Spring Update

Local Economy
New Local Homebrew Shop & Taproom Opening Soon!

We reported last Newsletter on a new brewery opening up in Essex Junction. We are happy to update that 1st Republic Brewing has now opened the "Homebrew Shop" portion of their store. They carry many homebrew supplies in store and online. They hope to open their brewery and taproom around May 2016. Keep updated with this new business on Facebook and via their website. Stop in to the shop at 39 River Road and welcome them to Essex!

Community Connections
Essex Eats Out Celebrates 2 Year Anniversary

In April 2016, Essex Eats Out will be celebrating their two-year anniversary. In the last 2 years, they've served over 10,000 meals to our friends and neighbors. EEO says, "It all started when Essex clergy and community leaders got together to discuss how best to feed our neighbors who hunger for food, relationship, and connection. The goal of EEO is to continue to provide healthy, free meals in a warm, safe, and inclusive atmosphere for years to come." This is Community Connections at it's finest. 

the first ever “EEO: Where Do We Go From Here?” meeting will take place on Thursday, April 14, 2016 at 5:30 PM at St. James Episcopal Church. St. James is located at 4 St. James Place in Essex Junction. They ask that you bring a dish to share as the event will be a potluck supper.

RSVP: essexeatsout@gmail.com
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Safety
EMS Peer Leaders - Value Spotlight

EMS has an amazing team of Peer Leaders. Those leaders conduct a series of workshops with all grades in the school to create a culture of kindness and respect. They target issues that feel relevant to the students, and create a lesson around them. Along with classroom work, the Peer Leaders recently hosted a workshop at a regional conference in Burlington, and attended a conference in Boston, where they led a discussion on racism. This group does an excellent job of promoting and maintaining safety in their schools, which is why they were chosen for this month's Value Spotlight.

Check out the video!

Health & Recreation
Essex Parks & Rec Opens New Studio

Essex Parks & Rec has a new program space opening up! "Sunset Studio" will have it's grand opening on April 30th. The new space will be offering many classes, from Zumba to Kids Dance. Located at 71 Center Road, the new space will list it's classes in the Essex Parks & Rec Summer/Spring Brochure. See you at the grand opening!

Essex Parks & Rec Summer/Spring Brochure

Thoughtful Growth
Essex Wins 2016 Town Plan of the Year Award

This year, the Town of Essex won the Vermont Planners Association (VPA) 2016 Town Plan of the Year.  This year's Plan was different in scope, length, participation, design, and creativity than any Plan in Essex’s planning history. The Community Development Team worked extremely hard to include community voice in the plan and to focus on what matters most to the people that live and work in Essex. Because of this intentional outreach and communication, the Essex Plan won by a “landslide”. It is exactly this type of thoughtful growth that Heart & Soul is proud to see happening in our community. ​

Education
Robert Travers of CTE Wins Principal of the Year Award

Robert Travers, Director of the Center for Technology Essex, has been named as a recipient of the Vermont Principals Association 2016-17 Principals of the Year Award. The award recognizes Mr. Travers for outstanding educational leadership. Winners of the award are those who "shaped a vision of academic success for all students, created a climate hospitable for education, cultivated leadership in others, improved instruction and managed people, data and processes to foster school improvement." Congratulations, Robert. 

More info about the award and the event via the press release