For the past five years, Chamber & Economic Development of the Rutland Region (formerly Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce and Rutland Economic Development Corporation) has been working to attract new individuals and families into Rutland County through our Regional Marketing Initiative – Real Rutland. The campaign just wrapped up its fifth year of what is currently a ten-year plan and CEDRR has reached that time of year where we’re seeking sponsors for the 21/22 fiscal year.
CEDRR’s Executive Director, Lyle Jepson, and Communications & Community Engagement Director, Kim Rupe, are at the height of revisiting the municipalities who have continuously supported Real Rutland to give an update on the status of the campaign, share some updated statistics, and request continued funding support to market the region and increase the county-wide population.
In addition to visiting towns throughout Rutland County, CEDRR staff will also be revisiting businesses that have supported the campaign in the past as well as several new businesses to request funding for the work in an effort to increase our overall population and specifically the Rutland County workforce.
Since the start of our work to increase our Region’s population, CEDRR has seen over 100 individuals (equaling over 50 families) relocate, specifically through the Real Rutland Concierge Program. We are seeing success first-hand and the impact that these individuals and families are having throughout Rutland County as employees, friends, neighbors, and fellow community members.
Through our Real Rutland Concierge Program, we have over 25 active volunteers who are passionate about this region and enjoy meeting new people. These volunteers are introduced regularly to an individual (or family) considering a move to Rutland County. They answer questions about the region and help facilitate networking opportunities. Many times, these volunteers go above and beyond to ensure that families feel welcome by meeting them while they are in the area visiting to show them around and simply make new friends. We often call our Concierge Program our “secret sauce” in helping navigate a move and highlighting what a great place the Rutland Region is to live, work, and play.
The work of Real Rutland would not be possible without the ongoing support from our ongoing sponsors. This past fiscal year we were incredibly grateful to all of our sponsors, including the towns of Brandon, Castleton, Danby, Fair Haven, Killington, Middletown Springs, Pittsford, Proctor, Rutland Town, and West Rutland, as well as Rutland City. In addition to our municipal sponsors, we also thank our business partners including Cape Air, Casella Real Estate, Casella Waste, Community Health Centers of the Rutland Region, Foley Distributing, GE Aviation, Green Mountain Power, Heritage Family Credit Union, Killington Resort, Omya, Russell Construction Services, Rutland Regional Medical Center and VELCO.
Businesses interested in becoming a sponsor for Real Rutland should reach out to Executive Director, Lyle Jepson.
