Richmond Area Business Association

On April 19^th, Tom Hark and Chris Brown appeared before the Richmond Selectboard to formally submit committee members for approval and to provide an update about the progress already achieved on a number of economic development fronts.  Select board members are supportive of the work accomplished to date.  Congratulation to approved members Chris Brown, Deborah Shelby, Shem Roose, Amy Lord, Anne O’Brien, Dan Giangreco and Ben Bush.  Anyone else interested in helping us out?  Please join us Monday May 3^rd, 7pm at On the Rise for our monthly meeting. This group has great energy and has made great progress on a number of initiatives over the past few months.  This work includes:      

Agricultural Hub / Community Kitchen: In an effort to promote collaboration and help to build sustainable business and community growth, the Richmond Economic Development Committee is spearheading a local “Food Shed” mapping project.

The goal of this project is to gather the region's agricultural data in a central location, and interactively structure it to produce educational and collaborative outcomes. This information will be used to promote and grow our agricultural economy, build support for a proposed commercial kitchen venture, and create new opportunities for sustainable economic growth in the region.

The "food shed" model begins with seeds, working its way around the circle through local food producers and restaurants, making its way back to composted soils. Our food shed includes Bolton, Huntington, Richmond, Hanksville, Jericho and Williston Village. If your business operates in this area and falls into one of the following categories, you may submit your information.

• seed/nursery
• farm (including sugar houses)
• transportation & equipment service
• processing & storage (includes independent food producers) distribution consumer (includes CSA, market, food shelf, school) restaurant/catering compost  (includes worm farms) education/resource land trust/conservation

We are asking local food producers to assist on this project by providing answers to the questions listed on the following page:

http://richmondvermont.com/index.php?option=com_rsform&formId=5&Itemid=99999

Richmond Wedding Destination: REDC hosted a wedding destination summit on April 26^th at On the Rise Bakery. (Thanks to Ben at OTR and RABA for the pizza and bagel bits and Anne O’Brien for taking minutes and helping to facilitate!)  25+ local business and community members participated in lively discussion that explored ways for our area wedding businesses to work together to promote the amazing venues and services we can provide to wedding parties search the Vermont Wedding Destination experience.  An informal poll indicates the Richmond area currently hosts 100 +/- wedding per year.  At an average cost of 23K per wedding, this is a valuable and sustainable economic boost to our region.  To sustain and boost the amount of weddings held in our area, the group identified the following action plans:

1.  REDC will create a list of area wedding venders that will be available online as well in hard copy.  This will be a valuable resource for prospective wedding parties looking for local services to fulfill their wedding dreams.  It will also provide an easy opportunity for local vendors to refer business back and forth.  If you have a business that would benefit from this list and would like to participate, please contact Chris Brown at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

2.  REDC will create a Richmond Wedding Destination Facebook page.  The goal will be to create a page that links to vendors in the area that can be used to further promote the Richmond area as a great place to have a destination wedding.

3.  The second wedding destination conversation will occur (FILL IN TIMES) at Bolton Valley Resort.  Please join us!

Music and Arts Summit: Thursday, May 20^th from 7 – 9 pm, REDC will be hosting a Music and Arts Summit at the Monitor Barns in Richmond.  The evening will feature live music from the local Celtic band, The Highland Weavers as well a forum where community members can explore additional opportunities to build the already significant offerings of music and arts activities.  We anticipate a large turnout for this FREE event.  Mark your calendars, tell your friends and join us for this event!  Questions can be directed to Chris Brown at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it