Current News

​Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Conservation Voters (VCV) is pleased to announce this year’s VCV Lifetime Achievement Award winner: former State Representative Mary Sullivan of Burlington, Vermont, who retired in 2020. The VCV Lifetime Achievement Award is presented bi-annually to a Vermonter with an impressive legacy of championing policies that further environmental protection in Vermont.

by Dave Rose If your company were hacked tomorrow and all your data was encrypted would you go out of business? If your company data were stolen and being threatened to be sold on the Internet, what would you do? Hackers are no longer some vague concept or entity to be aware of. They are a harsh reality. Do not think it is only hospitals and big business that are targets. We are all at risk. All of us. Be prepared. Here is what you need to understand, and 16 action items you can take to protect your business.

Vermont Business Magazine SILO Distillery, a farm to bottle spirit and cider producer located in Windsor, is now offering delivery of all products, including spirits, across their home state. The move comes in response to the coronavirus pandemic and in an attempt to bring their spirits into the homes of Vermonter’s looking for a high-quality, local option.

Vermont Business Magazine On February 3, New Breed, a marketing, sales and customer success firm, was named HubSpot's 2020 North American Partner of the Year in this year's Impact Awards. This is New Breed's second consecutive year being awarded this honor. New Breed has been a HubSpot partner since 2012 and has been leveraging that partnership to better serve customers.

Vermont Business Magazine LIFT (Locally Impacting the Future Together) has reached a significant donation milestone this year with more than $50,000 donated to local organizations. Over the last three years, LIFT has grown from a desire to bring women together to do something positive and impactful to over twenty members making a difference in the Greater Burlington, Vermont community.

Vermont Business Magazine Splash Car Wash, headquartered in Milford, CT, has announced the recent acquisitions of Eco Car Wash with two express locations in Plattsburgh, New York and Williston, Vermont, and Westport Wash & Wax, a full service location in Westport, CT. The Eco Car Wash sites were owned and operated by Aaron Vincelette.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health is reporting a relatively low number of COVID-19 cases today. There were 59 new cases but also three deaths for a statewide total of 186. Cases in Vermont and across the region and across the nation are falling. But fatalities are still high, but they too are expected to fall. Cases in Bennington and Rutland counties, which have been high of late, appear to be due more to general community spread than to any large outbreak. Also, vaccine doses are being boosted by the federal government as Walgreens will now be a distribution site for those 75 years or older. You must still pre-register.

Vermont Business Magazine With COVID-19 travel restrictions and capacity limits in place, the Vermont Department of Tourism & Marketing continues to encourage businesses to consider the Paycheck Protection Program, Shuttered Venue Operators Grants, and Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the US Small Business Association. The Vermont District Office of the SBA holds twice weekly webinars for businesses navigating these programs.

Vermont Business Magazine Friends of Bernie Sanders, a campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders, is donating $100,000 from mitten merchandise sales to the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO). Since the onset of the pandemic, CVOEO has seen a significant increase in the need for housing and fuel assistance. The agency has also opened a shelter for those experiencing homelessness at the Holiday Inn and a daytime warming center at the VFW in Burlington, and created a hotline for New Americans seeking assistance and resources that connects them to speakers of their own language, and more.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott announced today that the Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) has licensed Vermont’s 1,200th captive insurance company. Sustainable Assurance Company was granted a license as a pure Captive Insurance Company on January 1, 2021. It was formed by the Lancaster County (PA) Solid Waste Management Authority.

Vermont Business Magazine Community Fund of the Vermont Electric Co-op recently awarded a grant to a local non-profit to smooth the way for people who have faced challenges as they work to achieve their goals. The VEC grant to the Lamoille Restorative Center (LRC) will help fund essential and concrete purchases – necessities like gasoline, groceries, cell phone minutes, work boots and shoes, winter coats, and deposits for internet connections – that are barriers to success for many people.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power (GMP) launched extra rebates on heat pumps for low- and moderate-income customers today to make it easier for more Vermonters to cut carbon and increase comfort. GMP is adding to the success of its $400 rebate for each heat pump condenser a customer installs with new, extra rebates for low- and moderate-income customers, for total savings up to $1,000 per condenser.