Current News

Vermont Business Magazine If you are looking for work in the outdoor industry — or in another industry, but still want great access to 20 ski areas, 50 mountain bike trail networks, and countless parks and waterways — businesses across Vermont are hiring. Darn Tough Vermont, maker of the legendary socks that come with a lifetime guarantee has dozens of positions open at its facility in the scenic town of Northfield, Vt, not far from ski resorts such as Stowe and Sugarbush. 

“We have more than 34 positions – both hourly knitting positions and exempt ones – open right now and expect to create ten more new ones this year,” says Jennifer No, Darn Tough’s Talent Acquisition Recruiter. The company currently employs 280 and makes all of its socks in Vermont. 

by Brian Gray In the midst of the warm summer months, it’s easy to forget the long winter and cold, wet spring we survived this year. But there are plenty of reasons for Vermonters, especially with moderate incomes, to take action now in preparation for the coming cold. Just about every Vermonter would agree that if there was something they could do to reduce their heating bill and make one less trip to the wood pile they would do it. Well, luckily there is. Weatherizing our homes and buildings does just that – it saves money, heat and labor. It also creates good paying jobs and boosts our local economy.

Vermont Business Magazine Autumn Harp, Inc, a custom contract manufacturer of cosmetics and personal skin care products in Essex Junction, has promoted Hillary Burrows to president. In her role at Autumn Harp, Burrows said, “I am lucky to work with this group of talented and passionate employees on a daily basis and I look forward to this next step as we build on the foundation that has been put in place, and capitalize on the many opportunities that we have in front of us.”

Vermont Business Magazine Cultural institutions in 16 Vermont communities will receive funding for needed improvements through the Vermont Arts Council’s Cultural Facilities Grant program. The FY2020 grants will support Vermont nonprofit organizations and municipalities in facilitating better access, enhanced infrastructure, or increased capacity within existing structures. The Bradford Public Library, for example, will receive funding for the installation of a physically accessible lift, and Stone Valley Arts in Poultney has garnered support for electrical upgrades. Grants were awarded to sixteen organizations totaling $224,556.

Vermont Humanities Council It is with great sadness that we share the news that Victor R Swenson, the founding Executive Director of the Vermont Humanities Council, died on Thursday, July 25 at age 84. A memorial service has tentatively been scheduled for September. As the organization’s founder, Victor started many of our flagship programs, including our Speakers Bureau, Reading and Discussion, Annual Fall Conference, and Literacy programs

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Works for Women (VWW) is celebrating 20 years of its Rosie’s Girls camps for middle school girls and gender non-conforming youth. Rosie’s Girls is a series of one week carpentry and welding summer day camps that use math, science, and power tools to transform girls’ ideas of what they are capable of and inspire them to dream big and thrive in all aspects of their lives. Press is invited to make arrangements to attend Rosie’s Girls Weld August 19-23 at Burlington Technical Center, and/or Rosie’s Girls Build August 12-16 at Northfield Middle High School.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the Public Service Department today announced the launch of the first of three rounds of funding for the Broadband Innovation Grant program to help communities conduct feasibility studies and create business plans related to the deployment of broadband in rural, unserved and underserved areas of Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The Bennington Regional Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with Hopridge Farms presented the fifth annual Southern Vermont Summer Homebrew Festival this past weekend. The festival was held at 802 Restroom’s new complex on Shields Drive in Bennington from noon to 4 pm with patrons enjoying unlimited samples of home-brewed beer, wine, mead, cider and more, plus entertainment and eats from Hound Dogs food truck.

The festival saw over 400 patrons throughout the day while the best homebrewers encouraged everyone to try their newest brews. This year the festival claims to have the best of the best in terms of homebrewing.   With over 100 different brews, this year featured a select 19 brewers. 

Vermont Business Magazine Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH, and the plaintiffs in the Title IX class action lawsuit pending in New Hampshire federal court have reached a settlement, President Philip J Hanlon ’77 announced today in an email to the College community. The settlement is subject to approval by the court, which includes a monetary component of $14 million, a statement released by Dartmouth and the plaintiffs said.

Vermont Business Magazine Veterans Administration Medical Center in White River Junction, as part of the VA system, has implemented the MISSION Act on June 6. But one of the lesser known provisions of the law established a new urgent care benefit that allows eligible veterans access to urgent and walk-in care at participating clinics in their communities. This is a giant step forward in terms of convenience for patients in Vermont and New Hampshire, as eligible veterans do not need to get prior authorization from VA to visit an urgent care provider in VA’s network.

This urgent care benefit is meant to give Veterans a convenient way to get treatment for minor injuries and illnesses such as colds, strep throat and pink eye. To be eligible for urgent and walk-in care, Veterans must be enrolled in the VA health care system and have received care through VA from either a VA or community provider within the past 24 months.

Vermont Business Magazine Comcast announced today it is expanding eligibility for Internet Essentials, which is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive broadband adoption program, to include all qualified low-income households in its service area. The expansion is the most significant change in the program’s history and the company estimates that nearly three million additional low-income households, including households with people with disabilities, are now eligible to apply. This number includes nearly 26,000 households across the state of Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Former Vermont Agency of Human Services Secretary Al Gobeille has been named Executive Vice President for Operations (EVP) at the University of Vermont Health Network following a national search. He will begin his new role on September 1. This is a newly-created role designed to lead integration efforts to improve efficiencies and quality of care provided by its eight affiliated organizations.