Apply to be a 2024 Maple Ambassador
It's time to apply to be a 2024 Vermont Maple Ambassador, a program of the Vermont Maple Festival, sponsored by the Franklin County Maple Sugarmakers' Association and the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers' Association. Applications are due by April 10th and in person interviews take place on Saturday, April 29 at the Maple Festival in St. Albans.
The annual Ambassador program offers a $2,500 scholarship to two individuals, a male and a female, and offers them the opportunity to represent the Vermont Maple industry at functions throughout Vermont and New England for one year. This Scholarship competition is open to any Vermont student ages 16-21. Potential candidates do not have to come from a sugaring family but they must have knowledge and experience about maple sugaring.
Vermont's Maple Ambassadors help promote and educate the public about Vermont maple by taking part in fairs, festivals, and field days across the region. From the Governor's Tree Tapping in March, to Maple Open House Weekend, county fairs and the Vermont Building at the Eastern States Exposition in Springfield, Massachusetts - we schedule Ambassadors to join us across the region throughout the year.
Interested in applying or know someone who is? You can find the application materials and information on the Vermont Maple Festival website.
Hannah Brannon - 2023 Maple Ambassador, Fairfield, VT
Maple has always been an important part of Hannah’s life and the heart of her family. From a young age, gathering sap in buckets with her horses was one of the many things she looked forward to doing when the first thaw came. Later in life, her family transitioned to a pipeline and vacuum system and underwent an expansion. As the industry evolves, Hannah has noted that the one thing that does not change is the heart of their production and their love of being around the people involved. Her small, six-generation dairy and maple farm is nestled into the valleys of Fairfield, Vermont.
Keegan Bryant - 2023 Maple Ambassador, Pawlet, VT
Keegan’s involvement in the maple industry began when he started walking. Some of his earliest memories are of watching his grandfather boil, filter and package maple syrup on his 5,000 tap operation in Pawlet. When Keegan was only 7, his grandfather became ill and needed to sell his operation. The following year, when no boil was possible, Keegan realized he wanted to keep the tradition alive. That next year, Keegan used a 2x2 pan on cinder blocks to make 2 gallons of his own syrup. Every year since he has grown, adding taps and upgrading his equipment. This year, Keegan put out 1,600 taps on a newly leased property!
Evan Fletcher - 2022 Maple Ambassador, Fletcher, VT
Evan is a 7th generation sugar maker from Fletcher, VT. His earliest memory of sugaring is trying to drink the sap from the trees when gathering buckets. These days, Evan helps in his family’s 1,000 tap sugarbush by fixing the lines, tapping, boiling and removing spouts. Evan’s family owns the Vermont Maple Outlet in Cambridge, VT where they boil their sap on a 2’x 6’ evaporator. They boil at the store where Evan does most of the boiling and gives tours explaining the maple sugaring process. In school, Evan even helped teach part of his Farm to School class when one of the units was on maple sugaring.
Charlie Schurman - 2022 Maple Ambassador, Jay, VT
Charlie’s family runs an operation with about 56,000 taps on land in Jay and Eden, VT. At six years old, Charlie’s first job in her dad’s sugarhouse was making sure the maple syrup didn’t boil over the pan. As time went one, she gained additional chores like stacking wood, checking the sap levels in the tanks and learning how to grade and bottle syrup. The sugarhouse quickly became her second home and walking the lines, making repairs, trucking sap, and feeding the fire became part of her everyday life. Charlie is an active volunteer in her community with the Jay Focus Group, Coats for Kids, Water for Sudan and other local organizations.
Abigail grew up on a 350-acre sugarbush with 22,000 taps. She’s been involved in maple her whole life. In her infancy, she watched her Grandfather boil sap and now today she cleans filter presses, moves barrels, cleans tanks and checks lines daily after school. She has been a volunteer at the Vermont Maple Festival since she was 12. She’s been interviewed and featured in The Washington Post and Forbes Magazine. In June of 2019, she represented young females in the maple industry at The Fancy Food Show in New York City. In 2020, her family’s sugarhouse held the annual Governor’s Tree Tapping Ceremony, which she helped organize.
Dustin lives in Jay and is an intracule part of his family’s 3,700 tap operation. He also helps out at his Grandfather, Jacques Couture’s sugarbush as well as his neighbor’s. His maple skill set ranges from setting up lines, tapping, cutting firewood, and building anything to make sugaring more efficient. Dustin currently attends North Country High School and Career Center and has been involved with Vermont FFA, holding the rank of Officer for two years, he recently just accepted the role of President for his Senior year. In his time with FFA, Dustin has helped with some of their best fundraisers, which have included making value added maple products including maple lollipops, maple sugar and coated nuts. After high school, Dustin plans to pursue a degree in Natural Resources in college.
