Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Community College of Vermont (CCV)-Bennington will once again offer its entrepreneurship program in fall 2019. Start-Up 802 is a two-course curriculum designed to help students develop entrepreneurial skills and launch business ideas. The program was launched last year as the result of a collaborative effort to stimulate economic development and cultivate local talent. CCV developed the program in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce, Bennington County Regional Commission, and the Small Business Development Center, among others.

Nicole Stetson is an associate academic dean at CCV. She says the collaborative nature of the program gives students immediate access to a local network of entrepreneurs.

“Our hope is that they are connecting with the resources in our community to move their ideas forward, and that they are launching, or close to launching a business by the end of the semester.”

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Lisa Ventriss, President of Vermont Business Roundtable (Roundtable), and Mary Anne Sheahan, Executive Director of Vermont Talent Pipeline Management (VTPM), announced the receipt of a three-year, $250,000 matching grant to implement employer demand-driven workforce strategies across all counties in Vermont. The award is one of 13 presented by the Northern Borders Regional Commission, a Federal - State partnership, in support of employment-generating projects to reduce poverty, unemployment, and out-migration, through economic and infrastructure programs. 

Vermont Business Magazine The first results of a statewide effort to test drinking water for lead at schools and child care facilities are detailed on a new website created by the Department of Environmental Conservation. Approximately 440 public and independent schools, and more than 1,200 licensed or registered child care facilities are due to test every tap used for drinking or cooking before December 2020.

by Geoff Robertson, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund Anyone who composts knows that if you mound up leaves, animal bedding, and food scraps, you end up with a big, hot pile of compost. While most people, however, see the nutrient-dense material as the finished product for fields and gardens, Brian Jerose also sees renewable energy and a cleaner Lake Champlain.

Vermont Business Magazine Search marketing agency, Eight Oh Two Marketing, has just been named to Inc. magazine’s annual list of America’s fastest-growing private companies — the Inc. 5000. Eight Oh Two ranks in the top half of the list, at number 1969. The agency was also named the fastest-growing private company in Vermont on the Inc. 5000 list. Also on the Inc. 5000 list are Vermont companies Resonance, New Breed Marketing, Jamaica Cottage Shop and iMarket Solutions.

Vermont Business Magazine The Peck Company (NASDAQ:PECK), a leading commercial solar engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company based in South Burlington, on Wednesday reported results for the second quarter 2019 ended June 30, 2019. Revenue during the second quarter of 2019 increased 36.7% to $6.3 million, compared to $4.6 million in the prior year period. Higher revenue in the quarter was driven by increased project work. Peck took a net income loss of $(995,642) for the quarter and $(774,064) the the year-to-date.

Vermont Agency of Transportation US Route 2 at the temporary drawbridge is open to two lanes of traffic. Please expect intermittent stops and releases of traffic by flaggers to allow for construction vehicles to enter the work zone. The contractor is currently working 7AM to 6PM, Monday through Thursday, and 7AM to 1PM on Fridays. No weekend work is scheduled at this time.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott, US Senator Patrick Leahy, US Representative Peter Welch, and officials from the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) announced Friday that 18 Vermont organizations, including the Southern Windsor County Incubator in Springfield, will receive more than $7.9 million in federal grants to spur job creation, build essential infrastructure, train new workers, and develop communities.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont and the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) signed an Educational Partnership Agreement today that will lead to a wide range of education and research-oriented exchanges between the two organizations. CRREL, based in Hanover NH, is part of the United States Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). It is a national resource for cold regions science and engineering. CRREL scientists and engineers seek innovative, interdisciplinary solutions to the challenges faced by the Army, the Department of Defense and the nation in the earth’s cold and complex environments.

Vermont Business Magazine The Small Business Innovation Research Road Tour is coming to the University of Vermont from 7 am to 3 pm September 16 at the Dudley H Davis Center. The SBIR Road Tour is a national outreach effort connecting entrepreneurs working on advanced technologies with Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs, the country’s largest source of early stage funding. Also known as America’s Seed Fund, the SBIR and STTR programs provide more than $3 billion annually to small businesses in a variety of technology areas.  

Attendees will have the opportunity to hear directly from federal agency program managers that administer more than 5,000 new awards annually and to meet one-on-one with program decision makers.

Vermont Business Magazine Removal of Mill Pond Dam on Indian Brook in Colchester is now under way following a two-year design and permitting process. The Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC) has been leading this project since the dam owner, Kim Scofield, requested assistance to remove the dam. Dams have existed on Indian Brook since the early 19^th century to provide power for a series of sawmills, but the Mill Pond Dam has not served a purpose since the last mill burned down in 1941. Meanwhile, its impoundment has eliminated 2,200 feet of free-flowing riverine habitat, which is now choked with sediment carried from upstream. The deteriorating dam is classified by the state Dam Safety Program as a “significant hazard.”

Vermont Business Magazine Mt Ascutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC) has announced that it has been selected as a recipient of a 2019 Couch Family Foundation Community Grant. The grant, which will be distributed over three consecutive years, was awarded in June 2019 to support the Family Wellness Coach in the Hospital’s Family Wellness Program. The grant was awarded following a detailed application process.

Dr Joseph Perras, CEO and Chief Medical Officer at MAHHC, expressed the Hospital’s gratitude at being awarded the grant. “We are profoundly grateful to the Couch Family Foundation for supporting the health and wellness of local children and families. Our Family Wellness Program is designed to have a significant, long-term positive impact. We look forward to delivering that impact for years to come, for the benefit of the entire Upper Valley.”