Current News

Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food & Markets The Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NE-DBIC), hosted by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, & Markets, announces the availability of funds through the Dairy Marketing and Branding Services Grant Program, which will provide grants for established value-added dairy processors and producer associations to access professional marketing and branding services to.

Vermont Business Magazine Under cloudless blue skies, graduates, faculty, staff, family, and friends gathered on Middlebury’s main quad Sunday to celebrate Commencement for the 461 members of the Class of 2022. The occasion was especially celebratory because it was the first time the Middlebury community had gathered in one place for the ceremonies in three years.

Vermont Business Magazine Jason Collins, a retired American player in the National Basketball Association (NBA), will deliver the Middlebury College Commencement address to the Class of 2020 on Tuesday, May 31. Collins was the first male active player in any of the four major American professional sports to announce that he was gay.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s Killington Resort, the largest mountain resort in Eastern North America and a POWDR company, announced that the first weekend in June will be the final operating day(s) of the 2021/22 winter season. This is the latest skiing and riding at The Beast in 25 years, since the record breaking 1996/97 season, which lasted until June 22. The Killington snowmaking team began making snow on the Superstar trail on October 17, 2021, in preparation of the Audi FIS Ski World Cup and continued stockpiling snow right through March 31, 2022.

Vermont Business Magazine Batteries Plus, the nation’s largest and fastest-growing battery, lightbulb, key fob and phone repair franchise, is opening its newest locally owned and operated store in Ascutney. Hosting its grand opening on May 28 at 6220 US-5, Ste. 4, Batteries Plus is dedicated to providing the community with quality products and services, all at affordable prices.

Batteries Plus Ascutney will provide residents services for their automotive needs, such as free car battery testing and installations on most vehicles, and help keep their cell phone, key fob, laptop, and tablet batteries lasting longer and more efficiently. Each staff member has experience working with top brands and operating systems to give the best inspection for a device, including phone repair for broken and cracked screens. Also offering a range of products, such as: automotive batteries (ATV, snowmobile, motorcycle, car, marine, and golf cart), chargers, cell phone batteries, phone essentials, SLA batteries, alkaline batteries, and generators.

Photo courtesy of Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce and Lorianna Weathers Photography

Vermont Business Magazine On Saturday, September 3rd Bennington, Vermont will once again transform into “Garlic Town, USA” in celebration of all things garlic and agriculture! Garlic Town, USA, formerly known as the award-winning Garlic Fest and produced by the Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce, announced that the festival will return to downtown Bennington for the 2022 Labor Day weekend.

Bennington has become world-renowned for its annual garlic events held every year on Labor Day weekend. The town’s garlic events have been recognized as one of the top 10 garlic festivals in the world by Reuters, featured in Yankee Magazine, awarded Vermont’s Time-Honored Top 10 Fall Event and has been consecutively the Bennington Banner and Manchester Journals Reader’s Choice for Best Event in the Region.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont State Police has added a new civilian position of recruitment specialist to the agency’s Office of Professional Development, the Pittsford-based unit whose responsibilities include attracting new sworn members to VSP’s ranks. Dale Nelson, a native Vermonter who grew up on a dairy farm in Derby, becomes the first civilian to hold the title of recruiter within the Vermont State Police.

by Connie Beal Hiring and keeping good employees is harder than ever. Vermont has a record-high 26,000 vacant jobs and employers are being forced to think differently about how to attract workers and how to make sure their employees have the resources they need to show up and do their best work.

Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission will be hosting two wetland restoration workshops in Plymouth, Vermont this summer! Join us at Coolidge State Park on Route 100A on Tuesday, July 12th and Pingree Flats on Route 100 on Thursday, July 14th from 9:30am-2:30 pm in Plymouth. Attendees will learn how to assess a site for its wetland restoration potential, account for specific site considerations such as native and invasive plants, site limitations, soils and hydrology, plan restoration strategies and manage restoration projects.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today signed nine bills into law, as passed by the General Assembly. These include: H.517, An act relating to educational benefits for members of the military and their families and eligibility for election to serve as Adjutant and Inspector General; and H.510, An act relating to tax reductions and other aid for Vermonters.

Vermont Business Magazine The Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC) will aid the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in cleaning up our waters by incorporating potential projects into DEC’s Watershed Projects Database. This Database is a key component of the DEC’s Tactical Basin Plans that address water quality issues throughout the State. These plans prioritize water quality problems, consider alternatives, and recommend solutions and funding sources.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the US Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) have announced that Vermont has signed on to participate in the “Internet for All” initiative, which will invest $65 billion to provide affordable, reliable, high-speed internet for everyone in America by the end of the decade.