[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 158 (Tuesday, September 14, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E976]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  COMMENDING MR. PAUL COSTELLO ON HIS SERVICE TO THE STATE OF VERMONT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. PETER WELCH

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 14, 2021

  Mr. WELCH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and honor my 
friend Paul Costello, who has served since 2000 as Executive Director 
of the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD), part of the 
National Rural Development Partnership established by Congress. 
Although Paul is retiring from VCRD, his legacy will continue in the 
projects and initiatives that he has inspired in rural communities 
across Vermont.
  Throughout his years as Executive Director, Paul has established 
himself as a respected neutral facilitator of community conversations. 
Paul has a unique ability to unite diverse viewpoints and lead people 
to consensus, action and success. He is dedicated to the ideals of 
democracy and to the promotion of social and economic opportunity for 
all Vermonters. He is a patriotic enthusiast for civic engagement, 
energizing all who venture into his orbit.
  Among his many activities, Paul coordinates the annual VCRD 
Governor's Rural Summit to build federal and state cross-agency action 
plans. Each year he facilitates multiple community visits with teams of 
state, federal, non-profit and private leaders to help rural 
communities evaluate and prioritize opportunities, develop action 
plans, connect to resources and rally to action.
  Over the past twenty years, Paul has produced and facilitated 
numerous Vermont Policy Councils and Community Development efforts 
including the Vermont Forest Products Council, the Vermont Agriculture 
Viability Council, the Vermont Council on Culture and Innovation, the 
Vermont Council on Planning, the Vermont Rural Energy Council, the VT 
Creative Communities Program, the Council on the Future of Vermont, the 
Vermont Working Landscape Council, the Vermont Working Landscape 
Partnership, and the Vermont Working Lands Coalition, the e-Vermont 
Community Broadband Project and Vermont Digital Economy Project, the 
Vermont Higher Education Food Systems Council, and the Vermont Climate 
Change Economy Council. Most recently, Paul has chaired the Governor's 
Covid-19 Local Support and Community Action Team.
  A native Vermonter, Paul obtained his B.A. and M.A. at the University 
of Vermont and earned a PhD in intellectual history at McGill 
University in Montreal. He has devoted a substantial part of his career 
to the cultivation of Vermont civic institutions, and the state is a 
better place because of it. I wish him a productive and fulfilling 
retirement.

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