Arlington - The Economic Development Committee of the Arlington Area Renewal Project will be hosting an informational meeting with local representatives of The Shires of Vermont on Thursday, February 1 at 5:00 PM at the West Mountain Inn. "The Shires of Vermont is a consortium of commerce, local agencies and governments, business leaders, and cultural attractions who are interested in promoting this unique and beautiful area." "Anchored by Bennington, the South Shire, and Manchester, the North Shire, it is a collective of 15 quintessential Vermont Towns & Villages connected by a scenic ribbon of highway known as Historic Route 7A." For more information on The Shires ahead of the meeting, please visit their website at www.theshiresofvermont.com.

The Economic Development Committee has identified as their first tangible task to identify businesses that currently exist in the greater Arlington area and develop a database of contacts as well as services offered. To that end, this is the first official outreach effort by the committee to area business people to facilitate networking opportunities that may exist within our community. If you are a business in the Arlington area or are just interested in the initiative but unable to attend Thursday evening, please don't hesitate to reach out to the committee co-chairs Amie Emmons (amie@westmountaininn.com) or Allan Tschorn (sarkaczmal@aol.com). Hope to see you there.