Fairfield
What does Vermont mean to you?:
A state of great natural beauty, rich heritage, and ideals of both tolerance and community spirit that are sometimes in conflict. Huge potential for developing solutions that could be replicated elsewhere. Small enough that each person matters. Big ideas.
What common values do Vermonters share?:
Many Vermonters share an optimitstic hands-on attitude that insists that problems are fixable, and that we are the ones to fix them- if we could only agree on how...but for many, basic survival is taking up most of our energy and time, so their voices aren't often heard.
What challenges and opportunities do we see for our communities and state?:
Life is keeping families so busy, and funding issues are keeping non-profits so busy, that there isn't enough communication between different groups and organizations.We're small enough to make it work- we could be a model for larger places.
What should our priorities be as we work together to prepare Vermont for the future?:
Communication between groups and with the community at large is the key- we can't afford to waste resources by re-inventing the wheel in each program or town. The larger issues are all related- let's take a broader, community-wide approach to solving them.
How do your thoughts about Vermont's values, future challenges and priority issues apply to YOUR community?:
If we could create better means for communicating across Franklin and Grand Isle counties, we could accomplish so much more- the economy, the environment, health, education, youth and age- these should not be worked on as though they were separate issues
