Beth Merrill, Planting Hope’s Executive Director, received a Governor’s Award for Community Service from Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas last summer. The honor recognizes Beth’s ability to lead Planting Hope’s construction and successful operation in cooeration with community members in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, as well as local volunteers in Vermont.

Beth has a way of engaging friends and others in her work with humility grace and inviting determination. These attributes make her not only successful, but beloved as a leader, friend and teacher to many in Vermont and Nicaragua. Her vision of building the library in La Chispa was always wedded to the idea that what could be good for the people there could also be a unifying force in her commity in Central Vermont. Beth has fostered the active involvement of many Vermont children and adults in Planting Hope’s cultural exchange projects.