Current News

BRESS, FREY AND GRIFFIN HONORED WITH
VERMONT WOMEN IN HIGHER EDUCATION ANNUAL AWARDS
Vermont Women in Higher Education (VWHE) recently announced its award recipients at the organization's annual conference held at the Lake Morey Resort last month.
The awards are named after three outstanding women leaders in Vermont higher education: Sister Elizabeth Candon (former president of Trinity College), Jackie Gribbons (former Dean of Women at UVM), and Peggy Williams (former president of Ithaca and Lyndon State Colleges).

Dworkin's Leadership Wins National Recognition
Former Vermont Public Service Board Chairman Michael Dworkin has won a national award recognizing his work in founding the Vermont Law School's Institute for Energy and the Environment.
The Mary Kilmarx Award is given annually by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners' Energy Resources and the Environment (ERE) Committee to someone whose work reflects the Committee's goals of promoting good government, clean energy and the environment.

KELLIHER SAMETS VOLK RECOGNIZED WITH DIGITAL & PUBLIC RELATIONS AWARDS IN 2008

Agency Awarded for Work With Efficiency Vermont, Stowe Mountain Resort, Unicel, Concept2 and Crane & Co.

November, 2008 - Burlington, Vt. - Kelliher Samets Volk (KSV), a full-service marketing firm headquartered in Burlington, has been recognized this year with a number of prestigious awards from around the country.
KSV's digital group's work was honored by a number of national organizations, including the 2008 W3 Awards (3 awards), the Web Marketing Association, the Magellan Award from Travel Weekly magazine, the Web Marketing Association (3 awards), and Adobe Systems Inc.'s "Adobe Site of the Day." The public relations group at KSV also received numerous awards for its work from the Publicity Club of New England.

W3 Awards. In October, KSV was awarded one gold and two silver awards at the 2008 W3 Awards, a competition honoring creative excellence on the web.

Week Ending November 22, 2008
There were 1,562 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance last week, an increase of 355 from the week before. Altogether 9,492 new and continuing claims were filed,1,065 more than a week ago and 2,293 more than a year earlier. In addition, the Department processed 1,126 claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008, an increase of 49 from last week.
The Unemployment Weekly Report can be found at:
http://www.vtlmi.info/

Previously released Unemployment Weekly Reports and other UI reports can be found at:
http://www.vtlmi.info/lmipub.htm#uc

Snelling Center Issues Report on Strategies to Fund Road and Bridge Repairs
November 25, 2008 - -
The Snelling Center for Government reported today that surveys of business leaders and the public indicate that Vermonters want action to fix Vermont's deteriorating roads and bridges.

Seeking to prevent tragedy and raise awareness of improper heating
systems, local Concord Group Insurance Companies is giving $500,000 to
their policyholders for the purchase of home heating fuel this winter
season. Thousands of individuals and families across the state of
Vermont are eligible for Concord Group's one-time "A Warm Hand:
Policyholder Heating Lottery" program.

According to Joseph A. Desmond, Chairman and CEO of Concord Group, "We
recognize the unique challenge the economy causes for many families this
holiday season. We have seen our policyholders through the Great
Depression, oil embargo and other economic challenges. This is one of
the ways we can show our policyholders - in a way that touches their
lives - how we value their trust."

All Concord Group Insurance homeowner and mobile homeowner policyholders
of record as of October 31, 2008 are eligible in the state of Vermont.

Vermont's State Historic Preservation Officer has announced she is retiring from her post after 33 years of serving state government.
Jane Lendway, who has led the Division for Historic Preservation since 2003, will step down on December 31.
Jane has been a dedicated public servant and the results of her efforts can be seen in preserved barns in our fields and historic buildings in our downtowns and villages, said Governor Jim Douglas. On behalf of the people of Vermont, I extend my gratitude for more than three decades of excellent work.
Lendway, 57, of Montpelier, joined the Division for Historic Preservation, part of the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, in 1975.
She served as a National Register and survey programs supervisor; federal and state preservation grants administrator; tax credit project reviewer; Certified Local Government coordinator, and preservation planner.

A Sears Authorized Retail Dealer Store has opened at 383 Exchange Street, Middlebury. The store is owned and operated by the Harrington familyMike, Kym, Ashley, Chad, Jared, Michaela and Sethall of Leicester, Vermont.
There are five additional employees, other than family members, and the Harringtons hope to add more local jobs in the future. Owner Kym Harrington stated, "We wanted to offer the Middlebury community something it really needed, and with a name like Sears, how could we go wrong?"
The store carries appliances, electronics, tools, lawn and garden equipment, exercise equipment, vacuums, snow blowers, generators and much more. Customers will be able to place orders at www.sears.com and have them delivered free of charge to the Exchange Street location. This service is available for any product sold by Sears.

VEOC Board of Directors Elects New Leadership
Burlington, Vermont (November 24, 2008) The Vermont Employee Ownership Center's Board of Directors has elected new officers for the coming year.
Paul Millman is the newly elected Board President. Millman is the president and co-founder of Chroma Technology Corporation (Rockingham, Vt.) and has served on the VEOC board since 2002, previously as Board Vice President. He brings a wealth of knowledge of Vermont's business community and has worked tirelessly to promote employee ownership.
"I am excited to take on the important job of steering the Vermont Employee Ownership Center over the next year," said Millman. "I look forward to working with the VEOC board, staff, and the entire business community to increase the number of Vermont employee-owned companies," he said.

WINOOSKI FALLS NAMED WINNER OF THE
2008 LIVABLE COMMUNITIES AWARD
BURLINGTON, VT - The Winooski Falls project and its developers HallKeen, The Braverman Company and New Boston Fund will receive the 2008 Livable Communities Award for forward thinking in the field of home and community design. The Livable Communities Award, cosponsored by AARP and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), honors builders, developers and remodelers that create attractive, well-designed homes and communities, which are safe, comfortable and accessible for people of all ages and abilities. This year, HallKeen, The Braverman Company and New Boston Fund is one of four winners nationally.

BED to Hold Off on Rate Increase
Burlington Electric Department, which had received approval from the Electric Commission to seek up to a 5.9 percent rate increase, has agreed to withdraw the request at this time.

Chittenden Bank Delivers $20,000 Check to CVPS Shareheat
Rutland, Vermont In a continuing effort to assist Vermonters in need during these tough economic times, Chittenden Bank recently donated $20,000 to the CVPS Shareheat Fund. For over 20 years, Shareheat has provided emergency home heating assistance to residents within the Central Vermont Public Service (CVPS) territory. This resource is used primarily when low-income Vermonters find themselves ineligible for other programs, beyond their eligibility, or applying for assistance for the first time.
Funds for Shareheat are raised from the general public and matched dollar for dollar by CVPS shareholders. In July CVPS kicked off its annual Shareheat campaign five months earlier than usual. CVPS pledged $100,000 in matching funds for incoming donations, and combined with the Shareheat Business Partnership Program that amount has increased to $185,000 for this heating season.