Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Alpine and Cross-Country ski areas, supporters and friends of Vermont’s ski industry gathered at Sugarbush Resort for the Vermont Ski Areas Association’s 53rd Annual Meeting on June 8th and 9th. For the first time in two years ski area members, associate members, partners and sponsors were able to recap a successful ski season in person. Despite the lingering effects of the ongoing pandemic, this season Vermont ski areas reported an additional 230,000 skier visits, which is an increase of 6.5 percent over the 2020-21 season. While the total of 3.76 million skier visits is six percent below Vermont’s 10-year average, Vermont’s rebound outpaced the Northeast region’s 4 percent growth.

Vermont State Police Jay Wilson, the suspect in a fatal shooting Tuesday afternoon at 13 Slayton Terrace in the town of Woodstock, was located late Tuesday night deceased inside the house. Precautionary measures that had been in place for residents of the area have been lifted. Members of the Vermont State Police Tactical Services Unit discovered Wilson’s body with a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound after 11 p.m. while searching the house room by room following a multiple-hour effort to persuade Wilson to leave the residence. TSU members reported hearing a gunshot after they made entry into the home. Police believed Wilson had been in the house since early afternoon, but his whereabouts were unconfirmed until the search of the home was completed. No one else was located inside.

Vermont Business Magazine Mathew Robitaille has joined TD Bank as the Regional Vice President for Vermont. In this role, Robitaille will oversee the Commercial and Retail banking activities, including commercial lending and retail stores within the region. He will also lead a team of relationship managers and closely support Vermont’s 23 stores. Robitaille brings more than 20 years of experience in banking and commercial lending, and most recently held positions as the Senior Business Banking Relationship Manager and Vice President of Commercial Banking for KeyBank.

Vermont Business Magazine TruexCullins won the 2022 HD Award for Excellence in Hospitality Design, Best Event Space, for the Rosebrook Lodge at Omni Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. The HD Award, presented by Hospitality Design Magazine, celebrates the best of the best in the hospitality industry’s most influential and innovative design work. TruexCullins was one of three finalists in the Best Event Spaces category, competing against more than 1,100 product and project submissions from U.S. and international design teams. On Thursday evening June 7, TruexCullins Associate Principals Marc DeSmet and Matt Bushey accepted the award at the HD Awards Gala in New York City

Vermont Business Magazine The Globee Awards, organizers of world’s premier business awards programs and business ranking lists, has named Fidium, Consolidated Communications’ consumer fiber internet service, winner of the Gold Globee in the 17th Annual 2022 Information Technology World Awards in the New Telecom Service category. This prestigious global award recognized Fidium for bringing new gig-speed internet access to hundreds of thousands of homes, and building a customer-centered experience, with competitive pricing and no data caps, contracts, or hidden fees. Fidium, part of Consolidated Communications, is coming to 87,000 Vermont homes by the end of the year.

Vermont Business Magazine Last week, in a historic victory for Vermont businesses and workers alike, Governor Scott signed the legislature’s economic and workforce development omnibus, S. 11 – legislation that includes over $15 million in funding for the new COVID-19 Related Paid Leave Grant Program. The Families First Coronavirus Relief Act offered critical financial lifelines to families in need by requiring businesses to provide emergency paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave for those impacted by COVID-19. In return, businesses received FFCRA payroll tax credits to cover the costs of providing this critical benefit.

Vermont Business Magazine With the official start of summer approaching and warmer temperatures on the way, the Vermont Department of Labor and the Vermont Occupational Safety and Health Administration (VOSHA) encourage employers and workers across Vermont to brush up on best practices for heat safety in the workplace. VOSHA will be holding a webinar on Monday, June 20 to provide more information on how employers can protect their workers from heat related illnesses.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health has partnered with the Charlotte-based Clemmons Family Farm, an African American-led nonprofit organization whose mission and expertise includes integrating the arts and storytelling into public health, K-12 education and community-building, for an innovative approach to gather information about the perceptions and motivations among Black Vermonters about getting – or not getting – COVID-19 vaccinations. The unprecedented scope of the COVID-19 pandemic has touched nearly every Vermonter and led to the state mobilizing the most comprehensive public health response in nearly a century.

Vermont Business Magazine Heart disease remains the No. 1 killer of adults in this country. During the month of May, Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel teamed up with the American Heart Association (AHA) in their mission to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives by raising $1,250 through a “Life is Why” consumer campaign. The Life is Why campaign encouraged the community and Lenny’s patrons to stand with both Lenny’s and the American Heart Association by donating to support heart research and local programing at the time of checkout at any of our four locations.

Vermont Business Magazine Gifford will distribute meals for Upper Valley Everyone Eats this month on Tuesday, June 28 between 5 – 5:30 pm at Gifford’s South Parking lot. The meals, provided by Randolph-based restaurant Tacocat Cantina, are available by reservation. Upper Valley Everyone Eats is the local hub of Vermont’s coronavirus relief program, Vermont Everyone Eats (VEE). VEE provides nutritious meals to Vermonters in need of food assistance, as well as a stabilizing source of income for Vermont restaurants, farmers, and food producers. This program is open to all Vermonters looking to stretch their food budget as a result of the pandemic or otherwise.

​Vermont Business Magazine In some parts of the state, Vermonters are noticing the return of a disturbing sight in our forests and backyards: masses of spongy moth caterpillars. The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) and Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation (FPR) have received numerous inquiries from concerned citizens regarding large numbers of spongy moth caterpillars, Lymantria dispar dispar, (also known as LDD, formerly gypsy moth). While the spongy moth can emerge anywhere in the state, unusually high populations observed last year and again this spring are localized in western areas of Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Matthew Vernon, MD—a radiation oncologist, medical director of the Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center, and an avid road and adventure racer—will be the next guest on Medical Matters Weekly at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, June 15. The show is produced by Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) with cooperation from Catamount Access Television (CAT-TV). Viewers can see Medical Matters Weekly on facebook.com/svmedicalcenter and facebook.com/CATTVBennington. The show is also available to view or download as a podcast on svhealthcare.org/medicalmatters.