Via Community News Service, a VTSU-Castleton internship, for the Poultney Journal
RUTLAND — After transitioning her post from Poultney to Rutland, one county native is looking forward to building community projects and giving back through her experience.
Earlier this year, Sarah Pelkey was named director of economic development for the Chamber & Economic Development of the Rutland Region. Pelkey most recently served as community development director for the Town of Poultney.
Pelkey has had a unique work history. After graduating from the University of Vermont, she worked for construction companies and interior designers. For 15 years, Pelkey worked for a Middlebury architecture and graphic design firm, where she said she learned about community development and revitalization. She then found herself in Poultney.
Pelkey began working part-time as community development director in 2019 following the town’s reception of a Rural Development Grant and shifted to full-time in 2023. She said the town had evolved since the closing of Green Mountain College in 2019.
“We did a lot of planning work for revitalization, growing outdoor recreation and the economy. There were new members in the community, too, because people came to Vermont during (COVID-19). It was a great time to be doing the work and bringing in community development and bringing people together,” she said.
In her role, Pelkey worked closely with the Poultney Downtown Revitalization Committee to encourage community engagement and support local events like Poultney MapleFest. She also led initiatives involving grants from the Department of Housing and Community Development, which included a municipal merger study and Municipal Energy Resilience Program projects.
Laura Williams, executive director of the Poultney Downtown Revitalization Committee, vouched for Pelkey’s effectiveness.
“She was our liaison to local government. So much of the work that she did directly overlapped with the mission values of downtown: economic development, holidays, historic preservation, she said.
Williams said Pelkey has “action-oriented positivity,” which brought partners to the table. Pelkey always knew how to make the proper change for the community, she said.
Pelkey said her transition from Poultney to Rutland is still in the works, adding that knowing the county well made it easier to manage. In 2022, she worked for the Rutland Regional Planning Commission, which was focused on an economic development strategy.
“Having that experience was really helpful to understand economic goals. I’m relying on some of those existing relationships and planning documents to sort of support the new goal,” she said.
Pelkey added that although she has changed titles and her work now focuses on the regional level, she is still able to connect with Castleton, Fair Haven and Poultney community members.
“Although she’s not working for Poultney directly, we haven’t lost her,” Williams said. “She’s a continued resource. She’s using Poultney as a metaphor and continues to advocate for us at that regional, county, state level.”
Russ Marsan, president of the chamber’s board of directors, spoke on Pelkey’s hire in a letter to community members in late January.
“Sarah brings strong regional experience in community and economic development, most recently serving in leadership roles with the Town of Poultney and in regional planning and outdoor recreation initiatives,” he wrote. “Sarah will lead efforts to attract, retain, and expand businesses, manage grant and loan programs, and strengthen regional partnerships across Rutland County.”
Pelkey said that her first few months at the chamber have consisted of grant writing and getting up to speed on current county projects.
“It’s less smaller scale projects now and more of the bigger projects that are having an impact in the county,” she said.
Pelkey said when she’s not at work, she can be found spending time with her daughter and husband, outside in the summer or snowboarding in the winter.
The Town of Poultney plans to advertise Pelkey’s former position soon, town manager Paul Donaldson said. In the meantime, the town has hired two workers on contract to address more urgent matters. Donaldson said he’ll present more information to the town board at future meetings.