Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State Parks is seeking public input as part of a modernization study that is currently underway. This study will provide a comprehensive assessment of the state park system including park amenities, operations, maintenance, revenue, and program delivery. It will identify key challenges, and resources needed to maintain core services and enhance offerings to meet current and future demands.

Vermont Business Magazine TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, announced today that it has named Sheryl L. McQuade as the Regional President of its New England Metro. In this role, McQuade will lead TD Bank's New England consumer and small business, commercial, and middle-market banking and lending services throughout a network of approximately 310 stores and nearly 2,900 employees in the greater New England region. She joined TD in 2019 as Regional President of the Northern New England Metro.

Vermont Business Magazine Sarah Waring, State Director for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) in Vermont and New Hampshire, today announced a $19,519,000 investment for the city of Montpelier to upgrade and expand sewer and stormwater infrastructure through USDA’s Water & Waste Disposal Loan & Grant program. She also introduced Rural Energy Specialist Ken Yearman as Director of RD Business Programs (BP) – VT/NH, who assumes the position vacated by former BP Director Cheryl Ducharme in May 2022.

Vermont Business Magazine The season’s first big snowstorm is on its way, with forecasters saying a Nor’easter will hit the Northeast starting late Thursday night and continuing into Saturday afternoon. In Vermont, up to a foot of wet heavy snow could blanket the region, starting late tonight in the south, and then moving up north through tomorrow. In addition to dangerous travel on the roads, wet heavy snow causes greater problems as it can weigh down trees and lines. In addition to GMP field forces, external crews are lined up to help restore power from the storm.

Vermont Business Magazine If you haven’t gotten your annual flu shot or updated COVID-19 booster yet, now is the time to take advantage of expanded hours at Health Department vaccination clinics — where you can walk in, with no appointment necessary. New hours include more evenings and weekends through the end of December, making it easier for those who work or go to school to get vaccinated quickly and easily. Starting as early as December 19, many clinics will also offer the updated (bivalent) COVID-19 vaccine newly approved for eligible children 6 months to 5 years old. Starting in January, walk-in clinics will transition to more limited hours and close by January 31. Vaccines will continue to be widely available, at no cost to the patient, by appointment at doctors’ offices, pharmacies, or other locations where vaccine is offered.

Vermont Business Magazine Treasurer-Elect Mike Pieciak announced today that he has selected Gavin Boyles to serve as Deputy State Treasurer beginning in January. Boyles most recently worked as General Counsel for the Department of Financial Regulation overseeing all legal functions at the Department and a team of nine legal professionals. Boyles has 14 years of government service in Vermont including time as an Assistant Attorney General and as Law Clerk for Chief Justice Paul Reiber at the Vermont Supreme Court.

Vermont Business Magazine Helping Vermont’s rural communities thrive—in the face of big challenges brought about by climate change and population shifts—will be the focus of a new institute at the University of Vermont. UVM’s Institute for Rural Partnerships, which will begin its work immediately but will be formally unveiled in the summer at the UVM Innovation Partnership Summit, is made possible by a $9.3 million award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, with leadership and support from U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, (D-Vermont).

VermontBiz Tim Kight states rather bluntly that if an organization isn't performing as well as its leader would like, the first place the leader should look to improve the organization's performance is in the mirror.

A lot of people in positions of management "are too quick to blame others," says Kight, who is founder and CEO of leadership training firm Focus 3 of Columbus, Ohio. "They're too quick to find fault, as opposed to looking at themselves and the way they lead."

Kight extolled the virtues of what he calls "relentless leadership" in the December episode of the 21st Century Business Forum, a webcast that features monthly one-on-one interviews with some of the nation's most prominent business minds and thought leaders.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Institute of Natural Science has been granted an award from The Dorr Foundation to fund a new branch of their Homeschool Initiative program. The VINS Homeschool Initiative is a growing program designed to build science literacy and provide a community of learning for children that come from different parts of the Upper Valley. The new facets of the program aim to meet the needs of homeschool parents in science, STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) and place-based education, and to help them navigate the evolving field of science instruction.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation (FPR) is beginning a public engagement process to identify opportunities to help Vermont chart a path forward to protect the long-term viability of forest-based businesses – and the many benefits they provide to the state’s environment, economy, and quality of life. To launch the project, FPR is asking all users of forest products to complete a survey to help understand their perspectives and opinions about key topics shaping the future of the forest economy and forest products sector in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) is providing a second round of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to support low- and moderate-income Vermont homeowners in repairing or replacing their failed or inadequate on-site water or wastewater systems – often referred to as wells or septic systems. Eligible homeowners may apply for this round of ARPA On-Site funding by January 31, 2023.