Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Community Bank N.A. New England region branches recently presented a $15,000 donation to United Way of Northwest Vermont to supports it annual campaign. In addition, the bank’s New England area employees have pledged $10,152 to the organization for 2019.

Vermont Business Magazine At its 65th Annual Meeting on June 19, 2019, at the Echo Leahy Center on the Burlington Waterfront, the Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation (GBIC) presented its highest recognition award to Seven Days. Attended by approximately 300 members of the Northwest Vermont community, GBIC presented the 2019 C. Harry Behney Economic Development Achievement Award to the publishers of the Burlington weekly newspaper: Paula Routly, Pamela Polston, Cathy Resmer, Colby Roberts and Don Eggert.

Vermont Business Magazine The $6 billion state FY20 budget bill (H542 state budget) passed with overwhelming support this year. By the end of April, general fund tax revenue projections for FY19 were a whopping $50 million more than projected, which held through the May report and are expected to finish the fiscal year on June 30 at about that number. Lawmakers decided to dedicate a portion of the rooms and meals tax to the clean water fund and backfill the hole with the projected surplus funds rather than raise new taxes. Key areas of investment in the budget include early childhood education, workforce and economic development and programs to combat climate change.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Student Assistance Corp is giving over $1.3 million in interest rebates to borrowers this year, part of its “borrower benefits” program that has saved students $181 million in loan costs since 1995. “There’s no question that Vermonters need to continue their education and career training after high school, and most students will need to borrow to make it happen,” said Scott Giles, VSAC president and CEO.

Vermont Business Magazine The Snelling Center for Government has announced the graduates of the Vermont Leadership Institute Class of 2019. At the Commencement Ceremony held at Basin Harbor in Vergennes on June 1, Champlain College Vice President of Student Affairs and Institutional Diversity and Inclusion Dr Angela Batista congratulated the class on their rite of passage from the Vermont Leadership Institute and encouraged them to take action and exercise all they have learned in their continuing efforts to create change and strengthen Vermont through their own unique experiences and purposes. 

Vermont Business Magazine MENTOR Vermont is excited to announce the start of the 2019-2020 Vermont Mentoring Grants application process. These annual grants are designed to support new and existing youth mentoring programs in Vermont that match adult volunteers as mentors for youth mentees (ages 5-22) in long-term, one-to-one, quality-based mentoring relationships.

The Vermont Mentoring Grants have traditionally been made possible through support from the A.D. Henderson Foundation and the Vermont Department for Children and Families. During the 2018-2019 grant year, MENTOR Vermont and its funding partners awarded 31 grants, totaling more than $300,000, to support more than 100 new and existing mentoring program sites, and more than 1,750 adult-to-youth mentor pairs in communities across Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine TD Bank has named Sheryl L McQuade Regional President for Northern New England, covering Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. In this role, McQuade will lead TD Bank’s Northern New England retail, small business, commercial and middle-market banking operations and lending services throughout a network of approximately 130 stores and 4,300 employees. Her primary office location will be in Manchester, NH.

Vermont Business Magazine On June 26, 2019, Springfield Medical Care Systems (SMCS) and Springfield Hospital (SH) filed for Chapter 11 – Reorganization. The hospital and health centers will remain open and operating as usual while the organizations work through the bankruptcy reorganization process, which is expected to last up to 12 months, but can be shorter or longer depending on a number of factors.

Vermont Business Magazine BioTek’s Synergy Neo2 Hybrid Multi-Mode Microplate Reader received expanded certification from Cisbio Bioassays for their proprietary HTRF technology, a TR-FRET assay platform used in the Life Sciences. BioTek is based in Winooski with global offices. Synergy Neo2 was recently updated with an optional TRF laser. The TRF laser provides ultra-fast measurement speed, along with optimal sensitivity for critical screening applications like Time-Resolved Fluorescence (TRF) and Time-Resolved Fluorescence Energy Transfer (TR-FRET) assays. Synergy Neo2 now offers HTRF certification with both its flash lamp and laser excitation modes and is an ideal solution for high throughput screening (HTS) and core labs facilitating ultra-fast processing of high-throughput biochemical and cell-based assay workflows.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Creamery co-founders Bob Reese and Allison Hooper were inducted into the Specialty Food Association Hall of Fame at ceremony held Sunday during the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City. Bob and Allison founded Vermont Creamery in 1984; over the next 35 years, the improbable business partners became pioneers of the artisan cheese movement in the United States, introducing American diners to goat cheese and later, European-style butter.

“It’s an honor to be inducted to the SFA Hall of Fame,” said Bob Reese, co-founder of Vermont Creamery. The Specialty Food Association has been pivotal in supporting crafters of specialty food and fostering a sense of community amongst innovators and we’re thrilled to be a part of the movement.”

Vermont Business Magazine Rosoka Software and Norwich Pro today announced a partnership for the creation and implementation of the Rosoka Associate Operator and Rosoka Expert Operator Certification. The online training program and certification exam will be offered beginning in October 2019 through Norwich University’s Continuing and Professional Education division, Norwich Pro.

Public Assets Institute The Vermont labor force grew for the sixth straight month in May. This followed declines during almost all of 2018. The growing labor force has helped push down Vermont’s unemployment rate to 2.1 percent, the lowest in the country now and the record low for Vermont since state-specific data began being tracked in 1976.