By RUSSELL JONES
BRANDON — Ally Brown, of Brandon, was recently selected as one of Vermont Business Magazine’s Rising Stars award recipient. The list is comprised of 40 winners under the age of 40. Brown, 29, is one of the youngest to receive the award this year.
Award recipients were selected by a panel of judges for their commitment to business growth, professional excellence and involvement in their communities. Brown works as a real estate and right-of-way specialist for Vermont Electric Power Company and sits on the board of the Brandon Area Toy Project.
“I am humbly honored to receive this award and be recognized among my Vermont peers,” Brown said. “I can think of so many others who equally deserve this honor. My role at VELCO has granted me many opportunities to connect with the community here in Vermont and I’m really looking forward to meeting the other 39 award winners from around the state.”
Brown has been a board member for the Toy Project, a local non-profit that helps ensure area children get toys for Christmas, for two years, but was involved with them before she became a board member.
“I’m proud to call Vermont my home and being nominated for this award is flattering and only fuels my passion more for serving this great community through participating, volunteering and donating,” she said. “(Brandon) is a great town and I can’t say enough about the people who donate their time and work to make things the best they can be.”
Brown was born and raised in Sudbury and went to high school at Otter Valley. After graduating from Castleton University, she came back to Brandon.
“I always said I was going to move away, but once the time came, I couldn’t do it,” she said. “It’s just such a wonderful community.”
Brown’s nomination was only one of many that judges for the award had to look through to decide the worthy recipients.
“We are thrilled by the response to this initiative to recognize these up-and-coming leaders,” said VBM Publisher John Boutin. “This is our tenth year and we received over 240 outstanding nominations this year.”“The five judges had a difficult time picking the top 40. These young professionals have chosen to make Vermont home,” Boutin said. “For these young professionals it’s not just about business. It’s about them making a difference in their communities.”
