The Bennington Regional 250th Anniversary Committee
Chair: Jonah Spivak - jspivak@benningtonvt.org
Vice Chair: James Thatch
Members (in no particular order)
Jerry Albert, Megan Albert, Mary Lou Alberts, Nathan Allison, Mark Branca, Joyce Brewer, Katie Brownell, Bill Budde, Richard Caswell, Phyllis Chapman, Marylou Chicote, Katie Contrada, Alexandria Crowell, Mike Cutler, Christine DeLucia, Kelly Deponte, Mikayla Fisette, John Gagnon, Joe Hall, Terry Hamblin, Matt Harrington, Shawn Harrington, Phil Holland, Elizabeth Howe, Patricia Johnson, McKinley Keaffaber, Karson Kiesinger, Maru Leon, Martin Mahoney, Donald Miller, Mary Morrissey, Lyman Orton, Tim Payne, Sarah Perrin, David Pitlyk, Brooke Remington, Tyler Resch, Mia Schultz, Susan Sgorbati, Wendy Sharkey, Dick Smith, Robert Tegart, William Todd, Linda Toohey, Jill VanOrden, Paige Vignola, Patrick Winburn, Ed Woods and Susan Wright
Would you like to be part of the committee?
Please email jspivak@benningtonvt.org
These towns have signed the Vermont 250th resolution, supporting our efforts and the anniversaries:
Bennington
Manchester
Sunderland
Arlington
Pownal
Shaftsbury
Fundraising
We are fundraising to support three years of Commemorative Events occurring from 2025 through 2027, celebrating Vermont’s 250thanniversary. It is anticipated that these will include one or two regional events each year, support for the restoration of monuments, development of new creative works and educational programs, in addition to other special 250th related projects.
The regional Bennington 250 Committee meets quarterly. The committee is regional and includes the southwestern Vermont area, primarily Bennington County, as well as nearby New York.
The committee is a volunteer organization dedicated to planning for the upcoming 250th anniversaries in 2025-2027. A list of the goals of the committee was established over the course of the summer and fall of 2022 and is provided below.
To further the work of the committee, a steering committee was created that meets monthly, as well as a number of task forces to work on specific projects. Both the steering committee and task forces report back to the full committee for requests for support and assistance, and approval of action items. Members are invited to join in task forces that are of interest to them. Additions to the steering committee can be made by the full committee and will be revisited annually in the fall.
We are a component of the overall statewide 250th commemorative effort which is being led by the Vermont 250th Anniversary Commission which was created by Governor Phil Scott in 2021. Two of our members, Martin Mahoney and Jonah Spivak, are commissioners appointed by the Governor to serve on that commission. The Bennington 250th Committee is also working with neighboring states and the Federal American 250th effort as part of our work.
SCOPE & PURPOSE of the Bennington 250th Anniversary Committee
• Regional
• Support, Plan, and Fund Events
• Inspire Next Generation of Stewards of our History
• Honor the Battle / History
• Honor Seth Warner Regiment / Green Mountain Boys / Sipp Ives
• Umbrella for related events / organizations
• Encourage visitation to historic sites
• Community Building
• Promote Pride in Community & Civic Engagement