League of Cities & Towns bestows Shepeluk with Lifetime Achievement Award
Oct. 7, 2022 | By Waterbury Roundabout 
Vermont League of Cities and Towns Executive Director Ted Brady (left) and South Burlington City Manager/league President Jessie Baker (right) present the VLCT Lifetime Achievement Award to Waterbury Municipal Manager Bill Shepeluk at the league's annual Town Fair this week in Killington. Photo courtesy VLCT
Waterbury Municipal Manager Bill Shepeluk was one of four “champions of municipal government” honored this week by the Vermont League of Cities and Towns at its Town Fair in Killington – the largest gathering of local Vermont officials of the year.
Shepeluk was one of two town managers having served more than 30 years in their positions to receive the league’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Shepeluk is retiring at the end of this year after marking 34 years as town manager last March. Carl Rogers, town manager in Barre Town, was the other lifetime award recipient.
The league also honored Vermont State Treasurer Beth Pearce with the Vermont Municipal Service Award; state Rep. Laura Sibilia, I-West Dover, of the Windham-Bennington district received the Legislative Service Award.
“Vermont’s cities, towns, and villages are in a stronger position thanks to Beth Pearce, Laura Sibilia, Bill Shepeluk, and Carl Rogers,” said VLCT Executive Director Ted Brady. “Each has contributed to making local governments – their own and those across the entire state – more fiscally sound, more functional, and more resilient.”
During an awards dinner Thursday evening, the league’s board President Jessie Baker -- South Burlington’s City Manager -- noted that the lifetime award is bestowed to individuals who have an exceptional impact on local government beyond the borders of their own city, town, or village.
Both Shepeluk and Rogers have long been known as thoughtful and talented leaders who helped their own communities build infrastructure and rebuild after natural disasters, while also managing the pressures of thousands of selectboard meetings, department head meetings, and citizen concerns, Brady said.
In addition to serving in his manager position for over three decades, Shepeluk has been a member of three different league governing boards, including stints as president of each. He served on the board that oversaw municipal health insurance plans, he serves on the board that oversees municipal unemployment benefits, and he was on the VLCT Board of Directors for more than a decade.
Baker presented the award to Shepeluk saying that he was her first town manager role model because she grew up in Waterbury while he held that job.
Town Manager in Barre Town for more than 30 years, Rogers has served on the board of league’s Property and Casualty Intermunicipal Fund since 2007 and he has been president since 2019. He also created the Vermont Regional Emergency Response Commission, which created the Vermont Hazardous Material Response team. He also is the local representative on the State Emergency Response Commission.
Pearce this year is not running for re-election after serving six terms as state treasurer and more than 40 years in state and local government. Baker thanked her for her stewardship of the Vermont Municipal Employees’ Retirement System noting that its stability serves as an important recruitment and retention tool for municipal governments competing in a difficult job market.
Siibilia was recognized for spearheading a bill last legislative session that established a $36 million grant program to help municipalities make energy efficiency upgrades along with her championing universal broadband access. When not in the State House, she works at Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation working with community and economic development projects.
The Vermont League of Cities and Towns is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 1967 to support local government in Vermont. It provides legislative advocacy, educational workshops, consultation, resource materials, and insurance coverage for Vermont municipalities.