Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing has announced that Matt Harrington, Executive Director of the Bennington Regional Chamber of Commerce, has been selected as the new chair of the Vermont Travel & Recreation Council (TRC). “Matt brings fresh energy and sharp marketing insights to the Travel and Recreation Council,” said Wendy Knight, Commissioner of Vermont’s Department of Tourism and Marketing. “He’s been an essential partner in our marketing and workforce recruitment efforts, and we are excited for his leadership.”

The TRC is responsible for advising the Secretary of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development on matters relating to state travel and recreation policy, state travel and recreation promotion programs, and other programs overseen by the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing. Harrington replaces Vicky Tebbetts, who has served as chair of the TRC since 2017.

Vermont Business Magazine Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc (NYSE: BHLB), the parent of Berkshire Bank with branches in southwestern Vermont, reported GAAP net income of $25 million, or $0.52 per share, in the second quarter of 2019. The non-GAAP measure of core earnings totaled $32 million, or $0.65 per share.  Net non-core charges were primarily related to the acquisition of Willimantic, CT-based SI Financial Group, Inc on May 17, 2019 and are net of discontinued operations. GAAP EPS increased by 2% compared to the prior quarter, while core EPS increased by 8% due to the benefits of the company's initiatives. Berkshire also declared a dividend of 23 cents.

by Robert Zulkoski, Social Entrepreneur Come spring, the farmer listens to the land, but come fall, the farmer looks to the community for the harvest. The community comes together to gather the bounty and pack it into the barn for the winter. A barn, which was raised through community collaboration. The community had come together under one vision and one goal to combine their efforts to create a resource for the community. 

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) Tuesday led all Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee – the Senate committee of jurisdiction over all refugee and immigration laws – in forcefully condemning a proposal reportedly being considered by Trump administration officials to dramatically reduce – or worse, eliminate – annual refugee admissions, which have already plummeted to historic lows under President Trump. The Judiciary Committee Democrats reiterated the longstanding bipartisan support for the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, its importance to our national security interests, and, most critically, its centrality to America’s identity and history as a nation of refugees and immigrants.

Vermont Business Magazine Medline and Greenhealth Exchange (GX), a group purchasing consortium for health systems, today announced a new partnership that will unite manufacturing and clinical expertise to drive innovation and bring green products to the healthcare marketplace. The partnership will concentrate on creating environmentally friendly products that eliminate well-known chemicals of concern, such as formaldehyde, flame retardants, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from products providers use daily to care for patients. The collaboration will include insight from purchasing influencers and GX owners across the country, including Confluence Health, Dartmouth-Hitchcock, Dignity Health, Gundersen Health System, Marshfield Clinic Health System, Mayo Clinic, Partners HealthCare and University of Vermont Health Network.

Vermont Business Magazine NBT Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ: NBTB), the upstate-New York based parent of NBT Bank with branches in Northwest Vermont, reported on Monday net income and diluted earnings per share for both the three and six months ended June 30, 2019. Net income for the three months ended June 30, 2019 was $30.6 million, up 4.9% from $29.1 million for the first quarter of 2019 and up 8.7% from $28.1 million for the second quarter of 2018. Diluted earnings per share for the three months ended June 30, 2019 was $0.69, as compared with $0.66 for the prior quarter, an increase of 4.5%, and $0.64 for the second quarter of 2018, an increase of 7.8%.

Net income for the six months ended June 30, 2019 was $59.7 million, up 10.3% from $54.1 million for the same period last year. Diluted earnings per share for the six months ended June 30, 2019 was $1.35, as compared with $1.23 for the same period in 2018, an increase of 9.8%.

Vermont Business Magazine The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) today announced that eight new sites, including the University of Vermont Medical Center, have joined its Care Center Network (CCN) to help serve the more than 200,000 Americans living with pulmonary fibrosis. PF is a devastating disease which causes progressive scarring in the lungs. Sixty-eight medical centers nationwide now offer expertise in accurately diagnosing and treating people with pulmonary fibrosis.

Vermont Business Magazine Women got the vote in 1920: that’s within our grandparents’ or great-grandparents’ lifetimes - not so long ago. Next year, 2020, marks the 100th anniversary. The Vermont Suffrage Centennial Alliance (VSCA), an energetic and expanding statewide group of volunteers led by the League of Women Voters of Vermont, is dedicated to informing Vermonters of the history and outcomes of women’s suffrage and engaging them in the ongoing quest for equal rights and citizenship.

Vermont Business Magazine The latest federal evaluation of Vermont’s groundbreaking “Support and Services at Home” (SASH) program, released July 12, shows significantly slower growth in the cost of long-term institutional care for very low-income SASH participants living in most areas of the state compared to non-participants. The finding holds true for SASH participants age 65 and older who receive Medicaid to cover the cost of long-term care in nursing homes. Medicaid costs were about $400 less per beneficiary per year among participants living at affordable-housing sites where SASH is based, researchers found.

by John McClaughry Chairman Anthony Roisman of the Public Utility Commission has made it official. Vermont is facing a “Pearl Harbor moment”. We in Vermont must launch a “wartime effort” like the United States did in 1942, to establish dominance over the lurking menace of “climate change”.

Vermont Business Magazine Julie Schneckenburger, left, Chief Nursing Officer at Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH), presents a check to Amanda Cochrane, the Executive Director at Umbrella. Umbrella is one of three local not-for-profits that received donations collected during National Nurses Week back in May 2019. The other two are Kingdom Community Services and the Kingdom Animal Shelter. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Works Management Company is given the green light by the USDA to participate in the Rural Business Investment Program (RBIP). Currently, there are less than ten licenses under this program in the US, and this designation is the first single state focused; all of the other RBICs have either nationwide or region-wide mandates. The goal of each RBIC is to provide development and growth capital in rural areas to help meet the equity capital investment needs of promising local businesses.