 I'm sure many of you do not know who I am. My name is Mike Hogan. Conn and I were brothers. And I usually refer to him, have you referred to him as my big brother, because he never liked to be called my older brother. And so I'll just say he was my brother today. I'm a trustee here at the college. And I have really the pleasure to welcome each and every one of you to this ceremony or celebration of this. And on behalf of the Board of Trustees and the administration of the BCFA, I welcome all of you. You know, this award ceremony has been a tradition here at the college, really, from the beginning. And it's really good now that we are doing this in person, because it means a lot. I always think that of the first award, which was held over in the alumnus hall, and how excited Conn was about the actual first award. I think it was 2015. And he was there, and his family was there. And of course, his family is here today. And he was really impressed with all the people that showed up. And I remember telling him, I said, well, I suspected a lot of those people were there for him. And to celebrate his achievements and all he has given to the state of Vermont and the people in the state of Vermont. And I remember at his talk, he spoke about the importance of good governance, public service, and community service, which were really his passions. And all the recipients of this award over these past few years have all been outstanding people who have made immense contributions, which support the values that Conn has exhibited during his life publicly and personally. I can assure you. And this year's winner, Joe Weah, is no different. And I really think if Conn were here today, the two of them would become fast friends, based upon what I know of this award for today. So welcome again and enjoy the program. And now I'm going to turn it over to Mr. Will Belogna, who is a member of the Hogan Award Committee, an executive director of the Vermont Community Loan Fund. And he's our emcee for today. Thank you. Thank you, Michael. Got to put my glasses on as I age. I realize I can't read what I write anymore. But thank you all for coming. And we did this last in person, this award, in 2019. And since then in 2020, 2021, it was all virtual. And this is our, we're back in person, although. So one, welcome. And two, we also do have folks virtually listening and watching in our YouTube channel. So welcome all you who are out in the, wherever you are and listening and watching in. We appreciate you taking the time, everyone taking the time to be here tonight. So again, welcome everyone to the presentation ceremony of the 2022 Conn Hogan Award for Creative Entrepreneurial and Community Leadership. As Michael mentioned, I'm Will Belange. I'm a member of the Conn Hogan Award Committee, Executive Director of the Vermont Community Loan Fund. And I first do, even though they just stepped out, I do want to thank our musicians, Pam Baucus, and Leeds Brewer for providing the music for the ceremony. And let's give them all a welcome. Thank you. Before we move into the content, as I mentioned, we're in person tonight. We're also on the YouTube live stream. And I want to thank our partners at CCTV who are handling the technology for tonight. The live stream will be available online through the Vermont Community Foundation's website for those that want to go back and listen and watch. So the late Conn Hogan was an important figure in Vermont. From his work in the public, nonprofit, and private for-profit sectors, he exemplified the kind of thinking and leadership the Vermont needs as we address the challenges of this century. Conn's down-to-earth management approach was always backed by both sophisticated tested theory and nuts and bolts practicality. He used data to think through possible solutions to problems, used data and information from partners and community members to come to practical but also innovative solutions to those problems. The Conn Hogan Award was created in 2015 as a way of recognizing the contributions made by Conn to the state of Vermont by encouraging and rewarding leaders who share his vision of Vermont that places the highest value on the public good and to demonstrate his leadership qualities in achieving results for Vermont. And this year, we are pleased to present this award to Joe Wea, Refugee Resettlement Director of the Ethiopian Community Development Council's Multicultural Community Center in Brattleboro. Joe, congratulations. And before we move on, I want to call attention to two groups that are here today. And first is the Conn Hogan Award Committee, which oversees this program. And I'm going to just call out their names and you can just wave your hands or stand up. Really your choice. First, we have Paul Sillo, Public Assets Institute, Paul. Steve, and you can, why don't we just hold our applause. We'll do it all at the end once we get through the whole board. Steve Dale, former Human Services Manager. Steve. Scott Johnson, he's our chair, has been our chair for a number of years and keeps us all in line. That's great. Ellen Koehler from the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, and Jane Kimball from the Vermont Community Foundation. Dr. Etan Nasredin Longo from the Vermont State Police. Jericho Parms from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Jericho is helping us a lot with some of our, what you will see, some of our IT issues. And then Reverend Arnold Isidore Thomas, pastor of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Jericho. And Diane Wally from the Wyndham Southeast Supervisory Union. And then myself. So let's give the committee a round of applause. And I want to, you know, personally, I want to thank the committee for their work and really the stewardship of this award for the past seven years. And probably a little longer as they had to think it through before they made that first award. And that probably took some time. Next, the next group I really want to thank and acknowledge are the award recipients of the Kahn Hogan Award from the previous seven years. And they are, we get to repeat, Ellen Koehler from the Sustainable Jobs Fund. Michael Monty from the Champlain Housing Trust. Holly Morehouse, Vermont After School, currently with the Vermont Community Foundation. James Baker, criminal justice consultant and former commissioner of corrections. Jan DeMars, currently the statewide coordinator of the Community Action Agencies of Vermont. The Vermont Department of Health as a whole institution who really stepped up for all of us during the health crisis and the pandemic that we had and that we're still having. And then Dr. Lydia Clemens from the Clemens Family Farm, our most recent award day last year. So let's give them all a round of applause. So I'm gonna just introduce two people at once. I'm gonna have them one come up one at a time to give some reflections on Kahn and the importance that he had on this state and on all of us. And the two folks are Neil Hogan. And then Karen Hine and they're gonna share their reflections as his son and colleague respectively. And before I, I'll just kind of give a brief on them and then I'll have Neil come up first and then Karen next. Neil Kahn's son, he serves as the vice president of the New England Chimney Supply. And then Dr. Karen Hine was a founding member of the Kahn-Hogan Award Committee and a colleague of Kahn's as a member of the Green Mountain Care Board. So Neil, why don't you come first and then when he's done, Karen, if you could come up. Well, hello, hello everyone. My name is Cornelius Duggan Hogan III, Kahn's son, better known as Neil. Sharing a unique name like that has always generated a lot of interesting interactions with people who knew my father but not me. For instance, using my credit card once at a local store, the cashier looked at me, looked at my card and said, you're not the Kahn-Hogan I know. So I want to thank you all for being here tonight, especially Joe Walsh for your accomplishments. It's absolutely amazing. I'd like to also thank the college. They've always done an amazing job for hosting these kinds of events, especially in his honor. And I'm sure dad would have been very happy and overwhelmed with the incredible amount of support, gratitude and love that has poured in over the years surrounding this award and the people who have been honored. I am also grateful for it. I know my family is as well. When I was asked to give a talk tonight, I thought I would grab a thought from thin air and talk about dad and his data and the data decision-making and just run with it. However, if running that right thought or story for such an event is always proven difficult, there is so much to say about a man that can cast such a large shadow and who has touched the lives of so many people and so many different venues, it can be difficult to find the right one. When there is only one person on this earth that knows him as a husband for 53 years, only two people that call him a father, only two more people that call him pop-up, it may be easy to think that we have a unique perspective of him that many people do not have, which to a point, of course, is true, but the more people I have conversations with and the more general experiences I have with people that knew him from a work experience and perspective, I'm not so sure that the unique perspective of him is all that unique because it's through these conversations becomes the realization that he lived his family life with the same set of values and the same set of decision-making tools that he lived in his professional life. It's only the stories and experiences that change between the two. So I do have many thoughts and stories to share about that, but there are two, really, that stand out to me that would directly relate to an event such as this evening's. Memories of circumstances that are teachable moments that put my sister and myself on the right path. The first is family-related. My sister and I were very fortunate to grow up on a family horse farm. Sounds like fun and games, I know, but taking care of large animals, training, feeding, mucking stalls, fixing the barn, fixing other things, and literally lifting thousands of hay bales, each year is a very good way to develop a very robust work ethic. The rewards of that hard work were many weekends of traveling to compete around the state, around England, and sometimes beyond. When I was about 14 years old, I grew about six inches in about four months. My pants didn't fit, my shoes didn't fit, and my horse Victor didn't fit. So we started to search for a new one. We found a big bay at a farm on the outskirts of Essex who was nice, but not a good fit for me, and we passed. However, Ruth, who was always along for a good horse trip, was in love. In the coming days afterwards, Ruth wrote a four-page essay, which I believe she still has, filled with data and reasoning, backed up with more data and more reasoning about why a horse named Valentino would be the perfect fit for her, and presented it to dad with all of the passion that a 17-year-old could have. Even though that particular horse-hunting trip was not originally meant for her, Ruth's four-page essay filled with her ideas, facts, numbers, dad took that and he fed that passion. And they came to an agreement financially, and they came to an agreement with responsibility and some other things that I'm sure I'm not aware of. But the thing is, he understood what it's like to feed somebody with their passion, and that's where it all came from. Valentino became a very big milestone for her professional question and career. Now at the time, my 14-year-old brain actually took that lesson as, never underestimate a teenager girl with a book full of data. So for the second example that I have, which is work related for him, let me put an image into your minds first. When dad retired from the state of Vermont the first time around when he was the Secretary of Human Services, there was a reception with all of his colleagues from that department. And all of the other important people in his life were there. Some of his colleagues at that time put together a video parody sketch of what it was like to work with Conhogan. And this really stuck with me, because I recall a scene with two or three people coming out of his office from this fictitious meeting that revealed the clothes on them had been torn. Torn to shreds. So keep this image in mind because your thoughts of that may change in a moment. On the surface, that really seems like a very brutal idea to show at a retirement party, but I'm willing to bet there was not a single person that ever knew him that didn't understand that parody. I remember thinking to myself when I saw that, oh man, I know exactly how that is. Because looking closer at those people coming out of that fictitious meeting, they were all smiling. They were as happy as could be, even with the ripshirts. The comments that were said as they came out is I think that went very well. And yes it did. It was really a tribute to a man who expected thoughtful results. Thoughtful results with compassion and thoughtful results that had been backed up with real world numbers. Those happy people believed in a man that through sheer hard work would help them down the right road to find the answers that they were all looking for. Even if it meant having a few difficult moments along the way. I knew exactly how those people felt inside and I knew exactly how they felt about it. Dad was a creator and a humble one at that, not just a participant. Whatever the subject was at hand his ideas and creations were based on facts and figures and data to get things started. Common sense mixed with morality to keep things moving. Ending up with a lesson learned, sometimes a hard one if need be. And finally accountability. That's how his stories were created and that's the way it was at home. Although I never professionally worked with dad I'm absolutely positive that's the way he ran his work life as well. Mom and dad raised two children, put them both on the right path. Both of those children teach, coach, volunteer, mentor, lead and are part of their communities. And they are both successful in their chosen careers. As a direct result of that he also has two incredible granddaughters that are also on that same path whom he loved very dearly. Those two granddaughters are also in the habit of writing their own essays to get what they need. So tonight's recognition of Joe is really a continuation of dad's home and way of home and work way of life. Define those who have made a difference in their communities through their passions, hard work, decision making through data. I would like to personally congratulate you Joe on your accomplishments. And I know my father would have been proud to have known you. Reading your story is heartbreaking and inspiring all in the same breath. And we all thank you for making Vermont a better place. Hi everyone. If there is one word that summarizes Conhogan it is big, big intellect, big heart, big body, big influence and huge soul. Con and I became soul mates when we served together a decade ago as founding members of the Green Mountain Care Board overseeing Vermont's awesome, very visionary health reform law. Although I had had my home in Southern Vermont for half a century, I had actually never been to Montpelier. As we waited, the first slide please, one back. As we waited for the press conference where the governor then was Peter Shumlin would introduce us to the public, we were all pretty nervous. The guys were straightening their ties and the women were sort of standing up straight as tall as we could as the weight of the responsibility of enacting the comprehensive visionary law dawned on us. In that seemingly endless moment, contracted joke and that's why we're all smiling. Next slide. Our offices were near each other and we spent hours together every day especially first thing in the morning. We began by figuring out whom we knew in common. Since we both had history of a focus on youth development we quickly realized that we had met each other through jail. Not everyone can say or would even admit that on their first meeting but we were thrilled to have this particular connection. In the early 70s, Con had actually worked in the New Jersey corrections department but then he became commissioner of Vermont's prison system, the correction department. While I was medical director in the Bronx of New York City's jail for kids, the infamous Spofford Juvenile Center. We were both dedicated to trying to not reform the kids or the adults but reform the system to correct the correction system. And that was something that actually we had in common was to try to change the societal view of young people from as it was at that time thought of as the source of problems to the resource to solve problems. So Con continued to focus in this positive framing of young people throughout his career including his time as Vermont's secretary of the Agency for Human Services as well as through participation of various boards and groups and teams all around the country and actually all around the world, especially in Ireland. And it was these set of thriving indicators, not surviving but thriving that some of you on the selection committee actually worked on as well. Those indicators became the outcome measures. Our first things at the Green Mountain Care Board said we were accountable for providing for Vermonters. In a sense, not just to have healthcare accessible and to save money but those thriving indicators that Con and you developed were how we would measure our success. Con had the grand vision in mind for the Green Mountain Care Board. He thought that he was determined to follow through with the promise that he made that healthcare was a human right and to make it affordable and effective. I too was a sort of think big person but Con always had the data, the plan and the experience to figure out how we could actually connect the dots and actually get to the grand vision. When various groups would come in to lobby us, the Green Mountain Care Board, on every imaginable issue, Con would say, where is the evidence that what you want us to do would actually help improve health and save Vermonters money? In that way, he brought people into the process of regulating and planning healthcare, making them think through the consequences and unintended consequences of their ideas and actions. Con was a vision guy but as you heard from Neil, he was a data guy. He could pour over pages of numbers and budgets and projections and just love, he just loved numbers. But what's the amazing thing was he could step back and extract the meaning from those columns and tables and projections as if the words were simply written across the page. It was really quite remarkable and amazing to me and to many, many people. He could be jolly but don't ever try to pull one over on Con Hogan. He saw through bluff and he didn't tolerate pomposity or conceit. I'm a sort of reductionist when it comes to complexity. I drew a one pager for myself that summarized all the regulatory investigative oversight and innovative responsibilities of the Green Mountain Care Board and how they fit together to improve health and reduce cost. I presented it to our group, to the staff and board hoping it would help them get their arms around what we had to do in the coming months and years. Most of them simply put it on their pile which were very high in their office or filed it in the circular file for recycled paper. But not Con. Con put it right in the center of his bulletin board and referred to it as the plan. But the irony about the difference between Con and me was I had no trouble writing the one pager but it was Con who knew and understood the various parts on that piece of paper of the plan and knew not only to make them work but how to make them work together to get to those thriving outcomes. Con's big intellect. Being new to Montpelier, my husband Ralph and I didn't have any friends here. The second month after arrival in the fall of 2011 Ralph was diagnosed with progressive dementia. We were able to enroll him in an adult day program in Barrie so we each had our place to be during the day and during the day while I was spending all my time with Con. We felt Con's big heart when he invited us to the farm to meet Jeanette and to be with the horses. The magnificence of that farm in Plainfield but it wasn't just a one time invitation. Ralph and I returned many times to sit on their couch to be the audience for their rehearsals for their country music, the cold country bluegrass band with Con strumming on his banjo and with Jeanette playing her stand up bass and singing beautifully together their voices and their lives expressed in such exuberance and harmony. We followed them in their performances to gazebos and fields all over Vermont. They're wonderful filling the air and our hearts with their down home music, good cheer and always a well-toned told well-timed joke to keep us all feeling my define. Con would have adored knowing Joe Weah. They are both men of principle of dedication to improving the lives of others. They both have a worldview that encompasses all people and a view of Vermont that envisions a more diverse inclusive population in our brave little state. A more diverse and more inclusive, think about that and what Con's vision was and what Joe is now making come true. I know that Con is smiling, his biggest smile to see Joe Weah receiving this year's award in his name. Con brought us to this point. Joe will lead us forward. You are with us, Con Hogan. Your big intellect, your big heart, your big body, your big influence and your oh so huge soul. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, Karen. Thank you, Neil. That's wonderful. We're gonna move actually to a virtual little portion. We are, the committee is delighted now to have Dr. Lydia Clemens share some remarks and her reflections on being the 2021 Con Hogan Award winner. I hope you are all doing well and staying healthy. I am so sorry that I can't be with you in person today in Montpelier. And so I want to thank the Con Hogan Award Committee for their graciousness in giving me this opportunity to spend some time with you virtually and to share some thoughts as last year's recipient of the Con Hogan Award. For many years now, I've been working hard to honor the generations who came before us to build something that matters, that makes a difference, that will last, and that does right by the generations who follow us. I've tried to fight the good fight every single day. Brad, let me tell you, I'm sometimes overwhelmed with work and the many commitments of daily life. And I sometimes have to wonder, is this work to preserve a black legacy in one of the whitest states in the nation, too bold, too brash? Is fighting the good fight and pushing for a better Vermont too risky? Is all of this work worth it? Well, yes, definitely it's worth it. And I've always believed it's worth it and I'm in good company. But let me tell you something else. Like many of you, I have been struggling to stay hopeful and positive in the midst of chaos going on in the world, in our nation, in our very communities, chaos over the past few years. And just like you, there are times when I feel really, really tired. So it's very important, especially during these times, to come together and to lift up people who are doing good work. Right around this time last year, I was honored to receive the 2021 Conhogan Award. That experience gave me an extra boost of courage and energy at exactly the time I most needed it. And it's inspired me to keep on going no matter what new challenges may arise. And they seem to arise every day. The recognition has also brought more visibility and momentum to the work of the nonprofit organization, Clemens Family Farm. Over the past year, my work with Clemens Family Farm has focused on solidifying the nonprofit organization's mission through collaborations with Vermont artists of African descent, with grade schools, and with other nonprofit organizations around the state. With Keira Hanron, Clemens Family Farm's arts learning advisor, our team has developed a beautiful arts integrated African-American history curriculum for grades K through 12 called joy in motion. The curriculum focuses on joy as a skill for resilience and resistance during challenging times. It helps young people learn US history, hard history, through creative themes of motion, movement and travel, and through the lens of the African-American experience. In our work in public health over the past year, Clemens Family Farm gathered nearly 40 stories from Black Vermonters who used visual or performing arts to help them share their COVID-19 vaccination experiences in the Beneath Our Skin storytelling project funded by the Vermont Department of Health. We've already shared these stories on our website, BeneathOurSkin.org, and we'll soon bring the stories and the artwork directly into Vermont communities through a traveling exhibit that will install in four different locations around the state. We are doing this because sharing stories is important, it's healing, and it's a great way to build stronger communities. Clemens Family Farm's creative arts director, Karen Abdul Malik, has been working with us in new initiatives that bring more of Vermont's Black artists into the creative economy, engaging in positive and empowering relationships with the Vermont communities. For example, after nearly a year's postponement due to the pandemic, Facing the Sunrise, a performing arts series that brings some of Vermont's amazing Black musicians, singers, and spoken word artists to audiences in the Northeast Kingdom finally launched. And this series is made possible through a joyful collaboration with Catamount Film and Arts. Clemens Family Farm collaborated with the City of Burlington's Department of Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging to manage the call for artists and vendors for Juneteenth celebrations. And we entered into a new partnership with Adventures by Disney to create paid opportunities for eight Vermont artists to share their art and culture with nearly 400 visitors to the Clemens Farm during 10 separate visits. Clemens Family Farm is about to release our very first calendar that features 13 artists in our network. The calendar will share beautiful photos and great information about the artists, the farm, and Black history to the Vermonters at home, at school, and at work. And finally, we were overjoyed to receive notification that Clemens Family Farm is one of the Vermont recipients of a 2022 grant through congressionally directed spending funds mobilized in large parts through Senator Patrick Leahy's leadership in Washington, D.C. The grant funds will be used to preserve and improve two historic buildings under leased by the nonprofit on the Clemens Farm for community programs celebrating African-American history, art, and culture. It has been a very busy year. I was thrilled to learn about Mr. Joe Ouija and his inspiring work in Brattleboro. Joe, as this year's recipient of the Conhogan Award, you're probably feeling, I think, the same way I was feeling around this time last year, surprised, humbled, joyful, grateful, and inspired. Congratulations to you. Thank you so much for your service to Vermont and to us all. Joe, I send you my warmest greetings and well wishes from the farm. Well, thank you, Lydia. That was wonderful. Well, now we move on to, I guess, the heart of it. You know, we on the Conhogan Award committee are so proud, so proud to present the 2022 Conhogan Award for Creative Entrepreneurial Community Leadership to Joe Ouija, Director of the Ethiopian Community Development Councils, Multicultural Community Center in Brattleboro, Vermont. Joe Ouija's story is an amazing journey of persistence through setbacks and taking risks in pursuit of a vision. Joe's background includes being a displaced person himself fleeing from Liberia to Sierra Leone before coming to the U.S. to pursue a master's degree at the Vermont School for International Training. Joe has lived in Vermont for a decade, became a U.S. citizen, and now has led our state's response to the world's call by setting up growing and leading Southern Vermont's new resettlement agency. When Governor Phil Scott announced Vermont was ready, willing, and able to welcome refugees, the Ethiopian Community Development Council opened Southern Vermont's first refugee resettlement branch office and selected Joe to lead the effort. He met with dozens of community leaders to introduce them to the new resettlement effort and prepare them for the arrival of the first Afghans starting in January of 2022. Working with state, federal, and local officials, as well as community members and private businesses, Joe developed effective partnerships to assist in securing jobs for refugees, temporary housing for the first 100 Afghans in English language classes. Within the first nine months, Joe and his staff, he has assembled at ECDC's Brattleboro Multicultural Center. They've welcomed and resettled 100 Afghan refugees in the area. And following this success, Joe and his team will begin a new phase in which refugees who have been granted asylum and are waiting in camps around the world will be settled in Southern Vermont. Joe has effectively reoriented and expanded his staff to match the different way in which this phase of resettlement will be done with a focus on developing, supporting, and maintaining community-level sponsorship groups who commit to at least one year of support for folks settling in our communities. I now invite Joe up to share his story. Joe, congratulations and welcome. Thank you, William, for those kind words. And thank you also to the Con-Huganda War Committee. I'm both honored by this recognition and honored to be amongst its past recipients. Before I speak, there are a few others I must thank. First, I want to say thank you to ECDC and its president, Dada Sahai, who has given me the opportunity to lead the Vermont Office of ECDC. I also want to thank my colleagues from the ECDC office in Brattleboro, our refugees community. You all work so hard. So you are the recipient of this award. I also want to thank my friends, Karen, Mary. Ruben is done here for your support. Of course, I want to thank my partner Farajah, who stands by me every day and continue to put up with me when I'm complaining. I also want to thank my uncle, Dave, who's representing my family here and who flew from Minneapolis to be here. Thank you, Dave, for being here. My parents, I also want to thank them. My father, who passed 27 years ago in a refugee camp in the Africa and up until now, we do not know where he was buried. Oh, he stayed with us. And I also want to thank my mom who did not go to school, but from earlier on understood the value of education and provided me with two choices. She said to me, either you go to school or you stay here in the village to be a farmer like a PS. And I'm proud that she gave me those two choices and I chose one. I also want to thank my oldest brother, mountain woman, who may be watching from Liberia right now. As a young man, he stood by us and took the role of our father. I want to thank my children, Joe and Kim, one of the reasons I do what I do every day. And their mom, Fene, who has been raising them since I left Liberia. And I want to thank you. I want to thank and share this award with all the mentors, especially those from the South. I want to start with the state office, especially Tracy Dolan. I want to thank all volunteer service providers. You all step up welcome refugees. You have taken refugees resettlement in South Timvimon from the concept to an action. And I want to thank you all for that. ECDC Vimon office was established and sustained by those who understand that little things can have a profound effects. These things can have lasting impact not only on those who are the recipient, but those who provide them. I'm sure some of you here heard about the butterfly effect in the chaos theory. The term is closely associated with the work of a mathematician, Edward Lawrence. It is a theory that a butterfly flapping its wings in South America can effect weather pattern halfway around the world. It is essentially the theory that little things can have traumatic effects. That's what I want to talk to you about today. The little things that can make a big difference. I have three little things I will ask of you today. First, I will ask you to educate yourself and others about refugees and immigrants in general. And second, I will ask you to listen. And third, I will ask you to react. Educating yourself and others about refugees and immigrants is a way of taking notice of their plights. And for me, knowing the plight came early on in life. I didn't have to educate myself. I experienced it. But for some of us, if you educate yourself about refugees, you will come to realize these are intelligent and creative. People with dreams are no different from ours. Despite my experience and continued education, I might not have announced to and discovered their immense talent if I did not listen or educate myself. The lack of educating ourselves can prevent us from seeing the issues that have enormous impact on people around us. Issues such as the lack of economic opportunities, equal treatment before the law, equal treatment before financial institutions, and many more. When we fail to see these issues, we do this service not only to the immigrants, but to ourselves. Not understanding our new neighbors' plight and helping to address it does not only limit the economic performance of our state, but our companies, our firms, and our economy as a whole. According to the Center of Immigration Studies as of January 2022, immigrants or those identified as foreign-born, be it legal or illegal, represents 14.2% of our nation's population. This amount to 46.6 million people. Pierre Arenas, Vice President and Senior Economist at the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank, put it this way. When immigrants enter the labor force, they increase the productive capacity of the economy as a whole. She went on to say that for the full percent of medical scientists and foreign-born and immigrants accounted for the 2% of computer software developers. Immigrant workers are also overrepresented among college professors, engineers, mathematicians, nurses, doctors, and dentists. According to 2022 Report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, immigrants may up approximately 17% of the US civilian workforce. These figures do not account for undocumented immigrants. Breaking that down, immigrants account for 21.2% of the workforce in the service field, 15.3% in production, transportation, material moving across the country, and 14.2% in natural resources, construction, and maintenance. A 2017 Pierre Research Center study project that with our immigrants, the overall US workforce would decline by almost 10 million people by 2035. If you break that down, meaning the Pierre Research Institute report and focus it on self-environment alone, the trend is worrying. And I know it is across the entire state, but for the sake of time, I decided to focus on self-environment. According to Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, between 2010 and 2030, self-environment alone will be losing about 20,000 workforce. They broke it down this way. For ages 0 to 19, it will reduce from 18,650 people to 16,072, a net loss of 2,578 people. When you go further to ages 20 and 30, it reduces from 16,833 to 14,609, a net loss of 2,274 people. And when you go further ages 14 and 64, it reduces from 31,943 people to 23,663 people at a net loss of 8,280 people from our workforce. On the contrary, for those nearing retirement ages from 65 to 64, the figure grows from 12,116 to 21,105, representing about 8,989 moving into the retirement age. And if you go further, those at 85 will grow from 2,046 to 3,195, representing 1,149 people. This trend tells us we need about 20,000 people entering the workforce to keep current workforce over the same period just in South Timbermont alone. We currently have less people going into workforce and more getting out. And as Com may have said, if you are still here with us, the numbers do not lie. So beside our humanitarian obligation to help those fleeing persecution and crisis, we also have a strong reason why we need more people moving into Vermont. But if you look back at the refugees resettlement in the last 40 years for that state that is regarded the second least populated state behind Wyoming and the second widest state in America behind Maine, we only resettled an estimated 8,000 refugees, particularly in the Burlington area. To put that number into context, that is about 200 people per year. Why between 2010 and 2016, the overall outmigration of people living in Vermont was 3,892 people. Even though our 2020 census, our population grew by just 2.8% over the decade, a net gain of 17,336 people. But if you dig deeper into that gain, you quickly realize the figure is mostly driven by those who close to retirement or looking for the quiet environment of friendly state or high-scale workers who can work from home. Our manufacturing, transport, and civic sectors gain little workforce during this period. From the figures provided, refugees coming to Vermont is not only a moral obligation but an economic survivor for our state. So we should continue asking ourselves, what kind of Vermont we want to see? And we have the choice to embrace those fling walls, persecution and natural disasters and turn their misfortune into opportunity for them for us or we can sit and watch and do nothing. That brings me to my second ask that we must listen. Even though my partner Farajah will tell you this is not my greatest attribute, but at least I try and I will continue trying. However, the listening I'm asking and speaking about is not only with the ears but with the heart and mind. It is that listening that allows for the better understanding. We must listen because it is important. That's by immigrants' contribution to the greatness of our state and nation. Historically, they have not been heard, seen or equally represented in our state government. So it is symbolically important we listen. We must listen to understand. We must realize that immigrants look at things through different lengths. That's not a flaw or something to be ignored, but an opportunity for better understanding. Too many of us have not paid attention to the numerous opinions facing immigrants. It starts when we open to dialogue either as a group or individuals. The important thing that is is that we start talking and more importantly, we start listening. But we also must literally listen. For those insults that immigrants sometimes deal insults such as they like free stuff. They do not share our values. They do not speak English. They do not like us. Or you should go back to your country. Those presumptive questions sometimes we ask on our dining tables. Why are they not appreciating all we have done for them? I know this anti-immigrant's rhetoric has no place in society and should not have a place in Vermont. Much less a state and people that bills is foundation on liberalism, justice, freedom, ethics, and civility. We should ask ourselves if we were on the other side. Will we put up with that for the second? I doubt we will not. Yet for years and sometimes sadly today, immigrants have faced a barrage of these insults and for time and again for the sake of a better life, they responded with a dignified restraint. We must listen and then we must act. We must react to our systems that need re-examination. Systems that are embedded with institutional bias. And sometimes we reward people on the basis of the color of their skin, the places we were born, and the way we speak, then the value we create. We must react without fear. For too many times we have become victims of our own doubts. Sometimes to the belief that increase in immigration puts a greater burden on our economy and way of life. But that zero sum mentality is simply not true. In fact, studies have shown the opposite, that United States benefit from immigration. We must react because of the promises our nation made. Give me your tired, your poor, your hard masses getting for breath to breathe free. We cannot with credibility perpetuate this principle on other people unless we correct the inadequacy in our systems. Friends, it is critical that we should react to correct our system and then we leave others to do the same. Now let me turn to the immigrant community. Those here or those listening through social media. I ask you to engage, inspire and persevere. If ever we should change the system and embrace our new home, we must engage and persuade our native born neighbors to be involved in the conversation. Your native born neighbors are not the enemy. In fact, their inclusion is a prerequisite to the success of meaningful immigration system in our state and nation. So I challenge all of you to return and engage at least one native born when you get back. The key is to engage in honest dialogue in a safe place to expand your horizon, your belief system while educating them on your own. In this way, you can both become agents of change. If you truly believe there's a need for improvement at all levels of our system, you must boldly believe, you must boldly be willing to engage those on the other side of it. I ask you to inspire, inspire fellow immigrants those here or those to come after you. You are the ambassadors of the month to those to come. I believe no matter who you are, you can be an inspiration by your accomplishments, your careers, and the little things you do every day. So never focus so much on the fact that the system as it is now are not in your best interest, that you lose sight of the incredible opportunities that this nation and this beautiful state offers. Finally, I ask you to persevere. Persevere to recruit more immigrants to come to Vermont that's by the slow progress we have made. Persevere takes courage, humility, diligence, and passion. It takes strengths of characters and sincerity of convictions. So you may ask, how can that classify as such a little thing? Or classify that as a little thing? Well, when I think of it, I don't think of you. I think of those who came before us. Albert Einstein, one of the physicists, was a refugee. Sachi Bryan, co-founder of Google. Lea Vastros, the Lea Vajins. Decombe Motumbo, one of the greatest basketball players. Madeleine Albright, former US Secretary of State, and former US ambassador to the United Nations. Jane Kohn, who started off as a cleaner in a grocery store, but co-founder of WhatsApp. Steve Chen, co-founder of YouTube. Why these are people we notice? There are so many immigrants you do not hear about, but continue to do those little things that are changing lives. When I think about them and many others that came before them, I imagine them standing before a tall mountain to climb. A mountain so tall that they cannot see the top. And while they cannot see the top, they also can't see what is on the other side. But they knew, on the other side of that mountain, there is an opportunity. These people had two choices. They could turn and go back and not climb, or they could start climbing. They chose to climb not because it was easy, but with the hope they will reach the top and come out on the other side. But many of them also knew they wouldn't get to the top or the other side. But it depends if you have the hope that others will come behind them and pick up from where they stopped. And as they did, the climb became easier. That's part of the obstacle to face. They were on deter and on relating to climbing. We celebrate them today not because they were not of doubts or failures, but because they kept climbing. That my friend is persevering at the highest order. And by comparison, what I ask of you today is a little thing. So I want to put all this together by telling you the little things in my life. In recent times, I had a conversation with my children who I haven't been living with for the past nine years. And I told them I will be traveling to Liberia soon. And from their reaction and seeing how they reacted caused me a lot of reflection. They could have chosen to be angry with me for leaving them all these years, but it chose the opposite. And from talking with them, then I realized, I spent much of my time ascending that mountain looking for the world I can conquer. But as I approach the top, I think about a world that I can live behind for them. Me, no mistake. I don't think I will have any long lasting effect on this world. In fact, most of us here, our names will not echo through our history. But what I do believe is that our everyday was an action might just be. Throughout everyday actions, we can have a measurable effect on the future. Little things like how we treat someone with equality, inclusion and acceptance, can dramatically alter their outlook thereby creating that butterfly effect. Even if we are not here to change the world, we can endeavor to change the world in which we live. And most of us in this room, and those watching or listening, that world will be spent largely in the little things we do. Someday, when we look back on that mountain that we climbed, and let us know we did a little things that made a bigger difference, and we created a better place for immigrants, state and country. Thank you. Thank you, Joe. Listen, act without fear, engage and persevere. Climb that mountain. You know, this award is a celebration of leadership in Vermont, and Joia, and each of our past awardees exemplify how the leadership of one person can overcome challenges, forge, pass forward, and make Vermont and our communities better more vibrant places. I want to thank Khan's family here today and for your ongoing support of this award that calls attention to the efforts by Vermonters to serve the public good. Thank all of you for taking the time to join us tonight to provide your support of this year's Khan Hogan Award winner. And we look forward to next year and hope that you'll help us spread the word when we announce the request for nominations that'll go out next May. For those participating virtually, thank you. For those here in person, thank you. And please join us together with Joe for more refreshments and fellowship. And we also, we've got a lot of food, so we have take home boxes. If anyone, there's no need to leave any of our food to waste. So if you can't eat it all here, take it home with you, but thank you all. And congratulations again, Joe.