Peter Welch was mentioned in COMMENDING MR. PAUL COSTELLO ON HIS SERVICE TO THE STATE OF VERMONT….. on page E976 covering the 1st Session of the 117th Congress published on Sept. 14, 2021 in the Congressional Record.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
COMMENDING MR. PAUL COSTELLO ON HIS SERVICE TO THE STATE OF VERMONT
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HON. PETER WELCH
of vermont
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, September 14, 2021
Mr. WELCH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and honor my friend Paul Costello, who has served since 2000 as Executive Director of the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD), part of the National Rural Development Partnership established by Congress. Although Paul is retiring from VCRD, his legacy will continue in the projects and initiatives that he has inspired in rural communities across Vermont.
Throughout his years as Executive Director, Paul has established himself as a respected neutral facilitator of community conversations. Paul has a unique ability to unite diverse viewpoints and lead people to consensus, action and success. He is dedicated to the ideals of democracy and to the promotion of social and economic opportunity for all Vermonters. He is a patriotic enthusiast for civic engagement, energizing all who venture into his orbit.
Among his many activities, Paul coordinates the annual VCRD Governor’s Rural Summit to build federal and state cross-agency action plans. Each year he facilitates multiple community visits with teams of state, federal, non-profit and private leaders to help rural communities evaluate and prioritize opportunities, develop action plans, connect to resources and rally to action.
Over the past twenty years, Paul has produced and facilitated numerous Vermont Policy Councils and Community Development efforts including the Vermont Forest Products Council, the Vermont Agriculture Viability Council, the Vermont Council on Culture and Innovation, the Vermont Council on Planning, the Vermont Rural Energy Council, the VT Creative Communities Program, the Council on the Future of Vermont, the Vermont Working Landscape Council, the Vermont Working Landscape Partnership, and the Vermont Working Lands Coalition, the e-Vermont Community Broadband Project and Vermont Digital Economy Project, the Vermont Higher Education Food Systems Council, and the Vermont Climate Change Economy Council. Most recently, Paul has chaired the Governor’s Covid-19 Local Support and Community Action Team.
A native Vermonter, Paul obtained his B.A. and M.A. at the University of Vermont and earned a PhD in intellectual history at McGill University in Montreal. He has devoted a substantial part of his career to the cultivation of Vermont civic institutions, and the state is a better place because of it. I wish him a productive and fulfilling retirement.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 158
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