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Vermont Business Magazine House Speaker Shap Smith and Senate President Pro Tempore John Campbell today announced the first ever “Legithon,” an intensive policy collaboration conference that will bring together Vermont students, academic leaders, business people, legal professionals and lawmakers to develop technology and economic development proposals. Drawing on models from events like Hackathons and the Start Up Weekend, the Legithon will bring together a diverse group to participate in an exciting weekend of work and learning. The goal is to educate the public on legislative processes by developing model proposals for economic development policy and legislative action.

Shap Smith and John Campbell at a Vermont Chamber event in February 2014. VBM file photo.

Vermont Business Magazine WhistlePig opened its brand-new distillery Wednesday in a converted 100-year-old barn on the WhistlePig Farm in Shoreham, Vermont. The distillery will make WhistlePig one of the few American whiskey companies to conduct the entire whiskey-making process in one place, from harvesting the rye fields to distilling, barreling, aging, and bottling the liquid. WhistlePig is the leader in the rapidly growing American rye whiskey market, and the opening of the distillery marks the culmination of its 5-year effort to transform WhistlePig Farm into the nation’s premier single-estate, grain-to-glass rye distillery.

Vermont Business Magazine Each year the Vermont Recreation and Parks Association presents the coveted Theresa S. Brungardt Awards to a professional, friend and organization who has made significant contributions to parks and recreation in Vermont. At the recent Vermont Conference on Recreation held at Lake Morey Resort, Brungardt Awards were presented to Thomas Hark of Williston (Friend), Local Motion based in Burlington (Organization), and Hartland’s recently deceased Recreation Director Ray Sapp (Professional).

Vermont Business Magazine Keurig Green Mountain, Inc (Keurig) (NASDAQ: GMCR), a personal beverage system company that has revolutionized the way consumers create and enjoy beverages, and The Nature Conservancy, the leading conservation organization working around the world to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends, announced their collaboration to address water quality issues for people and nature across North America. The collaboration is part of Keurig’s water stewardship goals and the Conservancy’s water conservation objectives. In 2014, Keurig established a new 2020 sustainability target to balance, ounce for ounce, the water used in all its beverages through projects that restore an equal volume of water for natural and community uses.

Vermont Business Magazine Dynapower Company, the global leader in energy storage inverters based in South Burlington, announced that it is supplying a newly designed 1 MW energy storage inverter to Ecoult as part of an Ecoult UltraBattery installation. The inverter is a 1 MW model from Dynapower's new Generation 3 Compact Power System (CPS™) product line, designed to provide greater power density and performance at competitive price points. The Ecoult system will be installed in the PJM grid-operating region, and is scheduled for commissioning in mid-2016.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain College has been recognized as a national sustainability leader in the 2015 Sustainable Campus Index released yesterday by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). GMC achieved the top spot for curriculum and air quality achievements, and the school was ranked #2 in the area of socially responsible investment strategies. The 2015 Sustainable Campus Index highlights top-performing colleges and universities in 17 areas, as measured by the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) developed by AASHE.

Green Mountain, which received a “gold” designation by AASHE in 2014, ranked first in the curriculum category, which recognizes institutions with education programs and courses that address sustainability. GMC declared its environmental mission in 1995 and has built its curriculum and campus culture around sustainability.

Vermont Business Magazine In 2007, Jack Brennan, then the president of Green Mountain College, became one of the first signatories of the American College & University President’s Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), a signature program of Second Nature. At the time the world was experiencing the second highest global temperature readings for any year on record. On October 5, amidst what might shape up as the warmest year since temperature records have been recorded, GMC’s president Dr Paul Fonteyn signed Second Nature’s Climate Commitment. He was among 45 university presidents to sign the commitment during a ceremony in Decatur, Georgia, on the campus of Agnes Scott College.

Vermont Business Magazine Farm to Feet, makers of 100 percent American socks made with US sourced materials, in US factories, by US workers, is celebrating the communities that support the brand by naming new styles for the fall season after those towns. The North Carolina brand named one of its new ski socks after Waitsfield. Farm to Feet socks are made completely with US materials via a transparent US supply chain ensuring the highest quality of materials and end products, while having as little impact on the environment as possible.
“From Vermont to Alaska to Oklahoma to Georgia, we are proud to honor the communities that support us,” said David Petri, Farm to Feet Marketing VP. “These communities provide the jobs that help keep the U.S. economy rolling and keep domestic manufacturing alive and thriving.”

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin released the following statement following the decision of the Non-Management Bargaining Unit (NMU) of the Vermont State Employees Association (VSEA) to walk away from the bargaining table during contract negotiations. The Corrections and Supervisory Bargaining Units remain engaged in talks with the State. A letter dated October 14 from the State’s Chief Negotiator requesting that the NMU return to the table is below. For its part, the union said later Wednesday that the state is forcing it to "bargain in the press."

by Jasper Craven, VTDigger Senator Bernie Sanders introduced himself to millions in Las Vegas Tuesday night in a high-stakes matchup that saw the Vermont Senator hit his policy points hard, though he leveled little criticism of his main contender, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who aggressively exploited Sanders’ weaknesses to shore up the perception that she is the inevitable Democratic candidate.

These Bears Have It All: Bernie's Hair, Trump's Hair, Hillary's Cell, Carson's First Aid Kit, and Jeb's Exclamation Point!

Vermont Business Magazine New rule: talk politics. That's according to Vermont Teddy Bear President and Chief Executive, Bill Shouldice. Taking the upcoming election year as an opportunity to promote the importance of voter interest and engagement, Vermont Teddy Bear has launched a new collection of presidential candidate Bears. Bernie Bear, many will remember, made his debut this spring. Joining him now are Trump Bear, Hillary Bear, Jeb Bear and Carson Bear… There's whisperings that Biden Bear is waiting in the wings.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power is nearing completion of a new substation in Waterbury that will significantly increase reliability for customers and improve the resilience of the electric grid in the area. The improvements were made this summer and included distribution line upgrades, all new equipment with higher capacity and better voltage regulation to support distributed generation, fiber communications and deterrents for animal caused outages and copper theft. Annually, GMP invests approximately $95 million in capital projects, including system maintenance and upgrades.