VSBN's 17th Anniversary Celebration and Annual Meeting, "Highlighting Sustainable Community Initiatives," was held June 28, 2012 at Ducard Vineyard in Madison County, Virginia. Mary Paul Smith Jespersen, Senior Commercial Advisor, from the Royal Danish Embassy spoke about their energy self-sufficient island.

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Samsø Island in Denmark has become one of the first industrialized places in the world to qualify as being totally energy self-sufficient. The island is currently generating electricity from eleven 1 MW wind turbines as well as photovoltaic energy systems that are both large scale and individually owned. Homes on the island have been retrofitted for energy efficiency and use district heating, which is fueled by agricultural waste.

Presentations on community initiatives in Virginia followed. Charles Hendricks and Dr. Jeffrey Tang spoke about Harrisonburg Rockingham Green Network while Carol Davis, Community Outreach Facilitator for the New River Valley Planning District Commission, discussed the Sustainable Community Planning Grant. See below for photos and speaker presentations from this event.

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The Story Behind Samsų Island
Mary Paul Smith Jespersen, Senior Commercial Advisor, Trade Council, Royal Danish Embassy

Piedmont Environmental Council
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Carol Davis, Community Outreach Facilitator for the New River Valley Planning District Commission
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Charles Hendricks, AIA, CSI, CDT, CAPS, LEED AP, The Gaines Group, Architecture and Design
Dr. Jeffrey Tang, Dept. of Integrated Science and Technology (ISAT), James Madison University
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