Current News

Josette Noll of Otter Creek Awnings & Patio Rooms in Williston, VT has been awarded a Betterliving Excellence Award-Gold Certificate from Craft-Bilt Manufacturing. As a Gold Certificate winner, Noll was recognized as being in the top 15% of sunroom designers in the nation. Noll specializes in 3- season patio rooms and year round sunroom design throughout Vermont and has been with Otter Creek Awnings & Patio Rooms for the past 4 years.
Otter Creek Awnings & Patio Rooms of Williston, VT is pleased to announce that Cindy Chittenden has been awarded a Betterliving Excellence Award-Silver Certificate from Craft-Bilt Manufacturing. The award places Chittenden in the top 25% of all Sunroom designers nationwide. Chittenden has been with Otter Creek awning for the past 3 years and specializes in 3-season patio rooms and sunroom design throughout Vermont.

The Addison County Chamber of Commerce Publicity & Promotions Committee is
pleased to announce that Northlands Job Corps has been chosen as the
February 2005 Business of the Month. Northlands Job Corp is located on
MacDonough Drive in Vergennes.
Sitting down and chatting with Center Director, Chris Kuhn and Tracy
Steen, Community Relations Liaison, I learned that Northlands Job Corps
opened their doors in Vergennes June 1979 which marks their 25th
anniversary this year. The National Job Corps will be celebrating their
40th anniversary in 2005. The Northlands campus is located on 66 acres and
offers nine vocational programs in the following subjects: Auto Body
Repair, Auto Mechanics, Business, Computer Support Specialist/Information
Technology, Culinary Arts, Facilities Maintenance, Health
Occupations/Certified Nursing Assistant, Urban Forestry and Welding.

DALE CARNEGIE TRAINING ANNOUNCES LAUNCH
ESSEX, VT (January 31, 2005) -- The local Dale Carnegie Training® office, Vermont Training Solutions, Inc., announces the launch of their newest workplace series Get Down to Business. Consisting of 6 bi-monthly sessions, these free 90-minute workshops focus on topics and tools to increase communication and productivity in the workplace.
The series begins with "Personalities: Capitalizing on Our Differences", to be held on Thursday February 10, 2005 at The Best Western Windjammer Conference Center. Sessions run from 8am to 9:30am, with the next topic to be announced soon. Participants may attend as many or as few of the six sessions as they would like. Registrations accepted via phone (879-7219) or e-mail ([email protected]).

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida and WILLISTON, Vermont, January 31, 2005 & Greg Hahr, President/ CEO of LibertyQuest Mortgage and Lou Dunham, President/ CEO of Ameribank, are pleased to announce the execution of a letter of intent to create a joint venture, named Ameribank Mortgage. The new company will become a subsidiary of Ameribank upon regulatory approval.
According to Mr. Hahr, Ameribank Mortgage is committed to setting the highest standards of excellence throughout the mortgage financing experience. Our team of professionals will guide customers through the wide variety of mortgage programs to find the right home loan that meets their needs at the lowest rates and fees possible.

Area CPA Firm awarded Presidents Award and Managing Partner to be Installed as Chairman of National CPA Organization
Kittell, Branagan & Sargent, the St. Albans, Vermont based accounting and consulting firm has been named to receive the 2005 Presidents Award presented by cpasnet.com. The firm was selected from among the 44,000 accounting and business consulting firms across the nation. Dana Kittell, CPA, managing partner and one of the founding partners of KB&S will formally receive the award at the annual meeting of the organization in San Antonio later this year. In addition, he will be installed as the Chairman of the organization for a three-year term.

NORTHGATE APARTMENTS ONE STEP CLOSER TO RESIDENT OWNERSHIP
[Burlington, VT] Representative Bernie Sanders joined Northgate residents and funders today to commemorate a major accomplishment in advancing the long term preservation of Vermonts largest resident-controlled rental housing complex. Fannie Mae (FNM/NYSE), an investor in multifamily housing, donated its ownership stake in Northgate Apartments to one of the nonprofit owners, greatly reducing the cost of transferring the complex to the residents.
As Burlington Mayor, I led the fight to prevent the loss of this critical affordable housing resource and ensure that it could remain an affordable, great place to live for the foreseeable future, Representative Sanders told the crowd. I applaud Fannie Maes donation of its interest and congratulate the residents in taking a huge step to extending resident control, he said.

BURLINGTON, Vt.--David J. Provost of Shelburne, Vt., has been named vice president of finance and administration at Champlain College. He will be a member of the Presidents Council and will be responsible for the Colleges finance, human resources and physical plant. Provost replaces Lawrence J. Veladota, who retired from the College after 35 years of service.
Mr. Provost has rich experiences in a number of different positions--from serving as a CPA, CFO and CEO--which will strengthen our senior management team, said President Roger H. Perry.

BENSON, VT Rhonda Lenair, a renowned energy healer and medical intuitive, has relocated her practice from Massachusetts to Benson, VT. Ms. Lenair established her practice in Massachusetts in 1987 and has assisted over 30,000 clients, attracted from around the world, for a wide array of addictions. Alcoholism is her specialty; smoking, stress-related problems and physical issues are also effectively addressed. She decided to relocate to Vermont in order to open a new chapter of her work - writing and teaching - in addition to growing her proprietary method of healing.

Controlled Energy Corporation Acquired by BBT Thermotechnik,
Subsidiary of The Bosch Group
Vermont Company Operations to Remain In State
Waitsfield, Vt.-Mary Moffroid, President of Controlled Energy Corporation
(CEC,) has announced that the company is being acquired by the Bosch
Group, Germany. The Bosch Group is an international industrial company
with 230,000 employees and worldwide annual sales of $41 billion in 2003.
CEC will be integrated into the international organization of Bosch´s
subsidiary BBT Thermotechnik GmbH, a leading European manufacturer of
heating products.
In 2004 Controlled Energy Corporation generated sales of $34 million with
70 employees in Vermont and at 15 locations throughout the U.S. and
Canada. Controlled Energy Corporation is one of the U.S. market leaders
for tankless, point-of-use, and high-efficiency water heating equipment.

Blue Spruce Farm begins generating CVPS Cow Power
BRIDPORT - Fifteen-hundred Bridport dairy cattle of all ages, from first-calf heifers to mature milk cows, have become the newest generators in Vermont. Blue Spruce Farm has begun producing electricity by burning waste methane gas for CVPS Cow Power(tm), a first-in-the nation program directly linking CV customers, farm generation and the environment.
"The girls are now officially producing two streams of income, a milk check and a power check," said Earl Audet, who owns the farm along with his brothers and their families. "This is one more way to diversify the farm, improve our bottom line, and manage our manure responsibly."

Vermont Business Magazine The Offices of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont and the Vermont Attorney General jointly have stated that William V. Boettcher, 57, the former Chief Executive Officer of Fletcher Allen Health Care, Inc. (FAHC) in Burlington, Vermont pleaded guilty to the federal felony of conspiring to make false statements in a health care matter, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371 and 1035, on charges arising from fraud in connection with the construction of the FAHC Renaissance Project.

Fonda Group closes St Albans plant
The Fonda Group, a manufacturer of decorative paper products, will close its St Albans plant November 1 as part of a consolidation by its parent corporation Solo Cup Company.

All 168 jobs in Vermont will be lost, though employees are encouraged to apply for other jobs in the Solo company across the country. The nearest such facility is in North Andover in eastern Massachusetts.
Fonda is one of St Albans oldest companies, going back 63 years. Fonda was bought by Solo in February 2003. Its other product lines include Sweetheart and Lily.