Author Archives: Michael
16,633 Recommendations, 11,498 Lost and Found Postings, and 3,572 Crime Reports and more Help Keep It Rolling
This past year, Front Porch Forum helped a LOT of Vermonters find plumbers and lost pets, and keep watch when prowlers roamed. Many neighbors have found FPF’s service invaluable. And… we need your help to keep it going strong.
Please become a Supporting Member today and help us reach this years $75,000 statewide goal. Contribute here:
http://frontporchforum.com/supporting-members
Neighbors use FPF to connect and build community in hundreds of ways… organizing block parties, reporting vandalism, finding snow removal help, rallying in the face of crisis, sharing Town Meeting info, and much more. As a member from Huntingtons FPF said, “To have this staggering amount of connectedness is invaluable. You are getting the bargain of your life.
We’re working hard to improve Front Porch Forum — now available in every Vermont town! — and we need your help to make it all happen. Each fall we pass the hat among FPF members asking for contributions to help provide this service.
Every dollar counts… whether it’s a few, or a hundred, it all adds up to make FPF vibrant in your community: http://frontporchforum.com/supporting-members
We also accept checks, payable to…
Front Porch Forum
PO Box 64781
Burlington, VT 05406-4781
Heartfelt thanks from the FPF team!
P.S. FPF is not a charity and contributions are not tax deductible. Ad sales to Vermont businesses cover part of our expenses, and your annual supporting-member contributions help close the gap.
Front Porch Foursome
Posted on the Jericho FPF today by Ted…
My daughter and I went to Harvest Market today, like thousands of others. It was a great 40th anniversary event, and I especially liked a new group… Front Porch Foursome… four women who met on Front Porch Forum and played in front of the church. They were great! I hope they put out an album… soon. Thanks, ladies.
Surveying neighbors made easy
A growing number of Vermonters are using their local Front Porch Forum to survey their neighbors about a wide variety of issues. From the Burlington Free Press this week…
Westford selectboard member Alex Weinhagen knows a thing or two about rural Vermont towns, but when he sent out a survey through Front Porch Forum to his Westford neighbors he got schooled.
This survey asked if potholes should be used as a speed deterrent. Seventy percent of respondents shot down the idea.
The online survey received 80 responses in less than 48 hours. Ninety-eight people responded total…
POSTED IN WINOOSKI – portraits in response to FPF postings
UPDATE from Dan…
PHOTO RECEPTION @ the BLOCK GALLERY in WINOOSKI
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9TH, 5-7 PMStop in and view the photographs I am exhibiting that put a face on Winooskis Front Porch Forum. The portraits, made in collaboration with subjects, give a visual dimension to postings and neighbors you may know by name only. Also take time to enjoy the variety of topics that include live chickens, a bocce team, F-35s, a colossal sub, perky dogs, book readers, fallen trees, farmers market, artworks, postal clerks, an impressive hedge trimmer, a VFW barbeque, lawn sales, a grammar lesson, and of course pedestrian frustration over crossing Winooski’s problematic roundabout.
The exhibit will be up all month, at the Block Gallery in downtown Winooski, with a reception that is open to the public on Thursday, October 9th, 5-7 PM.
I hope to see you there.
Come see longtime local artist and UVM professor Dan Higgins’ exhibition…
POSTED IN WINOOSKI – portraits in response to FPF postings
Month of October
The Block Gallery and Coffeehouse
1 East Allen Street, Winooski, VT
Generous East Montpelier neighbors donate Kindles for students
Judy posted on her East Montpelier FPF yesterday…
Thanks to the generous people on Front Porch Forum, I have 3 Kindles for my emerging middle school readers. This means a lot to them (and to me), as they are reading voraciously, but the books they’re enjoying are well below the reading level of their peers. And of course, they’re teased for their choices. Having Kindles means no one knows exactly what they’re reading, so they can read to their heart’s content at their level. Thank you from my students and from me!
Vermont’s Western Slopes Business Assn Q&A about Front Porch Forum
Thanks to the good people of the Western Slopes Business Association for inviting Front Porch Forum co-founder, Michael Wood-Lewis, to share some of our story. Check out the video clip from Mt. Mansfield Community TV…
WSBA Business Association Breakfast Meeting: Michael Wood-Lewis from Mt. Mansfield Community TV on Vimeo.
Vermont inventor uses neighbors to test prototypes
From today’s Burlington Free Press…
Doug Hartwell, founder of Bitybean, developed an UltraCompact Baby Carrier, a business that he has launched…
“… when we got closer to our final prototypes, I actually put an ad on Front Porch Forum saying: ‘Looking for Moms with Babies.’ Whenever we changed something in the prototypes or materials, I’d call them up and ask them to meet somewhere where they could try it on and tell us what they thought. One of those moms became the model for our first promotional material…”
“Bitybean was named one of the top 10 innovative products in the whole industry. That was huge break for us as it came just as we launched the business.”
More and more Vermont small businesses are using FPF to find customers, make hires, and complete research such as Doug. In a recent survey, 58% of the respondents shared that FPF helps local companies gain information valuable to their business.
Sunderland Selectboard takes action to fill vacant Town positions
Reported in the Manchester Journal yesterday…
In other business, [the chairman of the Sunderland Selectboard] said there has been discussion lately on Front Porch Forum, the social media site… about town government and… how to get more people involved in local government. He said Sunderland has been having trouble filling open positions, some of which include compensation…
“These positions are open routinely. The lister hasn’t been filled for years,” he said. “We just can’t get people to come in. The lister is a paid position. The auditor is a paid position; it’s 20 bucks an hour … it actually pays something. No one wants to do it.” Hyde said if these positions stay open, contractors would have to be hired…
The board decided to post meeting agendas to Front Porch Forum, to help disseminate the information.
Wise decision by town leadership! A new survey recently found that FPF subscribers are twice as likely to be “very informed” about local government services than those not using FPF. And the number of people who attend municipal meetings at least once a month increases 38% when joining FPF.
Baby spider plants and meeting neighbors in Morrisville
Yvette shared on the Morrisville FPF today…
I posted those baby spider plants on our Front Porch Forum yesterday and today? I got 7 “hits” with folks who were wanting to adopt them.They came and got them and carefully put them into their vehicles (one girl was on a bike) and took them home. Baby plants finding homes via the forum? You should be proud, FPF, for coming up with such a great plan for an online community bulletin board. Great service. Huge fan. Huge.
About Blog
Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more
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