Current News

by Governor Phil Scott In the Northeastern United States, the relationship with our neighbors in Canada is a vital part of our economy and culture. For more than two centuries, we’ve grown together. Since 1993, Canada has been the U.S.’s fifth-largest source of foreign capital. We’ve seen a boom in travel and tourism: By 2011, Canadians were making 21 million trips to the U.S. and spending $24 billion – every year.

However, we don’t just visit or sell things to each other – we also build things together. About half of all trade with Canada takes place between related companies. Businesses, big and small, have built complex, integrated supply chains in aerospace, information technology, construction materials, food systems and more. Parts, raw material and natural resources like logs and lumber often cross borders between the U.S. and Canada multiple times before a final product rolls off an assembly line.

Vermont Business Magazine Michele Resnick Cohen, UVM ’72, and her husband Martin Cohen, have made several gifts totaling $7 million to transform the Elihu B. Taft School—located at the corner of South Williams and Pearl streets on the edge of campus—into UVM’s first integrated center for the creative arts. The Cohen’s vision is now a reality – the university formally opened the new Michele and Martin Cohen Hall for the Integrative Creative Arts at a dedication ceremony at the new facility on Wednesday, October 3.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Expanding its relationship with the University of Vermont’s Complex Systems Center, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company announced today that it is providing $5 million in funding to further advance study and research in the field of data science and analytics. While alumni weekend is a common time to announce major gifts and projects, the relationship building associated with it was the central theme in UVM President Tom Sullivan's short speech in making the gift announcement. He first met MassMutual Chairman and CEO Roger Crandall, class of 1987, at an alumni function a few years ago in Manhattan. Sullivan said the $5 million in funding from MassMutual is the largest corporate gift in UVM's history.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today signed a proclamation designating October 2018 as Manufacturing Month in Vermont, celebrating Vermont’s manufacturing sector and recognizing the important role it plays in Vermont’s economy. The industry accounts for approximately 10 percent of Vermont’s economy and pays more than $1.7 billion in wages. Currently, nearly 30,000 Vermonters are employed in manufacturing jobs.

Governor Phil Scott tours Super Thin Saws today for Manufacturing Month. State photo.

Vermont Business Magazine The 2018 VELCO charity golf tournament raised more than $19,000 in its 23rd edition on September 7. The proceeds, which topped all previous tourneys by a wide margin, will be donated to benefit the Flip Side Skate Park Program at the Rutland Recreation Center. Flip Side was chosen in memory of Robbie Ettori, a member of the VELCO family we lost this year. Contributions raised through the VELCO Open will help Flip Side make repairs, purchase equipment, and underwrite camp program scholarships for children whose families lack the resources for them to attend.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the secretaries of Vermont’s Agencies of Agriculture, Food and Markets, Natural Resources, and Commerce and Community Development today launched stage two of the Vermont Phosphorus Innovation Challenge (VPIC), which will award grants to innovators in phosphorus extraction and clean water. The Scott Administration launched the VPIC in April 2018 to address a statewide phosphorus imbalance, which adversely impacts Vermont’s waterways.

Vermont Business Magazine Lake Champlain Chamber has made several additions to its Board of Directors. The Burlington-based Chamber announced today that Donald Baker, President, Vermont Market of KeyBank, will serve as Chair of the Chamber’s Board of Directors for the next year and that Kurt Gruendling, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development will serve as Vice Chair.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) announced Friday that RuralEdge, a regional housing nonprofit based in Lyndon, will receive a $2.5 million loan package from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to preserve and rehabilitate three housing properties in Newport, West Burke and Ryegate. The projects received funding as part of the USDA’s Northeast Kingdom Rural Economic Area Partnership (REAP) Zone and will provide quality affordable homes for 46 families. RuralEdge oversees a portfolio of more than 500 units across the Essex, Orleans and Caledonia counties.

Leahy was instrumental in enacting the REAP Zone program and Northeast Kingdom’s designation as a leading member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and in continuing these annual investments through his role as Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims fell very slightly last week. For the week of September 292, 2018, there were 264 claims, 3 fewer than than they were the previous week, and 28 fewer than they were a year ago. Altogether 2,371 new and continuing claims were filed, a decrease of 36 from a week ago, and 111 fewer than a year ago. Vermont, like the nation as a whole, currently is locked into a historically low period of unemployment.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermonters will learn about drone swarms, corporate data breaches and new innovation spaces at Seven Days’ Vermont Tech Jam, a free event on Friday, October 19, at the Champlain Valley Expo in Essex Junction. The state’s top tech firms will be there, too: Dozens of Vermont’s fastest-growing companies are expected on the Expo floor, along with local colleges and training programs. Most exhibitors are hiring.

The schedule includes nine presentations organized along two tracks: one for entrepreneurs and business owners; a second for professionals who want to take their careers to the next level. Several researchers, artists and makers will also set up demos and displays in an Emerging Tech Showcase.

Vermont Business Magazine One Credit Union brushed off the last of the construction dust with a two-day celebration at its newly renovated Chester branch. “While big banks are closing branches in many areas we serve, One Credit Union is here to stay. Moreover, I’m happy to say, we are investing in the Chester community,” Brett Smith, President and CEO of One CU, said. The new branch brings the latest technology to the branch, and allows for a more efficient, collaborative and consultative approach with members.

“Our goal is to help our members achieve their financial goals. We need to work side by side with our clients to find the best solutions to meet the needs of consumers and businesses in Chester,” said Kevin DeRosa, Retail Manager.

Vermont Business Magazine On Thursday, October 4, 2018, the Vermont Department of Labor announced changes to the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program and the State minimum wage. Beginning January 1, 2019, employers will see a reduction in the taxable wage base amount that they currently pay on unemployment taxes by $2,000. Also beginning January 1, 2019, the State’s minimum wage will increase to $10.78 per hour.