Retention, relocation and moving forward in Vermont with GROW
Originally published in The Bennington Banner ( December 31, 2024)
Understanding the allure of Vermont and finding a way to move here comes down to logistics, planning and housing but also a sense of community and job security. Luis Lascari was recently brought in as the specialist locally for a new state-backed program called GROW (Grants For Relocation Outreach Work) with the focus of helping to facilitate the recruitment and relocation of working age adults specifically in the 24-45 year-old range. This is a demographic where Vermont falls behind compared with the rest of the United States. Lascari spoke with the Banner about perspective, approach and the importance of connection in helping foster this new program in the Bennington area.
Lascari moved from Texas four years ago and originally worked in Brattleboro for about a year and a half. “Brattleboro was my first kind of Vermont experience.” He then moved to Wilmington ...”and that is when I feel that I started to see kind of the real Vermont. There's just more of a laid back attitude." After that, he explains, when he came to Bennington, "it was completely new to me.” He began his new position in April.
Lascari had worked in economic development in Laredo, Texas, specifically in international economics, specializing in foreign direct investment. He worked with Mexican companies helping to establish American bases so they could grow, sell and create jobs along the border. Laredo is consider one of the bigger land ports in the country, Lascari explains. “It's a massive transportation town with its logistics. So my role was to sort of help create more local jobs in that region.” The irony is that he had studied philosophy and literature at Texas A&M University so, in a way, he says, it was very strange transition. He says the job in Laredo wasn't as much a public facing job as his new role in Bennington is. But in both, the context is that “how you speak to people about these things is just as important sometimes as the substance of it." He says "everyone has an opinion on how the economy should grow, how our society should look and how our community should be built. Coming from purely that economic perspective, [those kinds of discussions] can sometimes rattle people.” But it is about approaching the conversations in the right way which, in the current climate, comes down to housing, education, jobs and community involvement.
In explaining GROW, Lascari says that the program is really the state's mission from an initiative led by Governor Phil Scott. He continues that previously the state used to do relocation grants. Vermont, as a state, had grown in population throughout COVID. But recently, “we've seen a lot of that trickle away. The rate of growth has definitely decreased.” The aspect now becomes about new approaches.
“I think GROW is built on two branches: one of them is relocation, and the other one is outreach. So outreach is finding those people who move here and connecting them to the community.” Lascari uses the example of the Shires Young Professionals, whom he believes, in this scenario, is very important in terms of connections. “But I wasn't given a blank slate. I was given hard data.” Vermont Futures provided a lot of those numbers. “So between 25 to 45 year olds, there's a massive gap between us here in Vermont and other states.” Lascari describes this demo as early career people, middle managers and middle execs. “These are the people that start small businesses too. They are also building families. So that's our target…
