Current News

by Lynn Barrett Vermont — especially Southern Vermont — has everything people are looking for. They just don’t know it exists, and they don’t even really know where it is. How can we get the region to become top of mind? Visitors spend $2.5 billion in our state every year. Yet state spending has fallen 6 percent over the last five years, she reports, with only $2 million for destination marketing. Perhaps to fill some of this void, groups in both Bennington and Brattleboro have convinced their respective town governments to fund their own marketing campaigns to entice more visitors.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University’s College of Graduate and Continuing Studies (CGCS) officials announced today the new online Bachelor of Science in Business Administration program, which is designed to provide students with the communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills needed as a high-level manager. The program is set to begin in May 2020.

“This program follows Norwich’s tradition of providing students with rigorous and relevant programs needed to develop skills that keep them competitive in the field,” CGCS Vice President and Dean Bill Clements said.

Vermont Business Magazine Key Private Bank, the wealth management division of KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY), was awarded for the best "Private Banking Client Service" and Key Family Wealth, the multi-family office division of Key Private Bank, was named "Best Outsourced CIO" at the Private Asset Management (PAM) Awards in New York City.

For more than two decades, the PAM Awards have recognized high performing firms and wealth advisors operating within the private asset management industry. An independent panel of industry experts evaluates both qualitative and quantitative performance indicators to select the winners.

Vermont Business Magazine Ready Set Grow Center for Early Childhood Education opened in Newport this past September thanks to the support of many community and state-wide partners. Locally, Casella Waste Systems came on board as a strong supporter early on, showcasing their desire to support children and families in the Northeast Kingdom.

by Stephanie Yu, Public Assets Institute Yesterday, the governor vetoed the Legislature’s proposed minimum wage increase. The bill would raise the wage to $11.75 an hour in 2021 and again in 2022 to $12.55, from the current wage of $10.96. While the bill falls short of the most ambitious plans passed by the Legislature in recent years, it’s a big step forward for working Vermonters, and it should be enacted.

Increasing the minimum wage is one of the Legislature’s top priorities this year and one of the first bills it tackled this session.

This is the second time that Gov. Phil Scott has rejected a minimum wage increase. In 2018, he vetoed the Legislature’s plan to raise the wage to $15 by 2024.

Vermont Business Magazine House Minority Leader Pattie McCoy (R-Poultney) released the following statement Tuesday in reaction to Governor Scott’s decision on Monday to veto S.23, an act relating to increasing the minimum wage.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced $468,552 in Municipal Planning Grant awards at Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin. Of the 51 municipalities that applied, 31 towns and cities will receive planning grants to develop solutions that address local community issues. The Governor highlighted three planning grants awarded within in Washington County: Berlin, Middlesex and Waitsfield. Berlin is working to create a new, mixed-use and walkable town center in the area encompassing the Berlin Mall and the Central Vermont Medical Center. Middlesex and Waitsfield are also pursuing projects to create lively, walkable and economically vibrant town centers.

Vermont Business Magazine The Town of Hardwick has been awarded a $900,000 implementation grant from the Vermont Community Development Program (VCDP) for the purpose of developing an $8.6 million agribusiness accelerator and corporate campus. Commissioner Josh Hanford of the Dept. of Housing and Community Development said that "the Community Development Block Grant awarded through VCDP will support the creation of new jobs in the growing agricultural and agritourism economy of the greater Hardwick region."

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Vermont Business Roundtable announced that Lisa Ventriss, president since 2002, will retire at the end of the year. The Roundtable is forming a Search Committee to select its next president.

Vermont Business Magazine Mack Molding, based in Arlington, Vermont, is making history as it prepares to celebrate a century of service to its customers. Founded in Little Falls, NJ, in 1920, Mack originally manufactured bottle caps and the first ever plastic part used in a commercial product for the Otis Elevator Company. Today, Mack is a leading custom plastic injection molder and supplier of contract manufacturing services to a range of industries, including medical, industrial, transportation, energy and environment, computer and business equipment, consumer goods, robotics and 3D printing.

Vermont Business Magazine A recent study by the Vermont Department of Health shows that transportation and energy policies are more important to your health than you might think. The Health Department’s analysis of transportation-related health benefits found that changes in how we use transportation in Vermont can not only reduce greenhouse gases, but could also prevent 2,000 early deaths and save $1.1 billion in health care costs and lost productivity.

Vermont Business Magazine Leaders and nurses from the Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center, a part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) and Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), gathered in celebration of an award to commend having reached 100 percent oncology certified nurses.