A Connecticut Farmers Market gets a new Manager this Spring.
According to the Monroe Sun, long time Monroe Farmers Market manager Keith Ciociola is set to retire after running the market since 2017 and Kelly Plukett, will step into the role.
Ciociola became a volunteer that year and later succeeded Sue Muro as market master in 2017. But after guiding the Monroe Farmers’ Market through a challenging season amid the COVID-19 pandemic last year, he decided to step down from the position.
Kelly Plunkett and her husband Jim moved to Monroe 25 years ago and the couple now has two adult children and the farmers market has been a big part of her social life over the years.
She became a volunteer in 2008, which was the Monroe Farmers’ Market’s first year. She started out by helping vendors setup and answering customers’ questions. Then she went on to recruit others to volunteer.
One of her first initiative as the new manager is to create of a community advisory panel consisting of a farmer, a vendor, a volunteer, a member of the senior community, and two customers at large who have been coming to the market for years and could provide insight.
