Florida-based Pentecostal preacher Tommie Zito on Sunday launched his weeklong open house at the former Green Mountain College campus in Poultney to promote his plan to use it for a global evangelical school that he calls Z University. A parking lot attendant at the campus entrance told a Seven Days reporter that the event was open to the public. On the grounds, the reporter found Zito holding an opening prayer rally on the lawn with about 75 people, backed by a drummer and two guitarists as he preached his mission to save Vermont and the Northeast from damnation through revival of religious faith. Dressed in black with white sneakers and wearing thick-framed black eyeglasses, the 53-year-old preacher shouted into his hand-held microphone to the audience, many of whom stood with their hands raised skyward to pray for the future of the school. He named Vermont, New Hampshire, New York and Massachusetts among the Northeastern states to become godly. Later, Zito spoke in tongues, a practice in the Pentecostal faith in which a person speaks in an unknown language. Believers consider this to be guided by the Holy Spirit. After about 30 minutes, a staffer for Zito asked the Seven Days reporter to sign a registration form. The “guest compliance policy” — printed on Z University letterhead — included an agreement to obey a list of rules, including a ban on speaking to the media about any aspect of Zito’s open house. The staffer also said that all people present on the campus were required to sign the registration agreement and comply with the media black-out. The reporter declined to sign and left. Seven Days emailed Zito to ask about the form. He did not respond. The newspaper has been seeking an interview with Zito since breaking the story of his stated intent to purchase of the historic 115-acre campus in the heart of Poultney, but he has so far declined. He sat for an interview with WCAX, however. Screenshot Credit: Courtesy of WCAX No public record of a sale has been filed, and a spokesperson for its owner, Raj Bhakta, told Seven Days that the “official handoff” to Zito is set for October 1. Zito, meantime, has repeatedly said he owns the property, although he did tell Seven Days in an email earlier this month that he had not signed the agreement with Bhakta. On Monday, some people in Poultney who weighed in wanted to take a wait-and-see approach on the effort. Others questioned whether Zito has the resources to take on a project of this size. Martin Van Buren, owner of Mart’s Sporting Goods on Main Street, said the campus buildings will need “lots of money to be repaired and maintained.” Any new owner will need deep pockets, he said. A few doors down, Nicole Austin, owner of the Original Vermont Store, asked where Zito’s money is coming from. “How is he planning on sustaining this project?” she asked. Austin questioned Zito’s previous public statements that he chose Vermont because it was the least religious state in the country and in dire need of religious salvation. “Why would you come to a place because the people are so corrupt and awful that you want to change them? What does he think that he is going to change?” she asked. “It doesn’t seem very neighborly.” Town officials have not met with either Bhakta or Zito about the plan, and both men have yet to reach out about the project, according to Town Manager Paul Donaldson. Zito describes himself as an “itinerate preacher.” He has said publicly that he already has a $1 million donation from an anonymous source. Zito said he plans to open his school in August 2027 with up to 1,000 students, an ambitious timeline given the financial and state regulatory challenges he must clear. Zito’s plan is the latest twist in the campus’ fate. In 2019, Green Mountain College shuttered because of financial problems and declining enrollment. Bhakta, the founder of WhistlePig, purchased the campus for $4.5 million in 2020. The flashy entrepreneur, a former reality TV contestant and congressional candidate who had appeared as a contestant on Donald Trump’s show “The Apprentice,” promised to convert the historic campus into a world-class hospitality destination of hotels, condos, distilling and restaurants. But Bhakta never attracted outside funding or satisfied state Act 250 land use planning requirements. Bhakta’s relationship with the town deteriorated as the project languished and he filed a lawsuit challenging his property tax assessment. That came to a head in February, when he announced he would donate the campus to a Christian organization with a mission of saving the United States through a revival of religious faith. Now, another outsider with a big dream, this time based in religion, has come to town. Zito’s plans would require significant financing, as well as an ability to navigate academic certification requirements in a multistep process overseen by the Vermont Higher Education Council, Vermont Agency of Education, and the Vermont Board of Education. The post Preacher Holds Open House for Faith-Based School on Green Mountain College Campus appeared first on Seven Days. ...read more read less