003 as the Director of Field Programs. There she supervised three successful field seasons, building the VYCC’s strongest program teams in our history before transitioning into the role of Communications Director.

Having an impeccable skill for organization, Polly worked to update and reorganize our organizational database and has laid the foundation for VYCC’s facility rental operations. Polly even led a Disaster Relief crew in December 2006 to help repair damage from Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf region!

She currently serves as the Associate Director, and is helping to manage our second annual Denim and Diamonds event. A member of the Corps’ Leadership Team, Polly has contributed immeasurably to the organization, and we will be sad to see her go as she moves to Cape Cod in October to join her family. Thank you Polly for all that you’ve done!

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