Rick Bessette, often fondly referred to as the poet laureate of Shelburne, is a bright and smiling native Vermonter (Shelburne) and a face well known among many. Rick is off on a new adventure; he is compiling his poems for a book to be published this year by Shelburne's Wind Ridge Publishing Inc. Rick is extremely excited about this new venture and looks forward to holding the final bound and printed pages in his hands sometime in the not too distant future.

Family: Rick and his wife Candy have been married for 33 years. They met when Rick was working on the Shelburne Farm's property. They have two adult sons: Jeremy and Travis. Rick's dad lived with their family for 20 years. Rick said this was great because his children were able to grow up with their grandfather. Rick's brother, Tom, is Shelburne's constable, and is very involved with the community. Tom currently lives in Shelburne right down the street from Rick and Candy.

Education and career: Rick was in the first class that graduated from the building that is still the Shelburne Community School. He went on to attend and graduate from CVU and then rolled right into working for Shelburne Farms, the place where he had grown up. In July of 1973, Rick began his nine-year tenure working on Southern Acres, a 1,000-acre property. In 1982 Rick began working for the Webb family, and did so until 2004. Rick worked for two generations of the Webb family as a caretaker and groundskeeper. Rick is now the property manager for two other Shelburne families.

Poetry: Rick has been writing poetry for the last eight to 10 years. Rick described his start as just dabbling, but after his dad died, he said that he felt compelled to express his feelings in rhyming verse and that writing poetry was a familial gift he felt bound to use. Rick admires his uncle's poetry, the late Joe Thomas, also of Shelburne, as well as the masterful poetry of Robert Frost. Rick describes his own poetry as simple and relatable. He can remember a time in his life (three to four years ago) when he broke his leg and was forced to sit inside and ponder and think. He said this was a turning point in his life and was when he truly became dedicated to the written word.

Favorite food: Seafood (lobster and crab) and prime rib

Hobbies: Carving duck decoys, antiquing, cruising, and writing poetry (obviously)

Music: Country

Movie: "The Notebook" and comedies

First concert: Huey Lewis and the News in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Bucket list: "I'm livin' a really good life right now, but I would like to see more of our great country."