Phayvanh Luekhamhan:
Montpelier Alive’s Executive Director from 2011 - 2014
This interview documents Phayvanh Luekhamhan’s experience with Montpelier Alive, first as a volunteer, then as executive director from 2011-2014.
Phayvanh Luekhamhan is currently the Executive Director for the Center of Arts & Learning in Montpelier. She volunteered with Montpelier Alive for several years and eventually went on to become Montpelier Alive’s Executive Director from February 2011 - April 2014.
Phayvanh moved to Montpelier around 2007 from Brattleboro (where she was raised). She volunteered with the downtown association in Brattleboro which lent her a strong sense of familiarity with downtown organizations and what they do. Upon relocating to Montpelier, Phayvanh was looking to make friends in the area and volunteering in the community was usually her way to connect with others. One day, Suzanne Eikenberry, who was Montpelier Alive’s director at the time, came in for a coffee where Phayvanh was working and Phayvanh took the opportunity to inquire about volunteering with Montpelier Alive.
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Phayvanh initially came onboard with Montpelier Alive in a volunteer capacity where she was involved with the promotions committee, creating the downtown newsletter and also began coordinating Artwalk. In 2010, Phayvanh received an “Outstanding Volunteer Award” from Montpelier Alive for her efforts with Poemcity (which used to be called Poetry Alive), Artwalk and the downtown newsletter.
When Suzanne Eikenberry completed her time with Montpelier Alive, Phayvanh applied for the position. Since she was already highly connected within the local business community through her volunteer work and also understood the workings of the role, she was then brought on as Executive Director.
During her time as Executive Director, Phayvanh worked alongside contracted staff and many volunteers. Some notable achievements during her time included creating Poem City, revamping Artwalk, and Capital City Cash. Phayvanh’s philosophy pertaining to projects is to set up a really good, systematic and sustainable structure so that communities can sustain it over time. The project already has a streamlined system in place which is why she believes that projects like Poem City and Artwalk continue to thrive. During her time with Montpelier Alive, Artwalk was totally revamped - and changed from being advertised on a one page flyer to creating a whole book that included more of the business community. Also, instead of happening only a few times per year, Artwalk started taking place six times per year. During her time with Montpelier Alive, Phayvanh also organized a Downtown Cash Mob. This initiative consisted of giving out cash-filled envelopes, each with its own mystery amount inside. People were able to spend the cash at downtown shops and return the envelopes to be entered into a $500 cash raffle prize. She recalls it being a nice thing to do for downtown, especially for the holidays and after the effects of Tropical Storm Irene.
In collaboration with the design committee, Montpelier Alive, under her leadership, piloted the “Parklets Program.” This was specifically geared towards helping local restaurants - enabling their customers to dine outdoors. The results of this initiative are also still being taken advantage of in the community. The Downtown Improvement District (DID) also came to pass during Phayvanh’s time which allows for a large portion of taxpayer money to go back into downtown.
Phayvanh believes that while there are a lot of people in the community that have a great amount of knowledge, having an organization like Montpelier Alive allows this knowledge to be systemized, organized and shareable. Another benefit she believes people can gain from having an organization like Montpelier Alive around is the social aspect. Phayvanh herself only knew one person when she relocated to Montpelier and joining Montpelier Alive as a volunteer allowed her to become active in the community. According to Phayvanh, “Montpelier Alive has so many different focuses so there are a lot of ways for people to get involved. Montpelier Alive also gives community members the chance to feel represented and the small businesses also have a voice through Montpelier Alive.”
Finally, Phayvanh feels that Montpelier is a special place because it’s the capital. She says there are more specific demands for the capital city as opposed to other places in Vermont - even Burlington. In her view, Montpelier relies heavily on a tourist economy and she also states, “People from all over the world come to visit Montpelier - it’s a small town with big city options!”