Rachel Carter’s 2012 Scoop:
I was born in March of 1976. That makes me a Pisces and a Dragon and this is the year of the Water Dragon. Many people have wondered where I have been. Well, I will tell you. I spent five years running a very successful business. I met me beloved “The Mitch” at the very start of my entrepreneurial endeavor and a year later we were engaged. We spent the next four years saving every cent and for those of you who run a business in Vermont, this is not a state where you make money unless your clients are out-of-state (which mine are not) or you have family money (which I do not). The last three years have been spent not only saving, but putting The Mitch through the University of Vermont’s Special Education Program. He graduated with his Master’s Degree last year, a few months before our wedding. Our hard work was rewarded by our being able to take the month of August to explore England, most of our time spent embracing the local agricultural communities. In small villages we would chat with folks, many who had never left their own region and some who had never met an American before. We marveled at the thriving community driven small towns, and thought deeply about Vermont. Most importantly, as all of this relates to Rachel Carter PR, I have been able to take some much needed time away from the demanding and sometimes ill-treated work that goes along with conducting public relations on someone else’s behalf.
As the start of my married life transitioned to this point, I have been carrying on some existing PR consulting while working as a travel writer researching and editing VERMONT: An Explorer’s Guide for which I am co-authoring the 13th edition with respected travel writer, Christina Tree. As the deadline for this nears, I reflect on the past five years as a business owner. I look at the state of the world and, more importantly to me, the state of Vermont…
I feel I no longer can be committed to so many disjointed consumer driven efforts where I am but a pawn in a larger system that is failing average people who work hard and rewarding those who are able to spend. I believe in production, not consumerism; and in a state becoming more divided between trophy homes and a diminishing working landscape, I have chosen the side that is important to the future of that which I care about. I have vision, leadership, and strong opinions that have lain dormant, though fully developed; hiding under the public relations marketing machine I created. I was so successful at branding myself as a PR expert; my artistic talents, leadership style, problem solving skills, and agricultural abilities have been publicly unexposed. People have wondered where I have been – I have been planning the unbranding of Rachel Carter PR and the fulfillment of my true purpose and expertise.
I ask for your help in mentioning my transition to those who may be interested. As I continue to operate my public relations business on a part time consulting and training basis, I seek an opportunity to create a balanced and productive work environment to benefit and support Vermont’s working landscape. Through vision and problem solving, I aim to lead a broad spectrum of people to express excellence in agriculture, recreation, agritourism, or localized economies as these industries relate to sustainable land use in Vermont. I identify problems quickly and can energize and encourage others to get involved, feel ownership, and create timetables for solutions that are meant to be executed. Because I have specialized in public relations, marketing, and social media for the past 15 years (12 specifically in Vermont), I am skilled at being practical while creative; pragmatic while resourceful. And…my vast network begs to be utilized for the benefits of Vermont’s working landscape.
My public relations talents are simply icing on the zucchini bread.
Montpelier, Vermont – Former Vermont Gov. James H. Douglas has been elected to the Board of Directors of 
