CONNECT networking event to be held at Stonewall Farm

The Hannah Grimes Center (HGC) is set to host its 20th annual CONNECT Event at Stonewall Farm in Keene on Oct. 6, the first night of the Radically Rural summit. CONNECT has been a staple in the local small business community since 2006. The inaugural event celebrated Hannah Grimes program alumni and brought together startup and existing entrepreneurs in the Keene community. In 2016, HGC partnered with The Keene Sentinel to bring the event to the larger community, hosting 400 individuals at Keene State College to network in a fusion of art, food and music. This collaboration sparked the first Radically Rural Summit in 2018, which now hosts 400 to 500 community members and national rural innovators annually with the mission of building powerful networks of passionate, engaged, innovative people willing to share ideas and resources and take action to strengthen their small communities across the country. CONNECT has stayed an integral part of the summit, bringing Radically Rural attendees and other local folks together to share knowledge from the day's sessions and network with live music over local food and drinks. This year's CONNECT will also feature a poster presentation by Merida Brimhall and Lyla Harrod of the North Country Health Consortium. The duo will highlight a Northern New Hampshire initiative that is building a better, more inclusive, supportive place for teenagers through youth-adult partnerships, coalition building and community-led action. According to Brimhall, "We're building a community of people from across the North Country, who are working together to make our area a better place for teenagers to grow up. We envision a North Country where teens feel like they matter and have a sense of belonging." All Radically Rural summit tickets include access to the CONNECT event. Locals can purchase CONNECT-only tickets at https://hannahgrimes.com/event/connect/. Lillian Koziara-Chase is program and development coordinator for the Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship. Solutions Slam Your small-town idea could win $500 Radically Rural is looking for ideas and models that demonstrate how individuals, businesses and institutions are making small cities and towns more livable. Individuals are invited to share ideas, initiatives and programs that work to solve rural issues during the fourth annual Solutions Slam, which will take place at the closing plenary session on Thursday, Oct. 8, the final day of the Radically Rural summit. "We love hearing from rural folks who are doing the work in their own communities, but we only have so many session slots each year. The Solutions Slam is a fun, fast-paced way we learn about some of the creative ideas, programs and models our Radically Rural community members are moving forward," says Julianna Dodson, executive director of the Hannah Grimes Center. A signup sheet will be made available to Radically Rural attendees on the morning of Oct. 6. Attendees will have the opportunity to sign up for the Solutions Slam until the closing plenary session. Each participant will have one minute to share an idea. After all the ideas have been shared, the audience will vote on the best solution, sending the winner home with a $500 prize to put toward their initiative, courtesy of Electronic Imaging Materials. Solutions may answer the following questions: What is your organization doing to better your community? What have you learned that you want other rural communities to know about? What's working in your community? How can your rural solution be replicated? Previous winners include Mason Lord, recognized for his Touch a Trade event (now part of the organization TradesUp), Jodi Rollins for organizing a rural agricultural expo, and Angela Graves for her idea to use mushrooms in PFAS remediation.