Current News

Modest Job Market Anticipated for Burlington
December 14, 2004 Burlington area employers expect to hire at a moderate pace during the first quarter of 2005, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

From January to March, 20% of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while 17% expect to reduce their payrolls, according to Manpower spokesperson Susan Cram. Another 46% expect to maintain their current staff levels and 17% are not certain of their hiring plans.

In the Burlington area, employers expect less hiring activity than in the fourth quarter when 27% of the companies interviewed intended to increase headcount, and 13% planned to decrease it," said Cram. "Employers are more optimistic about hiring than they were a year ago when 13% of companies surveyed thought employment increases were likely and 17% intended to cut back."

Is Your Business A Century Old? If Yes, Then The Secretary of State Is
Looking For You!
Program Honors Vermont's Centennial Businesses
Montpelier. Secretary of State Deb Markowitz has put out a call for
nominations for the 2005 Vermont Centennial Business Awards program. The
Vermont Centennial Business Awards honors businesses that have operated in
Vermont for at least 100 years. This is a joint project of the Office of
the Secretary of State, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce and the Vermont
Business Magazine.
Secretary of State Deb Markowitz said, "Any business that has been in
operation in Vermont for 100 years or more can participate in this new
awards program by filling out a registration form and providing
verification of its business start date." Vermont's centennial businesses
will be presented with a plaque at an awards ceremony and their names will

Criterion announces that Rick Carey has joined the company as a senior consultant. Carey will concentrate on management coaching, advising on policy and procedure and management training seminars for the public sector.

Tim Mueller, outgoing Chairman of the Vermont Business
Roundtable and President of Okemo Mountain Resort, announced the election
of the new slate of officers and board members for the coming year at the
organization's 17th Annual Membership Meeting held at Stoweflake Resort &
Conference Center on December 2nd.
The Roundtable's Officers for 2005 are: Chairman: Staige Davis,
President, Lang Associates; Vice-Chairman: Timothy R. Volk, President,
Kelliher Samets Volk; Secretary: Daria V. Mason, President and CEO,
Central Vermont Medical Center; and Treasurer: Douglas J. Wacek,
President and CEO, Union Mutual of Vermont Companies.
Newly elected Chairman, Staige Davis acknowledged the hard work of the
Roundtable's members during the past year in areas related to health care
reform, growth center planning, improved educational outcomes, and

mjacobs
Timothy McQuiston
2004-11-09T20:02:37Z
2004-11-09T20:01:12Z
2004-12-08T17:54:10Z
Vermont Secretary of State
10.2625

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# of
Seats
DISTRICT NAME
Incumbent
ALPHA NAME
MAILING ADDRESS
CITY
STATE
ZIP
PARTY AFFILIATION

1
Governor
Y
Douglas, Jim
PO Box 1414
Montpelier
VT
05601
Republican

BURLINGTON, Vt.--Champlain College, a career-oriented, private college in Burlington, Vt., has named five new members to its Board of Trustees.
Dawn Bugbee, CPA, of Colchester, Vt., is chief financial officer at Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans. Shes a member of the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Healthcare, as well as a Vermont board member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association. Shes also a member of Rotary International.
As a volunteer, Bugbee serves on the board of directors of the Vermont Education and Health Buildings Financing Agency and the Nordic Spirit Soccer Association, and she coaches girls soccer teams. She earned a bachelors degree at Castleton State College and her CPA license in Vermont.

GREEN MOUNTAIN POWER
ANNOUNCES QUARTERLY DIVIDEND
COLCHESTER, VT . . . Directors of Green Mountain Power Corporation (NYSE:GMP) have announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.22 per share on the utility's Common Stock, payable December 31, 2004 to holders of record at the close of business on December 17, 2004. The indicated annual dividend rate is $0.88.
Green Mountain Power Corporation (www.greenmountainpower.biz) is a Vermont-based energy services company serving 89,000 electric customers.
-- 30 --

Ehler's RV Awarded Winnebago's "Circle of Excellence Award"
Winnebago Industries, manufacturer of Winnebago and Itasca motor homes, awarded Ehlers RV of Essex Junction, VT their coveted Circle of Excellence Award for 2004.

Ehlers RV received this award for exceeding customer expectations. Winnebago Industries Circle of Excellence status is based on each dealers Customer Satisfaction Index, from initial sales, delivery and continuing service experiences.
Peter Beauregard, owner of Ehler's RV, accepted the award stating, It's great to be recognized nationally for achieving our goal of setting new standards of customer satisfaction.

Merchants Bancshares, Inc. Announces Special Dividend and Trust
Preferred Securities Issuance
SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT - The Board of Directors of Merchants Bancshares, Inc.
(NASDAQ: MBVT), the parent company of Merchants Bank, today declared a special
cash dividend of $4.50 per share payable December 17, 2004 to shareholders of record as
of the close of business on December 10, 2004. The total amount of this special dividend
will be approximately $28.10 million. After looking at several alternatives, Merchants
Board of Directors has determined that the lower tax rates on dividends provide an
opportunity for Merchants to return capital to its shareholders in the form of a special
dividend in a simple, fair and transparent process. Merchants has decided to move
forward with a special dividend as the optimal capital management alternative. Merchants

Governor Douglas Proposes $15.6 Million in Property Tax Reductions
Two Year Savings from Act 68 Would Exceed $41 Million
Montpelier, Vt. -- Governor Jim Douglas today proposed to reduce Vermont's
statewide property tax rates for education by 8 cents, an additional 3
cents below the reduction achieved last year.
"Under Act 68, the property tax reduction bill of 2003, the Legislature
established statewide homestead and non-residential property tax rates of
$1.10 and $1.59 respectively," Governor Douglas said. "In fiscal year
2005, based on projected surpluses in the education fund I proposed, and
the legislature approved, lowering rates by 5 cents to $1.05 and $1.54.
For fiscal year 2006, I will recommend statewide property tax rates are
reduced a total of 8 cents to $1.02 and $1.51 respectively."
This would be the lowest statewide property tax rate since the tax was
created by Act 60.

Salvanellis Authentic Italian Specialties
P.O. Box 65155
Burlington, VT 05406-5155
Telephone 802.951.2523
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: www.salvanellis.com
For Immediate Release Contact: Gloria Salvanelli
Tel: 802-951-2523
Salvanellis Authentic Italian Specialties
Offers Gourmet Italian Food Baskets
Burlington, VT -- December 2, 2005 -- Its been said that the problem with Italian food is that, after you eat it, five or six days later youre hungry again. The point, of course, is that Italians are as passionate about food as they are about good wine and true love. Esse nufesso qui dice male di Maccheroni. In other words, He who speaks badly of macaroni is a fool.

Champlain names endowed chair for Perry
Champlain College trustees have announced the creation of the College's first endowed chair, naming it in honor of retiring President Roger Perry. The Board of Trustees voted to create this $1 million academic fund, The Doctor Roger H Perry Endowed Chair, as part of the College's successful Power of Three Capital Campaign.

The news came at the Annual Meeting of the Board of Trustees on October 22, when Champlain College trustees announced the Power of Three campaign has already raised $15 million, exceeding its $12 million goal a full year before the official close of the campaign.

Trustees and friends of Champlain College have been quietly raising funds for this special honor for President Perry, and they surprised him with the news at the Annual Meeting. They have already funded $800,000 toward the $1 million goal for the endowed chair.