Current News
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Vermont Business Magazine ReArch Company, Inc has announced a $1,000 sponsorship donation to Vermont Tech for the 2018 Construction Project Management contest. This donation is specifically important to us as it fosters the development of skills that graduates need to build rewarding careers in our industry. Their graduates help provide a dedicated workforce for Vermont and the region.
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Vermont Business Magazine Cannabis media and events company Heady Vermont is excited to announce The Headies 2020, their second annual cannabis cup. The inaugural 2018 competition attracted over 80 competitors in categories including THC and CBD flower, concentrates, topicals and edibles. Given that 2019 was the first full legal season for home grow, organizers anticipate increased participation as well as a wider variety of entries. In support of maximizing participation, they’ve expanded the range of entry categories to include CBD edibles and topicals, hybrid flower, hemp, and a special Masters flower division, where participants will all be given the same seed stock - Grimace OG - from Masters category sponsors Archive Seed Bank.
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Network similar to Amber Alerts would provide rapid public notification when a law-enforcement officer is at risk of harm or has been seriously injured or killed
Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Public Safety and the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont announce Vermont’s Blue Alert network. The newly developed Vermont Blue Alert system is designed to rapidly disseminate information to the public when a law enforcement officer has been seriously injured, killed, or is missing in the line of duty warranting concern for the officer’s safety, and the suspect(s) involved have fled and pose an imminent threat to the public or other law enforcement officers.
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Vermont Business Magazine Rhino Foods, a food manufacturer, has recently been awarded $9,600 through the Vermont Training Program (VTP), a workforce development program. The grant will be used to fund on-site English instruction to Rhino employees, many of whom are new Americans. At these training sessions, Vermont Adult Learning will come to the facility to train the employees in English, reading, and writing. The prime emphasis of the curriculum will focus on English for workplace operations. Rhino Foods provides this benefit to its employees at no cost.
“We are proud to provide grant funding to Rhino Foods,” Joan Goldstein, Department of Economic Development Commissioner, said. “Currently, Vermont is suffering from a labor shortage. Rhino Foods is helping fill this gap, becoming an employer of choice for many new Americans.”
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Vermont Business Magazine A central Vermont tradition continues August 16-17 with Gifford’s 14th annual Last Mile Ride to support end-of-life care for patients and their families. The two-day, family-friendly event includes a motorcycle ride, 5K run, and 1- and 2-mile walks to raise funds for palliative care and special services. Last year, the Last Mile Ride’s 415 participants and 53 business sponsors raised $110,000 to support end-of-life care for central Vermonters, bringing the grand total to more than $760,000 since the inaugural LMR in 2006. Proceeds are used to help ease the end-of-life experience and support grieving families.
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Vermont Business Magazine Continuing efforts to oppose the federal government’s plan to repeal the Clean Power Plan, Attorney General TJ Donovan announced that he joined with 21 other states, the District of Columbia, and six cities to file a lawsuit seeking review of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) replacement rule. In a petition for review filed at the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, the coalition asked that the court review the final version of the “Affordable Clean Energy Rule,” the EPA’s intended replacement for the Clean Power Plan.
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Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Education has awarded seven Equity Literacy grants to 13 Vermont school districts and supervisory unions across the state. The grants, totaling nearly $200,000, will support individual and collaborative projects in addressing equity gaps in their school communities. The applications involved numerous partnerships and collaborative work. Grantee awards will range in funding from approximately $4,000 to $44,000. Summaries of the grant proposals can be found on the agency’s website.
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Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Chamber of Commerce announced the nine recipients for the Above and Beyond Awards, an award category designed to showcase the inspiring workforce shaping Vermont today. The Above and Beyond Awards will be given to individuals who have taken that extra step in their job, industry, or community work, thus contributing to a more vibrant state for Vermonters to live, work and play. Special recognition for their outstanding qualities and achievements will be showcased during the annual Vermont Chamber Citizen of the Year & Above and Beyond Awards Dinner on Tuesday, November 19, 2019 at the Hilton Burlington Hotel.
2019 Above and Beyond Award Recipients:
• Steve Bryant, Dorset Inn
• Steve Costello, Green Mountain Power
• Mark Delaney, Smugglers’ Notch Resort
• Leslie Griffiths, GlobalFoundries
• Julie Holcomb, Vermont Employment Agency
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Vermont Business Magazine The annual Rabies Bait Drop, a cooperative effort between the State of Vermont and US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services to stop the spread of rabies, began on August 11. The week-long bait drop is part of a nationally coordinated effort to halt the fatal disease. Rabies vaccine — in the form of a sweet-smelling oral bait that is attractive to raccoons and skunks — will be dropped in rural areas of Vermont from low-flying aircraft and placed by hand in residential centers. Approximately 450,000 quarter-sized blister packs containing rabies vaccine will be distributed in nearly 100 Vermont communities across nine counties. A switch allows pilots to control where the baits fall, in order to avoid roadways, homes and other places where people are most likely to be.
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Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced Josh Hanford of Randolph has been appointed as commissioner of the Department of Housing and Community Development where he will lead Governor Scott’s efforts to create more housing and help Vermont communities grow.
“Josh has decades of experience making government work for communities,” said Governor Scott. “He also understands the urgency of building more housing units and undertaking new and innovative approaches to rural economic development.”
Josh Hanford as a VBM Rising Star in 2013.
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Vermont Business Magazine The Brattleboro Retreat will host the 10th Annual Ride for Heroes event at 10:00 am on Saturday, Aug. 17th with registration beginning at 9:00 am. The motorcycle ride starts and ends on the Retreat campus with a post-ride barbeque lunch. This is the 10th annual Ride for Heroes in support of the Retreat’s Uniformed Service Program (USP), which offers specialized trauma and addiction treatment for people who are, or have been, active military, law enforcement, fire fighters, veterans, EMS, and corrections personnel.
“The need for services that target men and women in uniform has never been greater,” said Dr. Louis Josephson, president and chief executive officer of the Brattleboro Retreat. “While the stresses of duty in today’s world can easily become overwhelming, proper treatment definitely helps individuals reclaim their lives. The Ride for Heroes raises needed funds to keep these services operating.”
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Vermont Business Magazine A new study shows Vermont with the 20th highest suicide rate in America with 18 suicides per 100,000 people with the rate growing faster than the national average. Suicide rates in the US have grown by 20% in the last decade and are at the highest level since 1942 with 14 suicides per 100,000 people. Vermont’s suicide rate has increased by 73.1% since 1999, which marks the 4th largest increase of any state over this time.