Heart & Soul of Essex, Essex Jct., VT

The Town of Essex and Village of Essex Junction are overlapping municipalities grappling with how their futures fit together. For more than 50 years, residents of the two municipalities have debated the merits of merging or separating. Spearheaded by a network of local partners, residents of the Town (from inside and outside the Village) undertook a joint visioning process to find common ground. The question is not whether to merge or separate, but how they can work together to lay the groundwork for an enduring future.

Susan McCormack & Liz Subin co-coordinated this two-year initiative which engaged 1,000 community members in innovative ways to uncover common values, create a shared vision and identify actions to move forward.  

This process created a reservoir of energy, good will, and common ground that has inspired many positive community changes in the years following the initiative.  The town plan, which was built around the community values identified through the Heart & Soul process, won 2016 Plan of the Year from the Vermont Planners Association and the Northern New England Chapter of the American Planning Association.  Multiple school districts in the village and town and the neighboring town of Westford voted to merge.  Other enterprises were inspired by the Heart & Soul work, including Essex Eats Out, a weekly free community dinner, and most recently, the opening of several coffee shops and restaurants in town (a key desire expressed by Heart & Soul participants) including Nest Coffee Shop and Bakery in the village.   heartandsoulofessex.org