AIA Vermont is pleased to announce that Montpelier Alive is this year's recipient of the Carol Miklos Community Outreach Grant. The grant will go towards funding the Montpelier Bench Project, an "opportunity to inject fun, color, and Montpelier brand elements into our downtown through M-shaped benches that are produced by The Arcana Workshop in Barre and painted by local artists through a design competition."

The benches are designed to provide opportunities for social connection after a year of the pandemic. The M shape allows people to face each other and engage in a way that a traditional bench does not.

Montpelier Alive works to increase the vibrancy and visibility of Montpelier by lifting up its heart and soul: its downtown. The Montpelier Alive Design Committee specifically focuses on downtown beautification and streetscape improvement efforts. Design Committee members include architects Danny Sagan, AIA and Gregg Gossens, AIA, landscape designer Didi Brush, artists Sabrina Fadial, Anna Frederick, and Rob Hitzig, and community members Nate Hausman and Joslyn Wilschek.

Congratulations to Montpelier Alive on winning this year's grant.