GMP Announces Remaining Top Ten Finalists Qualify For $10,000 Incentive to Move to Rutland

RUTLAND, Vt., Aug. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A New York City couple won the prize of a lifetime – a brand new, fossil-fuel-free, 1,500 square-foot home packed with the latest in smart energy technology including heat pumps, solar panels, Level 2 electric vehicle charger and Tesla Powerwall batteries.

Martin Schreiner, a food blogger, marketer and part-time opera singer, and Lucas Hough, a pathologist’s assistant, got engaged after learning they’d won, and plan to move from New York City to their new Rutland home soon. Their application essay helped make them the overwhelming choice of the 10-person selection committee. They highlighted Vermont’s beauty and values, ties to the region, and their longing to be part of a place that aligns with their beliefs about caring for one another, the environment, and community.

“We consider it our greatest honor to bring to Rutland our very best,” Schreiner said.  “We would not have the opportunity to become homeowners otherwise, and we wholeheartedly entered this competition with the understood responsibility of living up to what it means to belong to such an upstanding and estimable community. We feel enormous gratitude for this opportunity.”

“I was impressed with their passion, focus on community and the environment, and commitment to becoming ambassadors for Rutland,” Mayor Dave Allaire said.  “Their application was filled with hope and energy, and their interview with the committee solidified them as the top choice.  I think they will become outstanding members of the community, and I am thrilled to have them join us in Rutland.”  

GMP customers did not pay for the home. It was purchased from the City of Rutland for $1 and built with labor and materials donated by dozens of community partners.

“It is thrilling to be part of this great team effort on Rutland’s revitalization. This project continues to show how energy is a force for good,” said Mary Powell, president and CEO of Green Mountain Power. “The community engagement, the donations and hard work, the investment in this now-flourishing neighborhood, all show the best of Rutland and of Vermont and what we can achieve when we work together.”

Powell also announced that the nine finalists who did not win are now eligible for a $10,000 incentive to move to Rutland within the next year. “We were so amazed by the applicants we wanted to find a way to encourage more of them to move here,” Powell said. The money for that incentive comes from a charitable fund and will be paid if the family buys a home in Rutland before Sept 1, 2019.

The selection committee, which included Allaire, Aldermen Melinda Humphrey and Sharon Davis, who is also a Northwest Neighborhood resident , and GMP Vice President Steve Costello, Naylor and Breen Builders Vice President Tanner Romano, NBF Architect Edward Clark, United Way Executive Director Caprice Hover, Rutland Chamber Executive Director Mary Cohen, Will Gormly from Rutland Young Professionals, and Northwest Neighborhood resident Michael Gauthier, selected Schreiner and Hough from 165 applicants and 10 finalists from across the country.

“This marks an important step in Cleveland Avenue’s ongoing rebirth,” Costello said.  “I expect Martin and Lucas will be extremely active in bolstering and supporting the neighborhood and the city, and will become important leaders. Their passion for others is inspiring, and their energy is contagious.”

The contest, a collaboration of Green Mountain Power, Naylor & Breen, the United Way of Rutland County, NBF Architects, the City of Rutland, and dozens of partners, was designed to support the ongoing rebirth of Rutland and marketing campaigns to bring more people to the state, while highlighting dozens of available jobs in the region. 

Besides the primary partners, more than 75 local, regional, and national businesses have made substantial commitments to the project.  Most of them have jobs available and participated in part to raise awareness of the difficulty of hiring when unemployment is barely 3 percent.

They include:  A.H. Harris Construction Supplies ,  Abatiello Design Center ,  ABC Supply Company, Inc. ,  American Standard , Ammatuna Family, A. Tedesco Masonry Inc.,  Best Appliance ,  Bill Lohsen Plumbing & Heating , Bissette Construction,  Black Diamond Builders ,  Bourne’s Energy ,  Boise Cascade ,  Brinc Building Products ,  Builder Specialties ,  Camp Precast Concrete Products ,  Carpenter & Costin , Casella Waste Systems, CED/Twinstate Electrical Supply, Chey Insulation,  Clay Point Associates ,  Daikin Air Intelligence ,  Efficiency Vermont ,  Enman – Kesselring Consulting Engineers ,  Environmental Hazards Management ,  F.W. Webb Company ,  Fabian Earthmoving ,  Ferguson Waterworks ,  Florence Crushed Stone ,  Frigidaire ,  Gilmore Home Center ,  Green Mountain Drywall ,  Green Mountain Electric Supply ,  Green Screen Graphics ,  groSolar ,  Hadeka Stone Corporation ,  Hawk Hill Cabinetry & Custom Woodwork , Henry Company,  Heritage Family Credit Union ,  Housing Trust of Rutland County ,  Hubbard Brothers , Hubbard’s Portable Restrooms & Septic Service,  Huber Engineered Woods ,  J.E. McLaughlin Inc. ,  JP Carrara & Sons ,  Kamco Supply of Boston ,  Kaycan Building Products ,  Killington Ski Resort ,  Kinney Pike Insurance Agency ,  Kitchen Encounters ,  Lajeunesse Interiors ,  Marvin Windows and Doors ,  Misty Meadows ,  M&M Lawn Care and Trucking ,  Moen ,  Mountaintop Inn and Resort ,  Omega Electric ,  Owens Corning , Pins Fabricating Systems (PFS Inc.),  Pratico’s Landscaping & Fence Co. ,  r.k. MILES, Inc. , Racette Electric, Rebars & Mesh,  Riverside Truss ,  Rob Stubbins Electrical and General Contractors ,  ROCKWOOL ,  Royal Group Inc. ,  Rutland Regional Medical Center ,  Rutland’s Magic Brush ,  Rynone Manufacturing Corp. ,  Sargeant Appraisal Service ,  Schneider Electric ,  Sears Hometown , Shelter Industries,  Sherwin Williams ,  Smart Cabinetry ,  Spacepak Inc. ,  Stego Industries ,  The Stove Depot ,  SunCommon ,  Tesla, Inc. ,  Trex Company , Vaillancourt Tree & Landscape Service,  VT Department of Forests ,  Parks & Recreation ,  Vermont Roofing Company , Vermont Wood Pellet, Warerite Distributors, Watts Radiant , and  Weyerhauser . 

About Green Mountain Power Green Mountain Power (GMP) serves approximately 265,000 residential and business customers in Vermont and is partnering with them to improve lives and transform communities. GMP is focused on a new way of doing business to meet the needs of customers with integrated energy services that help people use less energy and save money, while continuing to generate clean, cost-effective and reliable power in Vermont. GMP was the only utility named to Fast Company’s 2018 list of Most Innovative Companies for Energy and is the first utility in the world to get a B Corp certification, meeting rigorous social, environmental, accountability and transparency standards and committing to use business as a force for good. J.D. Power’s 2018 rankings also put GMP among top utilities for customer satisfaction.

Media Contact: Kristin Kelly (802)318-0872 

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/Attachm...70fc14b5a5