At the end of a bitter cold week, over 40 queer and allied organizers representing 27 different Vermont organizations made the trek to the Vermont Law School in South Royalton on January 17th for the sixth Queer Community Summit, organized by R.U.1.2? Community Center. Despite reports of numerous cars off the road, determined activists gathered to address the important issues surrounding queer organizing in rural communities.
      This Summit had the largest attendance to date. Groups coming for the first time included ACoRN, an AIDS service organization serving the Upper Connecticut River Valley; G/LEARN, a Norwich-based volunteer group working with educators; Gedakina, a Native American group based in Woodstock; Spectrum Youth and Family Services of Rutland; and the Lambda Student Association from Vermont Technical College.
      Jeff Bercuvitz facilitated the Summit courtesy of the Snelling Center for Government. Based at the University of Vermont, the Snelling Center was founded to be a living memorial to Republican Governor Richard Snelling as a "non-partisan, not-for-profit organization" that "trains, encourages, and supports Vermonters who wish to become involved" in democracy at the state and local level. I am a 2004 Associate of the Vermont Leadership Institute of the Snelling Center, and the first leader of a specifically queer organization to participate in the program.
      We skipped the organizational reports and, after adorning ourselves with memorable nicknames ("Clowning Christopher," "Endowed Ethan," "Jazzy Judy," "Sassy Sarah") we began by identifying things we do that bring joy to our lives ("pleasure treasures"). Among others, people listed skills as song-writers, papier mache artists, drag kings, and a "marketing genius!"
       Later, participants identified strengths and assets in our talent pool, places that members of our community gather, and "community treasures," defined as the special places, events, and people that are truly distinctive about our community.
      Jeff quickly got us up out of our seats: we divided into three groups to work through an obstacle course that required cooperative teamwork to cross and a creative understanding that sometimes obstacles can conceal hidden resources.
      After lunch, and having written 20-word personal mission statements, we connected with each other in the "purpose web." The web was a visual symbol of the strong connections between the eople in the room. Jeff commented that the Queer Summit purpose web was "much tighter than many groups I have worked with."
      Ultimately, the point of the day was to ensure that Vermont's queer organizers gained new tools to understand their own personal and organizational assets, to creatively work through obstacles as a team and to build stronger relationships with each other.
      The last part of the day was devoted to an exercise called "Nine Parts for a Party." Since people are far more likely to come to a party than a meeting, Jeff asked participants to use the day's nine exercises to plan events that would be fun, creative, and energizing. In examples Jeff related from other groups, a trash-strewn, unsafe vacant lot was transformed when one woman started the "Grow, Granny, Grow Guerilla Gardener Squad" and created community gardens there. Another person, working in a town best known for its incredible mud season, created a tourist and charity bonanza when they organized "Muddy Gras," complete with mud-pie bake-offs, a tug-of-war competition and the sale of jars of "organic" mud to tourists.
      While Jeff constantly encouraged us to "think big but start small," many of the Summiters' ideas seemed to spring fully-formed. One group came up with an idea called "Get Over the Hump: Trans Freedom Hike" to support transgender awareness. They would raise funds by selling "Diversity Trail Mix: Beyond the Binary of Fruits and Nuts." Another group brainstormed a series of ice cream socials to encourage more people to build floats for the annual Pride parade: "Don't Split your Banana, Float Your Boat!" A victim advocate at SafeSpace, known throughout the day as "Hellraiser Hannah"
hopes to host an event for rock climbers called "Harness Heaven." Well, what else could it be called if it's designed by a bunch of queers?

Many thanks to the Snelling Center for Government and the Vermont Law School Alliance for their support of Queer Summit VI. For more information on future Summits or "Harness Heaven" contact "Clowning" Christopher@ru12.org or "Hellraiser" Hannah@safespacevt.org.