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Vermont State Police Troopers with Vermont State Police responded to a single vehicle crash on Townshend Road in Grafton Sunday afternoon. Investigation into the crash revealed Vehicle #1 was traveling south on Townshend Road, lost control, and struck a tree head on. Operator #1 was ejected during the crash. He was flown via DHART to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center for serious life-threatening injuries. Vermont State Police were notified Monday that Operator #1, Ronald Underwood, 28, of Newfane, had succumbed to his injuries sustained in the crash.

Vermont Business Magazine The personal income, corporate and rooms and meals taxes again exceeded expectations for the month of May 2022, as reported today. With the sales tax also well ahead of economists projections, the General Fund and Education Fund both exceeded targets. The Transportation Fund revenue came in slightly below target. Personal income is 37.1% over targets for the month and 13.9% over for the year-to-date. Corporate income is 246.9% over for the month and 22.7% over for the year. And rooms and meals is 21.5% over for the month and 9.1% for the year.

Vermont Business Magazine ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain (ECHO) has appointed Charlie Smith as the museum’s interim executive director. Smith is stepping into the role effective June 13th, as Phelan Fretz, founding director retires after leading the science museum on the Burlington Waterfront for the past 20 years. Smith, a seasoned business and non-profit professional, will head the organization during the search for a permanent executive director.

Vermont Business Magazine Scott Johnstone, an innovative executive leader with deep experience in the energy space, will join Morrisville Water & Light in the role of General Manager. Johnstone is a civil engineer with a strong leadership and managerial background. He previously served as Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources, Director of Public Works for Burlington, Executive Director of the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation and more recently the New England Energy Market Leader for VHB.

​Vermont Business Magazine The Burlington Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Office will be hosting its second annual Juneteenth celebration from June 17th to 19th. This year’s theme “Juneteenth: A Love Story” celebrates the love that the Black community shows even in the face of adversity.

Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food & Markets Makers of good food & drink, it's your time to shine: entries for the 2023 Good Food Awards are now open! From farmstead cheeses to world-class kimchi, the Good Food Awards recognize craftsmanship and flavor alongside environmental and social responsibility. Over 2,000 entries from all 50 states are submitted each year and a blind tasting decides nearly 200 winners. Many winners have reported increased sales and publicity tied to the Awards, in addition to receiving access to a community of like-minded crafters to connect with. In 2022 the state of Vermont had 22 winners across all categories!

What Were You Thinking?

by Maia Segura, Vermont Business Magazine Running a restaurant is a risky business at any time, but during the pandemic the challenges have been compounded and restaurants in Vermont have struggled to hang on. Some did not make it, and others had to reinvent themselves to survive. Meanwhile, defying conventional wisdom to avoid risk in challenging times, a few intrepid entrepreneurs in Southeast Vermont identified and chose to pursue opportunities to open new upscale venues. The Hermitage Inn in West Dover, the White House Inn in Wilmington, and River Garden Marketplace in Brattleboro have faced a host of harrowing challenges from supply chain to labor issues but push on undeterred.

​Vermont Business Magazine The Cross Vermont Trail Association (CVTA) formally opened and dedicated the new Winooski Bridge in East Montpelier and Berlin on Saturday June 4. The new bridge is keystone link in a growing regional trail network. On June 4 one and half miles of new trail on either side of the bridge were also officially opened, extending the Montpelier Bike Path from Gallison Hill Road east along the old Montpelier & Wells River railroad bed for one mile, then across the new bridge and further on an additional half mile of newly constructed trail upstream along the Winooski River to a new trailhead parking lot on Route 2.

Vermont Business Magazine Walmart has made its selections for the ninth annual Open Call event. With nearly 1,200 small and mid-sized business owners receiving official invitations—including 10 entrepreneurs headquartered in Vermont—this year’s registrants mark the largest group ever selected to participate in the two-day event. Finalists represent all fifty (50) states, including the District of Columbia, with nearly sixty percent (60%) of them self-identifying as a diverse-owned business.

Vermont Business Magazine rk MILES dedicated its newly renovated Doors & Windows showroom in Manchester Center on Wednesday, June 8th to the company’s first Door & Window Showroom Manager Noel Coniglio who passed away in November of 2021. Coniglio saw the potential to grow the business and created the millwork department in the late ‘80s which he managed until his retirement in 2008. Now the rk MILES Doors & Windows department company-wide makes up 20% of the total sales for the company.

Vermont Business Magazine Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) in St Johnsbury has begun transitioning toward post-COVID operations and now welcomes the community back into much of the hospital’s public facing spaces. The hospital anticipates implementing several changes. They include extending visiting hours, opening the Courtyard Café and the Charles M. and Hannah Gray Gallery to the public, and allowing individuals to drop off expired or unwanted medication in the Drug Deposit Box. Patients may also resume in-person interactions with the NVRH Business Center, Medical Records, and Information Services. Waiting areas are open across NVRH as well.

​Vermont Business Magazine The 2022 Vermont maple syrup production totaled a record high 2.55 million gallons, up 46% from the previous year, according to Pam Hird, state statistician of the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, New England Field Office. Vermont remains the top producing state in the nation, with more than double the US total (5.03 million gallons). Weather conditions hurt last year's maple production, which came in at 1.5 million gallons, which was down 21 percent from 2020.