About a year and a half ago, the Mad River Valley Chamber of Commerce and The Valley Reporter launched a new combined Mad River Valley Community Calendar. The response was steady at first and grew exponentially as people figured out how easy it was to post events and happenings in one central place.
Initially chamber and Valley Reporter staff were handling getting the postings approved and online, but the project became so successful that chamber executive director Eric Friedman began looking for a community member who could help not just with the technical nuts and bolts of getting events posted, but also with some of the outreach and communication about and around the calendar.
“We are incredibly excited that Bob Baron, Warren, has stepped up to help us with the calendar. It’s such a great opportunity for our community and the calendar has been such a long time coming. It’s a real testament that it’s so successful and having Bob step up to shepherd it is fantastic,” Friedman said.
Baron, who splits his time between Warren and Toronto, is originally from New Jersey. He and his family moved to The Valley in 2002-03, having purchased what was then Beaver Pond Farm B and B in Warren. They ran that for five years and then moved to West Hill Road. Their three sons went to Warren Elementary School and then Harwood.
He was involved with the chamber through the organization’s lodging group while running the B and B and now he is a semi-retired software executive who was looking for ways to give back and be involved. He and his family have deep roots here and he wanted a way to help inject vitality into The Valley.
He approached Friedman to see if the chamber needed help.
“He said the chamber always needed help and we talked and the calendar seemed like a good place to start,” Baron said.
“The calendar is such a great thing. It’s a chamber/Valley Reporter entity but it’s also about the community. It’s not just for chamber members, it’s for everyone. Having been through the ups and downs of The Valley, this is a great benefit for all of us,” he added.
In addition to acting as calendar concierge, Baron is also helping out with staffing the chamber’s visitor center at the Mad River Valley Rec Hub in Waitsfield and is excited about the growth and opportunities there for Cousins Brewing and more.
