Category Archives: Stories
How does your community use your FPF?
Here’s a tiny sample of Front Porch Forum postings from across Vermont yesterday…
Bennington FPF by Kelly: “The Southshire Community Market received a huge amount of support using Front Porch Forum to test our new educational website. Thanks for all your help!”
Swanton FPF by Ken: “Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge is on Front Porch Forum now! Hello, after last night’s great meeting at MVU I have created an FPF account and will be posting events on FPF to try and get the word out about refuge activities and opportunities. I’ve added several events to the Swanton FPF Community Calendar stretching to June so please take a look.”
Danville Peacham FPF by Annie: “I’m in search of various items to furnish our new home and thought I’d put it to our Front Porch Forum before we went and bought new. We are looking for: Queen or full mattress and box spring, futon, night stands, kitchen table and chairs.”
Stowe FPF by Kyle: “We at Morrisville Lumber are also tired of this sub-zero streak and are also brand new to this Front Porch Forum phenomenon. With that in mind, for tomorrow only, Eric and Kyle will bribe you out of your cozy homes and into the Stowe store by offering 15% off your total purchase (regularly priced non-discounted items) for all cash or credit card sales! The only way to get this discount however is to mention that you saw this post on Front Porch Forum!”
Middlebury FPF by Marni: “Thank you to all that responded to my post about getting rid of kitchen scraps for compost! It sure is good to be back and enjoying the awesome community forum provided by Front Porch Forum. After a year in the south it sure is good to be experiencing such things as FPF… So grateful to be back in this beautiful state!”
Worcester FPF by Sara: “Still downsizing… So we have a few things left to offer if there are any interested neighbors. An antique bench ($25), a beautiful antique tea cart ($225), two air conditioners ($75 for newer, $25 for older) one dehumidifier ($85), a pub table with a few scratches but solid wood ($35)… It has been wonderful to meet some of you through Front Porch Forum!”
Waterbury FPF by Anne: “Running through Feb. 8, Waterbury’s Winterfest is a packed full schedule of all kinds winter activities. The complete 10 day schedule may be seen on the web site: waterburywinterfest.com, daily event schedules will be on Front Porch Forum, and the Waterbury Winterfest Minute will be heard on WDEV each morning of Winterfest.”
Shelburne FPF by Scott: “Four Blizzak winter tires for sale, $200. Still have 2-3 seasons left in these. They were taken off last spring and weren’t put back on in favor of all season tires. Great condition! Came off 2012 Subaru Outback. Size is 225-60-17. Front Porch Forum folks have first crack at them, then going up on craigslist.”
Northfield FPF by Gretchen: “How to build a community: Turn off your TV. Leave your house Know your neighbors. Look up when you are walking. Greet people. Sit on your stoop. Plant flowers. Use your library. Play together. Buy from local merchants. Share what you have. Help a lost dog. Take children to the park. Garden together. Support neighborhood schools. Fix it even if you didn’t break it. Have pot lucks. (Part 1 from Poster by K. Kerney)”
Many thanks to many neighbors
I was hiking through the golf course on Saturday and lost my phone while wandering around for two hours. Saw many hikers, skiers, dog walkers, and many took my number and offered to call for the next hour or so, hoping it would alert someone. The dog walker even suggested I let her dog sniff my glove because he was a good tracker. She promised to leave the phone on my car if she found it. After an additional hour of looking, I figured it was hopeless. Got in my car, but decided to go to upper parking lot and try one more time, retracing steps. Unbelievably, I found it, but more unbelievable is that in the last 45 minutes I had 14 missed calls recorded on my phone — all my helpers! When I called one number back, the most persistent, to thank him and tell him how astounded I was at so many calls, his response was: “Welcome to Vermont.” Warms my heart.
Shared by Pat on her Front Porch Forum in the South End of Burlington today.
Liz Stephen: US Ski Team
Shared by Daniel with his neighbors on the East Montpelier Front Porch Forum today…
East Montpelier native and FPF member Liz Stephen is skiing right up to the podiums this year. Her latest victory a US record. http://nordic.usskiteam.com/news/stephen-makes-history-us-team Not only does she represent the US team well, she also takes the time to visit our schools to inspire and encourage our students. She is sincere, positive and team oriented.
To Liz and her family, congratulations and keep up the excellence. Your home town is proud and supports you.
TechPresident and new book cover Vermont’s FPF
Front Porch Forum is featured in a new book by Allison Fine, as well as an article published on TechPresident today.
Allison’s book is called Matterness: Fearless Leadership For a Social World…
Many current and future leaders are locked inside their organizations afraid to venture out into the world. By doing so they are missing the true threat of avoiding the connected world. Here it is: Avoiders and their organizations become irrelevant literally don’t matter anymore and “age out” of their jobs and industries. Fear of losing control over every little detail prevents attention to details that do matter. Meanwhile precious energy is lost protecting yourself and your organization from change that’s not fully understood or appreciated. Exhaustion and inertia kick in. Bottom lines go red. Now that is the truly scary stuff.
Need a financial advisor? Ask neighbors on FPF
Martha shared the following on her East Montpelier Front Porch Forum today…
Last week I posted requesting recommendations for a financial adviser to help me with retirement planning. Over 25 wonderful neighbors responded. Thank you all. Several people asked me to send them the names I received, so I thought I would open it up to FPF. If you would like to see the list of recommended financial advisers, email me and I’ll pass it on.
Business owner offers $5,000 reward on FPF for info about fire
The Stowe Reporter used the Morrisville Front Porch Forum recently to learn…
A Morristown man is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for a fire that destroyed his business last year. But state fire investigators say the blaze wasn’t suspicious and there is no active investigation.
Most traditional media outlets in Vermont use their local FPFs for leads to stories that they investigate and report on. We’re glad to play this role… and others. Further, we appreciate when proper attribution is included in the piece, e.g….
He posted a notice on Front Porch Forum last week, offering a $5,000 reward in hope that someone would contact state police with information.
Stowe and the surround communities are fortunate to have the Reporter and the Record digging into local stories.
Vermont towns post public meetings to their local FPF
An increasing number of municipal boards and committees post their public meeting warnings and minutes on their local Front Porch Forums. Many have done this for years, but more have started doing it lately. For example, the New Haven Conservation Commission posted an invitation to the community to attend its upcoming meeting, followed by the agenda.
It started with this lovely invitation…
We welcome all who wish to express their ideas, thoughts and opportunities. As we continue the goals of this commission it is important that we hear from the townspeople that we will serve. Please come join us.
And ended with…
Posted December 27, 2014, Town Office, Village Green Market, Post Office, Website, Front Porch Forum.
Neighbors’ spare Shaw stamps net 3 qt. pot
Neighbors are using their local Front Porch Forums to request and share grocery store stamps to apply toward new pots and pans… and it’s working!
From Mary on the Northfield FPF…
So .. I only had 27 extra stamps and almost didn’t post them thinking that is just not enough to bother with. But dang it, maybe, just maybe, they would put someone over the top to get one of those nice pans. Had to try. As it turned out it will help TWO ladies reach their goal! Thanks, FPF!
And Julia on the Montpelier FPF…
Thank you, kind Montpelier folks. I had several gracious offers, throughout last evening–and have my new 3 qt. pot! If you need some stamps, post it! — offers will come. FPF is terrific, and so is our sense of community. Gotta love it.
Neighbors rescue Bear, the trapped labradoodle
Bear the dog… a story with a happy ending on the Randolph-area Front Porch Forum. First, the call went out from Rachel on Thursday…
Family labradoodle lost at about 5:00pm Wednesday night, large and cream colored, very friendly but may bark or be shy to approach. He left wearing a collar with tags and a black leash, but I’m hoping that they would have slipped off if he caught on something.
Both dogs ran off while I was closing up the chicken coop and were out of sight when I turned back. They have done this before, but they usually come back within the hour. This time one of them did, but Bear is still out there! We’ve been tracking him through our woods all night but with no luck.
Please let us know if you’ve seen him!
Followed by good news the next day from Mary…
Without Front Porch Forum a dog and its family would have been very upset. While Samantha was walking down the hill from Brookfield Elementary School she heard an unusual dog in the neighborhood barking. She wanted to find out if the dog needed help. She tramped through the deep snow to locate the dog and helped to return it to the dog’s owners. The dog was trapped by its leash under the ice and snow in a field away from houses.
Bear, the dog, and the rest of us want to thank Samantha for rescuing Bear.
And gratitude from Bear’s family…
Bear was found and returned to us safely Thursday evening!
We can’t thank you all enough for your thoughts and notes, and we are especially grateful to Samantha and Mary who brought him home. We are so lucky to live in such a wonderful community. Thank you!
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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