Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Champlain College Esports Club will once again join thousands of gamers nationally to raise money for its local Children’s Miracle Network hospital, the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital, this year with a 48-hour marathon Extra Life event. The on-campus gaming event unites about 200 players and audience members from the school community to play games, participate in tournaments and make donations to fund critical life-saving treatments, innovative research, vital pediatric medical equipment, and child life services.

Vermont Business Magazine The Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) has officially launched the Worker Relocation Incentive Program, which will provide incentive grants to defray moving costs for out of state people relocating to Vermont. The program and $3 million in funding were passed as part of ACT 183 by the Vermont Legislature during the 2022 session. The Worker Relocation Incentive Program will provide grants of up to $7,500 to both new workers (moving to Vermont to take a Vermont job) and remote workers (moving to Vermont and bringing their job with them). This new program has expanded to include all occupations to better serve employers needs across all sectors. The program also includes a pre-approval process for those who have not yet moved to the state. The pre-approval process informs applicants prior to moving if they are eligible to receive a grant once they relocate, and it reserves funding to pay their grant once they complete their move and submit the required verification documentation.

Vermont Business Magazine Just ahead of Veterans Day, U.S. Secretary of Labor, Martin J. Walsh, recognized Darn Tough Vermont as one of the recipients of the 2022 HIRE Vets Medallion Award during a virtual award ceremony presented by the U.S. Department of Labor. Darn Tough earned the Gold award – and is the only Vermont company to receive this recognition. The Honoring Investments in Recruiting and Employing American Military Veterans Act (HIRE Vets Act) Medallion Program is the only federal award program that recognizes employers who successfully recruit, hire, and retain veterans.

Vermont Business Magazine Residents in five Chittenden County municipalities voted Tuesday to form a Communications Union District (CUD) to pool demand, resources, and speed up the build-out of universal broadband. 89% of voters cast a ballot in favor of forming the Chittenden County CUD.

"I am thrilled by the overwhelming response from South Burlington voters in support of forming and joining a regional Communications Union District in what promises to be a huge step forward towards improving the affordability, quality, and access to high-speed broadband connectivity and service in our region," said Andrew Bolduc, South Burlington Deputy City Manager.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont fell one cent per gallon from yesterday but were still up 5 cents/g from last week, up 18 cents from last month and up 55 cents from last year. The lowest price was $3.50/g in Hartford and the highest was in Addison at $4.19.

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington residents will soon be able to enjoy a slate of wonderful new public activations, art, and amenities at the former Moran Plant site, now called The FRAME, thanks to a recently launched crowdfunding campaign. The campaign is sponsored by the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development’s Better Places program and led by Friends of The FRAME. If the campaign reaches its $20,000 goal by December 15, 2022 the “Activations, Art, and Amenities at The FRAME” project will receive a matching grant of $40,000 from DHCD’s Better Places program.

Vermont Business Magazine Commissioner of Finance & Management, Adam Greshin, has announced a public forum for comment on FY 2024 State budget development. Pursuant to 32 V.S.A. § 306(d) the Governor is required to enable public participation in the development of goals and in the general prioritization of spending and revenue initiatives. Members of the public with thoughts, comments, or suggestions regarding the development of the FY 2024 budget are invited to participate via an online survey or through a link to a brief budget presentation and public comment page.

by Elli Scott, University of Vermont The 2022 Eric Zencey Prize in Ecological Economics, which celebrates outstanding writing on the environmental limits of a finite planet, has been awarded to Post Growth: Life after Capitalism by UK-based writer and scholar Tim Jackson. The announcement was made today by the Gund Institute for Environment at the University of Vermont (UVM) and the U.S. Society of Ecological Economics, which award the Eric Zencey Prize in Ecological Economics every two years.

Vermont Business Magazine The Curtis Fund, a supporting organization of the Vermont Community Foundation, is pleased to announce a bold scholarship program for Vermonters seeking to become early childhood educators. The Curtis Fund Commitment: A Comprehensive Scholarship for Early Childhood Educators is a pilot program that will provide scholarships for the full cost of attendance (tuition, fees, housing, food, and transportation) to students who wish to earn a certificate in child care at the Community College of Vermont (CCV). The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that the median annual wage for a child care worker in Vermont is $29,430. The combined high cost of postsecondary education and low salary are discouraging people from becoming early childhood educators and creating financial hardship for those that do. The Curtis Fund hopes to address this by investing in a certificate program as a more affordable way to prepare early childhood educators. Most importantly, this program will allow students to graduate with the knowledge and skills they need to start their careers, debt-free.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the Vermont Department of Labor visited GS Precision on Thursday to announce a more than $228,000 grant, which will support the establishment of a new Registered Apprenticeship Program with the company. The announcement comes as a part of Vermont’s efforts to promote apprenticeship programs in the state, before National Apprenticeship Week, which takes place November 14 – 20, 2022. GS Precision has been granted $228,061.33 of state funds appropriated to support advancing apprenticeship programs. The grant to GS Precision establishes a machinist apprenticeship program, the first Registered Apprenticeship Program in the company’s history. With the funds, G.S. Precision will add training staff, as well as update educational facilities and equipment to support the program.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Outdoor Business Alliance's (VOBA)) 2nd Annual Trailblazer Legacy Award will be presented to Marc Sherman and Mike Donohue, co-founders of the Outdoor Gear Exchange (OGE) in Burlington, by U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy. Senator Leahy was the inaugural Trailblazer Award recipient in 2021 for his lifetime of work preserving and protecting Vermont’s remarkable outdoor places, foundational to the successes of outdoor businesses like OGE. The 2022 Trailblazer Legacy Award ceremony will take place as part of VOBA's Fourth Annual Meeting and Outdoor Economy Sessions at HULA in Burlington, Vermont. The award ceremony will be emceed by Lisa Lynn, Editor of Vermont Sports Magazine, and will be followed by an outdoor sector networking reception hosted by VOBA.

Vermont Business Magazine iSun, Inc (NASDAQ: ISUN) announced Tuesday that it has entered into a debt financing agreement for up to $25 million in Senior Secured Convertible Notes facility with a single institutional investor. The proceeds will be used for repayment of indebtedness, satisfaction of certain of the Company’s financial obligations, working capital and general corporate purposes. An initial funding of $12.5 million (less an original issue discount of 6% and transaction expenses) under the Notes will be immediately available to the company at the initial closing which occurred on November 4th, with an additional $12.5 million (less an original issue discount of 6% and transaction expenses) available in a subsequent funding, subject to the satisfaction of certain funding conditions. iSun is based in Williston.