Current News

by Steven Berbeco, Mental Health Initiative Director, United Way of Northwest Vermont You can’t talk about education today without also talking about mental health. Our schools are on the frontlines of the youth mental health crisis. However, the level of emergency that we can see is just the tip of the iceberg. There are a few things that we know about youth mental health in schools. We know that there are more than 80,000 students in Vermont. We know that there are only 200 licensed school counselors. But there is a lot we don’t know, a lot submerged beneath that iceberg. For instance, we know that in 2021 about half of all the high school girls in Vermont reported poor mental health, and about 1 in 5 had made a suicide plan. We know that suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among Vermonters aged 15 to 34. But what we don’t know is what resources those kids had available to help keep them safe.  

by Dr. Darrick Hamilton Recently, Vermont State Treasurer Mike Pieciak, Senator Kesha Ram Hinsdale, and Representative Daniel Noyes introduced a ‘Baby Bonds’ initiative, a program that would invest $3,200 for every low-income Vermont child born on Medicaid. Those investments would grow with each child, becoming available at young adulthood for wealth-building purposes. As an economist, I helped design the concept of Baby Bonds as a means of generating wealth and granting financial independence — a tool for individuals to escape the iterative confines of systemic asset poverty.  

Vermont Business Magazine As part of MENTOR Vermont’s annual Youth Mentoring Celebration, Senator Jane Kitchel, D-Caledonia, from Danville, Vermont, received their first State Legislator of the Year Award. Senator Kitchel has served in the Vermont Legislature as a Senator since 2005 and as the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee since 2011. In 2023, she was instrumental in ensuring that the Vermont mentoring field, through MENTOR Vermont, received their first significant increase in state funding since 2007. This increase allowed MENTOR Vermont to provide significantly more funding to mentoring programs this school year and to match more Vermont youth with mentors.

Vermont Business Magazine Mercy Connections has announced that Mari McClure as the recipient of its 2024 Catherine McAuley Award. Each year, Mercy Connections’ Board of Directors selects a person who exemplifies community leadership and service in the example of Catherine McAuley, a 19th century leader dedicated to social justice and founder of the Sisters of Mercy. McClure is the President and CEO of Green Mountain Power and is an inspiring team leader committed to helping Vermont. The award will be presented at the nonprofit’s annual “Power of Connection” event on Tuesday, May 7, at Hula in Burlington. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Horse Council is preparing to host equine professionals, business owners, and organizations at its 6th Equine Industry Summit to be held on Saturday, April 27, 2024, at the Green Mountain Horse Association (GMHA) in South Woodstock, Vermont. The conference provides an opportunity for equine professionals to hear from industry experts from the Vermont Farm Bureau, the Vermont Law School, and the Vermont Dept of Tourism & Marketing. The keynote speaker, equestrian legend Denny Emerson, kicks off the event, followed by five sessions featuring seven speakers. The sessions focus on the role of equine businesses in agriculture, tourism, trail access, and identifying industry-wide priorities.

Leonine Public Affairs Legislative priorities for 2024 are beginning to take shape as policy committees have moved beyond the introduction and review phase that generally marks the first few weeks of the session. The Joint Rules committee set March 15 and March 22 as crossover deadlines for policy and money bills respectively, solidifying the time frame for committees to finish work on their priority bills. The crossover deadline is the date by which a bill needs to pass out of the last committee of reference in time to be taken up by the opposing chamber in the same  session. Crossover during the second year of a biennium is particularly important, as bills will not carry over into the next legislative session. 

Vermont Business Magazine Ledyard Financial Group, Inc (ticker symbol: LFGP), the holding company for Ledyard National Bank with a branch in Vermont, has announced financial results for Q4 2023 and Full-Year (FY) 2023. Q4 net income was $116 thousand, down $723 thousand from Q3 2023, with the decline attributable to reserve growth consistent with loan production volume in the quarter. FY 2023 net income was $3.2 million, down $3.8 million or 54% from $7.0 million in 2022. Consistent with the NIM compression observed industry-wide in 2023, Net Interest Income was down $1.4 million or 7.8%, and investment in infrastructure and inflation drove non-interest expense up $1.8 million, or 7.0%. Wealth management revenue came in at $12.7 million, down 1% from $12.8 million in 2022, and the net effect of provision expense and securities gains or losses amounted to $682 thousand and $668 thousand of expense in 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Vermont Business Magazine With the Presidential Primary and Town Meeting Day (March 5th) about one month away, Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas is reminding Vermonters about the resources available to them through her office’s “MyVoterPage” online platform. This online platform is a comprehensive resource for election information and allows voters to perform a variety of functions related to voting.

Ellen Kahler, Executive Director, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund 2023 was a big year for the clients we worked with through our Business Management Coaching Program. Our 11 coaches were fully engaged with 26 clients over the past year. Most saw increased sales into new market channels, improved profitability, new investments in equipment, and improved staff hiring and retention. All reported that having outside support and advice gave them more confidence to make tough decisions, explore new opportunities strategically, and be more intentional around leading their company. Read on to learn more about our progress in 2023 and some exciting new initiatives in 2024.

Vermont Business Magazine As it celebrates its 70th year, Hemmings, the trailblazing services provider for the collector car market, has launched Hemmings Pay + Title, a groundbreaking first in the collector car space. The service, powered by KeySavvy, provides secure payment and vehicle titling, which can often be complicated, particularly across state lines. Pay + Title is the newest offering in the Hemmings.com frictionless marketplace that helps collector car enthusiasts buy, sell, and beyond.

Northeastern Vermont Development Association The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office invites you to register for the annual National Community Solar Partnership (NCSP) Summit on February 14 from 12-4 p.m. ET. This year’s summit, ‘Community Solar – Deploying Benefits & Delivering Impacts,’ will convene community solar stakeholders from across the industry, including community-based organizations, solar developers, utilities, federal, state, Tribal, and local government, financial institutions, philanthropic organizations, housing providers, and more to align efforts toward expanding access to the benefits of community solar to the equivalent of 5 million households by 2025. The summit will feature interactive sessions, led by industry experts that explore the technical potential of community solar, including its potential to deliver meaningful benefits to households and communities at scale.  

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