REGION – Vermont Business Magazine announced the winners of the Rising Stars recognition award recently. Forty winners under the age of 40 were selected by a panel of judges based on a commitment to business growth, professional excellence, and community involvement.
This year, there were seven winners from Windham County: Juliette Carr of South Newfane, Samba Diallo of Brattleboro, Eric Durocher of Newfane, Conor Floyd of Bellows Falls, Maribeth Fonda of Brattleboro, Zach Rounds of Vernon, and Brittany Schmidt of Brattleboro.
All 2021 Rising Stars from Windham County were also selected as the 2021 Emerging Leaders of Southern Vermont Award. The Emerging Leaders initiative was created in 2017 to increase regional visibility and support for young leaders and to increase statewide recognition of southern Vermont’s young leaders. All Emerging Leaders who qualify for VBM Rising Stars are nominated. Emerging Leaders is a joint effort of Bennington’s Shires Young Professionals and Southern Vermont Young Professionals, a Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation program.
Casey Haynes, the BDCC’s talent specialist and new Southern Vermont Young Professional’s Coordinator, says, “Recognizing the amazing work of young professionals in our communities is critical to our long-term prosperity. Elevating our future leaders fosters an environment where creativity, innovation, and collaboration thrive, and we’re proud to have such a strong showing in our region!”
Since the establishment of the Emerging Leader recognition, 105 young professionals have been recognized and the number of Rising Stars from southern Vermont has increased substantially with an all-time high this year of nine winners from Windham and Bennington counties.
Of the 40 honorees, there are 24 women and 16 men. There are 15 from Chittenden County, seven from Windham County, six from Washington County, four from Rutland County, three from Addison County, two from Bennington County, one from Caledonia County, one from Orange County, and one from Orleans County. The average age of the honorees is 33 years old. The oldest is 39 and the youngest is 24 years old.