The Vermont Community Foundation recently held its Annual Meeting at the beautifully restored Grand Isle Lake House. This building once housed Camp Marycrest from 1957-1993, then lay dormant for a few years before the site was donated to the Preservation Trust of Vermont, and found a new life in its current incarnation.

A couple of us from FreshTracks made the trek up to the Islands, as the VCF has been an investor and supporter of both FreshTracks I and FreshTracks II for the past 8 years. During the business meeting, Faith Brown, acting CEO of VCF announced that their venture capital investments had resulted in 11 Vermont companies being financed and the creation or retention of 350 jobs, with FreshTracks comprising a substantial portion of those statistics. Faith also promoted the VCF’s Understanding Vermont website which is a great resource for everyone interested in investigating the “issues that shape Vermont communities”.

The Dave G. Rahr Community Service Award was presented to Marcia Perry, who has spent many years dedicated to the cause of providing affordable healthcare to the citizens of Franklin and Grand Isle counties through her tireless work with the Richford Health Center, which includes medical and dental facilities, a 5 week summer camp for area children, management of the ambulance service, Richford Pharmacy and medical clinics in Enosburg Falls, Swanton and Alburg.

The sun eventually set on the evening with a glow of the Green Mountains in the distance over Lake Champlain as entertainment ramped up in the tent. Two recipients of VCF grants treated the crowd to their own unique musical stylings, first Bella Voce Women’s Chorus of Vermont, then Donald Knaack, AKA “The Junkman”. While attendees networked with old friends and new on the Lake House porch, lawn and under the tent, “The Junkman” treated the crowd to an eclectic set of original percussionistic rhythmic compositions, all played on 100% recycled materials that he has sourced and styled for his stage act.

The VCF annual meeting was a great opportunity to connect with a number of people from VCF, as well as the Vermont philanthropy community as a whole. We certainly enjoyed an evening in the Islands, and it seemed that all the other attendees did as well. For those of you who would like to learn more about VCF, please visit their website by clicking here: Vermont Community Foundation.