The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster.

This episode features Beth Rusnock, president of the National Life Group Foundation and Daphne Larkin, Communications and Media Relations Director of the National Life Group.

Beth Rusnock says that the National Life Group wants to make sure that "the communities that their campuses are a part of - that they are vibrant. That they are places where our employees want to live, want to be a part of... "

Daphne Larkin adds that "this culture of volunteering and getting involved with our community is baked into everything that we do.  Everybody feels it, every body lives it, and we have people doing good in the name of National Life, all over the country".

If you want to donate to the flood recovery effort in central Vermont flood please visit the Montpelier STRONG Recovery Foundation.

Music for this Podcast – "The Good Life" by Railroad Earth.

Bordertown is hosted by Vic Guadagno and recorded in Montpelier, Vermont – located in the Upper-Winooski Watershed. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover. The Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet