The Owner

About Tesha Buss

I was raised on a dairy farm in rural Illinois and began doing back flips off the stereo when I was two.  Before I could read a novel, I was doing full tumbling passes across the floor of a gymnastics class.  Soon, I became Jr. National Champion for the United States Acrogymnastics Federation for mixed pairs — think Cirque de Soleil packed with a cast of overactive children.  My love of dance and the arts finally overcame my power tumbling aspirations, and I attended Illinois Wesleyan University to graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts.  My childhood dream came true when I was cast in the role of Rumpleteazer in Cats on Broadway.  After playing the role for two years, I directed and choreographed many shows regionally and off Broadway, and I served as a choreographer for five seasons at Vermont’s famed Weston Playhouse.  It was Weston that brought me to Vermont for the first time in 1999, and my love affair has been steadfast with the Green Mountain State ever since.  Suffice it to say, I was on a pretty short ladder to theatrical success when suddenly everything changed.  I had a new inspiration… more powerful, electric and conscious.

In 2003, I awoke from a dream with a powerful sense of urgency.

“You will open a center…”

This mantra was echoing in my head as I rubbed my eyes, and it wasn’t going to fade…

…I was shocked and certainly wasn’t accustomed to receiving such strange, insistent message.  But every few months, I found myself cracking open How to Write a Business Plan for Dummies and habitually pondering my financial life on the subway into midtown.  Mid year 2006, I traveled to Vermont to watch my best friend perform at the Weston Playhouse and saw the real estate listing for what would eventually become Good Commons.  The walls of this old general store/home hadn’t seen a family live through a Vermont winter in over 25 years!  But from first view, I knew it held outstanding potential, and the initial shell of Good Commons satisfied my dream list for what I thought that “center” meant for me.

My childhood dream came true when I made my very first entrance on Broadway in (1998).  The dream I was only able discover as an adult comes true around me at Good Commons every day.  There have been many angels that have turned this old building into a beautiful home for relaxation, rejuvenation and a rockin’ good time.  I am grateful that they have joined me in my dream, and I look forward to meeting you in it as well.

And the dream continues to grow!  In 2012 I purchased The Good Farm in Ludlow – just 15 minutes away from Good Commons.  This 100 acre former horse property was also in desperate need of some TLC – so I have started the process of revitalizing this gorgeous locale into a place that will benefit not only visitors, but the local community too.  In 2016 we broke ground on the first Community Solar Array in Ludlow on the farm, and planning continues to evolve The Good Farm into a place for visitors, retreaters, and all to come enjoy what our beautiful earth can provide.  Future activities on the farm will include organic gardens to provide food for Good Commons, and a second retreat center.  More to come in 2018!