Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Nearly 500 emergency responders and officials from local, state and partner agencies will test their disaster recovery skills during Vermont’s fourth Catastrophic Exercise (CAT 4) from October 23-25. The exercise simulates the aftermath of a statewide catastrophic disaster and tests the ability to restore critical infrastructure. CAT 4 will involve 19 cities and towns and 20 state and volunteer agencies from around Vermont. Unlike past exercises that practiced a response to an active natural disaster, this event will simulate the aftermath of a major storm on the scale of Tropical Storm Irene.

Vermont Business Magazine Ledyard Financial Group, Inc (ticker symbol LFGP), the holding company for Ledyard National Bank based in Hanover, NH, with a branch in Norwich, VT, today reported record quarterly and year-to-date earnings. Net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2019, was $1,579,252 or $0.50 per share compared to $1,382,986 or $0.44 per share for the same period in 2018, an increase of $196,266 or 14.2%. Net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2019, was $4,450,056 or $1.42 per share compared to $3,932,184 or $1.27 per share for the same period in 2018, an increase of $517,872 or 13.2%. Strength in the Company’s core businesses and the ability to control operating expenses are the primary contributing factors to these record results.

Vermont Business Magazine Groennfell Meadery, a Vermont craft beverage company, recently received a grant totaling $3,237.50 from the Vermont Training Program (VTP). Groennfell, which means “Green Mountain” in old Norse, is Vermont’s premier craft meadery. Its mead is made from 100% True Source honey. Based in Colchester since opening in 2013, the meadery recently moved to St Albans to focus more of its attention on production.

Public Assets Institute The Pew Research Center estimates that there are several thousand undocumented immigrants in Vermont. These workers pay roughly $3 million in taxes annually and support a number of state industries, especially agriculture. And their contributions aren’t just economic: immigrants writ large are an integral part of our families, schools and communities.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Specialty Food Association (VSFA) will host its annual Fall Meeting on Tuesday, November 5th at the Stoweflake Mountain Resort in Stowe, VT. The event features five informative sessions focused on business essentials, including common and complex HR challenges and a panel discussion on cash flow. VSFA invites all food producers, retailers, and business service providers to attend to network, learn, and connect on a shared vision of promoting Vermont's brand and business growth. This year’s schedule has been streamlined to provide more built-in networking opportunities, a benefit that VSFA members and retailers find invaluable.

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment numbers increased last week and for the first time in two months exceeded 300 claims, which is still relatively low. Initial claims for the week of October 12, 2019, totaled 3089, up 29 from last week but 64 fewer than they were at this time last year.

Vermont Business Magazine The VT Web Marketing Summit started in 2010 with only 80 attendees and a goal to instill a digital mindset to marketing professionals in the region. For almost a decade now, thousands of marketers have trusted VT Web Marketing Summit to deliver actionable, brand-agnostic tactics. Today, it is recognized as one of the leading conferences that delivers some of the boldest, brightest, and immersive digital trends, strategies, challenges and success stories. A brainchild of Curve Trends Marketing, a digital marketing firm based in Vermont, this year’s summit attempts to address the current state of digital marketing.

by Geoff Robertson Remember Tuesday, July 30, a few months back? It was the hottest day of a record-breaking month – the warmest recorded in the history of the earth. It was also a day when thousands of Vermonters cranked up their air conditioning, resulting in what power companies refer to as “peak demand” for electricity. On that day, and many others throughout the summer, New England’s century old electric grid kicked into overdrive, tapping into reserve generators to meet the spike in demand.

Vermont Business Magazine Cheryl Sullivan was in the woods one warm October day, flicking yet another tick from her leg, “which felt like the tenth of the day,” she says. Lyme-disease bearing deer ticks like the ones climbing on Sullivan, a PhD student in UVM’s Entomology Research Lab, were certainly causing problems for humans, she remembers thinking. But a different species – the winter tick – was an even worse scourge for one of the northern woods' most iconic species, the moose, for whom the parasite was an existential threat. A 2018 study published in the Canadian Journal of Zoology found that winter ticks, also known as moose ticks, were the primary cause of an unprecedented 70 percent death rate among moose calves in northern New England over a three-year period.

Vermont Business Magazine The property that was known as the Mark Skinner Library for nearly 12 decades, located in beautiful Manchester, Vermont, is hitting the auction block on Friday, November 22 at 11 am. The public auction will be held on site at 48 West Road in Manchester Center. An open house will be held on Sunday, November 10 from 11 am to 1 pm for potential buyers to tour the property. The auction is being held by the Thomas Hirchak Company, based in Morrisville, Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Champlain Orchards, a family-owned and ecologically managed farm, recently received more than $15,000 from the Vermont Training Program (VTP). Champlain Orchards recently upgraded its inventory management system and VTP monies will be used to train staff in construction, customization, and use of the new system. Champlain Orchards is among the first in its sector to introduce this technology. It will allow Champlain Orchards to track all of its products from tree to shelf, which streamlines business operations, inventory planning, forecasting, and customer service.

Vermont Business Magazine General Fund revenues were sluggish in August, but personal income taxes came roaring back in September to push GF revenues ahead of targets, as well as above year-to-date expectations and now are well over last year's numbers. September 30 marked the end of the first quarter of fiscal year 2020. However, the Transportation Fund didn't keep up, which has been a persistent problem in recent years.