BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Article VI (of the Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce Bylaws) – Executive Committee, Board of Directors, and Nominating Committee

[Sec]. 1 – The Executive Committee of the Chamber shall be a President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Treasurer and Past President, all elected for two-year terms by the membership. They shall be voting members of the Board of Directors

Executive Committee (2024)

Shannon McLenithan - President
Senior Vice President of Residential Lending at The Bank of Bennington
smclenithan@bennbank.com

Maru Leon Griffin - Vice President
Co-owner of Mt. Anthony Country Club/ The Grille
Maru@mtanthonycc.com

Bill Deveneau - Treasurer
Owner & Principal Attorney at William C. Deveneau, Esq. PLC
wdeveneau@veracityfg.com

Brenda Jones - Ex Officio
Owner and Realtor at KW Real Estate Brenda Jones Group
Brenda@benningtonhomes.com

Sec]. 2 –The Board of Directors shall be no more than eighteen (18), which shall include five (5) officers, with no less than twelve (12) board directors at one time.  The Board of Directors shall be a fair representation of leadership across the region. The terms of the directors shall be broken down in the following manner:

  1. Directors shall serve three (3) year terms with one (1) year as an introductory period.

  2. Directors shall serve four, 3-year terms with a max of twelve (12) years.  A board approval is needed for re-election after time away from board.

  3. Any officer, once their officer term limit is completed, shall go back to complete their term year before they became an officer. 

[Sec]. 3 – During September of a given year, the President of the Board shall appoint a Nominating Committee of at least three (3) members.  The Committee shall prepare and submit a list of nominees for all Officers and Board member prepared in accordance with the Bylaws to the Membership not later than November 15 for a vote by mail or electronic communication. The voting shall close at 4:00 pm, fourteen (14) days after the ballots are mailed, and the results announced the following day.  Members shall be given the opportunity to write-in candidates for Board positions not included on the Nominating Committee’s ballot.  A write-in candidate shall be elected to the board when the number of write-in votes exceeds the number of votes cast for the nominated candidate. All Officers and Directors, elected in compliance with these Bylaws, shall take office on February 1 of the following year.  The retiring President of the Board shall preside at the Annual Meeting.  

Board of Directors [2024]

 
 

Young Leadership on Board Policy of the Southwestern Vermont  Chamber of Commerce Board of Director
Adopted: September 17, 2020 

The Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce believes that in order to create a modern, fresh, energetic organization it must continually bring new leaders into the organization.  

While Vermont’s population has been effectively flat for over a decade, its composition is changing rapidly. A growing share of Vermonters are over 50. With no population growth this means a steady decline in the proportion of Vermonters who are in the early stages of career and business development, as well as family formation.

As part of the chamber’s effort to provide broader inclusion in the organization,  the Board of Directors for the Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce strive to have a board make up of 25% of board members under the age of 40 when they join the board to encourage development, leadership skills, creative and critical thinking, and the future advancement of the organization.

The Board of Directors for the Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce include in the above policy, a permanent voting seat for the current Shires Young Professionals chair to serve as one of the board of directors.

Carolyn Gilbert
Shires Young Professionals Chair