Current News

Managing Director William P. Stritzler of Smugglers' Notch Resort in Jeffersonville has been elected chair of the Vermont Business Roundtable, and five Vermont CEOs are newly-elected to three year terms on the board of directors. The new directors and officers assumed their roles during the Roundtable's annual membership meeting on Jan. 14. Stritzler takes over the position from Timothy R. Volk, president of Kelliher Samets Volk, a Burlington-based marketing firm. Upon taking the helm Stritzler said, "There is much work to be done and the Roundtable is in a unique position to provide leadership on critical issues."Other newly elected officers include Steven P. Voigt, president and chief executive officer of King Arthur Flour Company, Inc.(Norwich) as vice chair, Douglas H. Griswold, president of S.T. Griswold & Co., Inc. (Williston) as secretary, and Mark R. Neagley, president of Neagley & Chase Construction Co. (So.

Heritage Flight, which has been in business since 1984, has just been granted IS-BAO (International Standard of Business Aviation Organization) certification. They are also AR/GUS platinum rated and Wyvern recommended. This remarkable accomplishment has been achieved by only 4 charter operators in the nation. This recognizes Heritage Flight's continued commitment and emphasis on safety.
In addition, Heritage Aviation, a subsidiary of Heritage Flight, is set to open in the fall of 2009. Located at the Burlington International Airport adjacent to Heritage Flight, Heritage Aviation will provide full FBO, maintenance, and fueling services. This 79,300 square foot state of the art LEED facility will be one of the first of its kind in the country and will feature not only a first class lobby and reception area, pilots lounge, quiet rooms, weather and briefing areas, but a cinema, fitness center, conference rooms, dining facility, and an observation deck.

A new booklet, "How Burlington Became an Award Winning City: An Historical Summary of Burlington's Economic Development Efforts with a Vision for the Future 1983-2008 " is a chronicle of major economic development efforts in the City, highlighting a handful of particular programs and projects as well as some of the many awards that have been received. Included are sections containing Five-Year Goals, Priorities and Lessons Learned over 25 years.
On Line version:
http://www.cedoburlington.org/business/25%20years%20final%20book.pdf

The US Census Bureau has opened a census office in Vermont to carry out early 2010 operations and is looking for qualified applicants to fill more than 800 jobs across the state. The local census office is located near Burlington. Positions include address listers, office clerks, recruiting assistants, crew leaders and field operations supervisors. The census employees will help develop an address list in spring 2009. The address list will be used to deliver census questionnaires in 2010. The jobs are temporary; some are full time and others part time. Census jobs offer flexible schedules and allow close-to-home employment. Pay starts at $13.50 per hour and varies by job and location. Those interested in applying for these jobs should go to www.2010censusjobs.gov for job descriptions, qualifications and applications. Potential applicants also can call toll free 1-866-861-2010. Applicants must be age 18 and older, U.S.

South Burlington, VT, January 19, 2009--The Magic Hat Brewing Company & Performing Arts Center has announced sales results for the 2008 calendar year, and the numbers show that the brewer holding strong continues to perform well despite a shaky American economy and the rising prices in production costs.

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Jan. 20, 2009) - Trader Corporation (Trader), the vertical media business of Yellow Pages Income Fund (TSX:YLO.UN), announced today it has entered into a strategic agreement with Burlington, Vermont-based Dealer.com (www.Dealer.com) that will deliver a suite of marketing technology solutions to Canada's new and used vehicle industry.
Trader and Dealer.com have signed a long-term, exclusive commercial agreement making Dealer.com's web solutions available to Trader's extensive customer base in Canada served under its AutoTraderTM brand. Concurrent with the commercial agreement, Trader will also take a 20 per cent equity interest in Dealer.com for US$35 million, with the option to increase its ownership in the privately held company over time.

Miss Vermont 2008, Ashley Wheeler, received the best talent score for her a capella rendition of "God Bless America" in the final night of the Miss America preliminary competition on Thursday, January 22, 2009.
WHERE: Planet Hollywood- Las Vegas, Nevada

WHY: The preliminaries are made up of three nights of competition where contestants are judged in talent, evening wear, fitness, on-stage interview, and private interview. The talent portion of the competition counts for 35% of the contestant's score. This recognition is very good news, as Ashley's goal is to be the first Miss Vermont ever to make the Top 15 and a top score in talent will help her overall score a great deal.

SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT-Merchants Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: MBVT), the parent company of Merchants Bank, announced today that its Board of Directors declared a dividend of 28 cents per share, payable February 19, 2009, to shareholders of record as of February 5, 2009. Merchants plans to release earnings on or about January 28, 2009.

Thursday, January 22, 2009. Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, legislators, guests, my fellow Vermonters: "The legitimate object of Government," Abraham Lincoln once wrote, is "to do for the people what needs to be done, but which they can not, by individual effort, do at all, or do so well, for themselves."
The task of crafting a responsible budget is one of our most important duties in any season. But with our nation mired in recession and state government facing steep declines in revenues, building a budget that honors Vermont's long held traditions of fiscal restraint, neighborly compassion and forward looking resolve is absolutely essential. Indeed, a focus on what must be done - on that which Vermonters cannot do at all or so well for themselves - must guide us in these most difficult times.

RUTLAND, VT--(Marketwire - January 22, 2009) - Central Vermont Public Service (NYSE: CV) has lowered its earnings estimate for 2008 from a range of $1.50 to $1.60 per share to a range of $1.28 to $1.38 per share. The revised range reflects the unanticipated, record-breaking service restoration efforts related to the ice storm that hit the New England region in mid December. The company is consulting with its regulators regarding its ability to defer a portion of the extraordinary costs under its Alternative Regulation plan. If those costs are deferred for future recovery, 2008 earnings could rise to a range of $1.45 to $1.55 per share. The company cannot predict the outcome of this matter at this time.

Morrisville, VT January 21, 2009 - Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ - UNB) today announced net Income for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $1.34 million or $.30 per share compared to $1.51 million or $.34 per share for 2007. Net income for the year ended December 31, 2008 was $5.11 million or $1.14 per share compared to $5.66 million or $1.25 per share for the same period in 2007. Results for 2008 reflect a year to year decrease in net interest income of $501 thousand or 2.8%. The loan portfolio grew $35.1 million or 11% which caused an increase of $70 thousand in the loan loss provision. There was a writedown of $512 thousand in the third quarter on two available-for-sale investments in corporate bonds due to impairment in value. And, there was an increase in other expenses partially offset by an increase in trust and fee income, an increase in tax exempt income from life insurance and a reduction in the provision for federal income taxes.

January 22, 2009. Secretary of State Deb Markowitz announced today that the number of new businesses registered with the Secretary of State's Corporations Division during the year 2008 have decreased considerably. As of January 1, 2009, there were registered in Vermont 15,495 Vermont corporations, 8,704 foreign corporations (out-of-state companies doing business in Vermont), 38,290 trade names (sole proprietorships), and 17,345 limited liability companies. Of these, 8,631 were newly formed in 2008. This is significantly less than the 9,452 new businesses that registered in 2007.