Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce has chosen Tom Huebner, President & CEO of the Rutland Regional Medical Center, the “Business Leader of the Year 2017.” The award will be presented at the Chamber’s Annual Meeting (sponsored by GE-Rutland) on Thursday, October 19 (5pm) at The Paramount Theatre in Rutland. During Huebner’s tenure, the Rutland Region Medical Center has grown into the County’s largest employer with over 1,600 employees.

Vermont Business Magazine The Community and Economic Development Office (CEDO) is partnering with Champlain College to host a “Pathways to College and Career” Fair on Friday, November 3 from 3 to 6 pm at Champlain College. This free event in the Champlain Room of the Center for Communication and Creative Media (CCM) is designed to support high school students’ access to career resources and opportunities. The event will feature a resource fair and workshops on applications and financial aid with refreshments provided.

Vermont Business Magazine After 11 months of negotiations, the South Burlington School Board and the South Burlington Educators’ Association (“SBEA”) agreed to the terms of a two-year contract for the city’s teachers in the early morning hours of October 4. They released terms of the new deal Friday morning. The contract spans the period from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2019. Salaries and cost-sharing arrangements for healthcare benefits were the most significant proposals still under discussion as the parties entered the final 10-hour mediation session on Tuesday evening.

“We are pleased that we have been able to negotiate an agreement that we believe reflects the needs of all stakeholders, including teachers, children, families, and taxpayers,” said Martin LaLonde, Clerk of the School Board.

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims fell again last week to hold at a historically low level. Claims have been falling steadily since early July. Claims also are lower than they were the same time last year, which has been the case for most weeks in 2017. For the week of September 30, 2017, there were 292 claims, 6 fewer than than they were last week and 36 fewer than they were a year ago.

Altogether 2,482 new and continuing claims were filed, a decrease of 50 from a week ago, and 407 fewer than a year ago.

Claims during the summer usually hold at a relatively low level because of vacation hiring, until the next transition, which typically happens in September when school resumes. But claims this year did not experience that fluctuation, as hiring remains tight and the weather remains unseasonably warm.

Vermont Business MagazineThe Simmering Bone, a Waitsfield company, is recalling approximately 56 fl-ounces of beef and chicken bone broth products that were adulterated and produced without the benefit of state or federal inspection, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture has announced.

Vermont Business Magazine If you're a Patriots football fan living in Vermont, you might have been startled to see a commercial during the game Thursday night featuring one of TV's biggest stars, and an English fella no less, roaming around neighborhoods of middle America early in the morning, getting people out in the street in their jammies to pitch our local coffee company. Keurig Green Mountain, Inc has teamed up with television, theater and film star James Corden to launch the Keurig brand’s new Brew the Love campaign. Charging their way across America, Keurig and Corden are out to show real-life coffee drinkers why they should ditch their drip for a Keurig coffee maker, challenging them to Brew the Love in a fun and engaging series of TV, digital and social media videos, which launched last Monday. But most Vermonters probably didn't see the broadcast spots until they'd settled in to watch Tom Brady and the Pats play on Thursday Night Football.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott on Thursday announced he appointed 55 Vermonters to state boards and commissions in the month of September. Boards and commissions serve an important role in state government, giving Vermonters numerous opportunities to serve their state and communities.

The Governor’s Office is currently soliciting applications to fill vacancies and upcoming term expirations. All those interested in serving on a board or commission should visit the Governor’s website at governor.vermont.gov/boards-commissionsto apply.

Appointments made by the Governor in September are listed below:

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

• Edward Clark of Rutland

State Police Advisory Commission

Vermont Business Magazine The Adirondacks ACO and OneCare Vermont ACO have formed a stronger working relationship between their accountable care organizations, which are the two largest ACOs in the Vermont and northern New York regions. The approach includes common CEO leadership and sets course for shared services and infrastructure to efficiently meet their missions. This model is not a merger and each ACO retains its own corporate identity, contracts, and governance. OneCare is motivated by getting a lump sum of funding. By reducing treatment costs (largelyby reducing duplication of services) and increasing outcomes, member providers make more money; if they do not, they bear the financial burden of any cost overruns.

Vermont Business Magazine The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), a national non-profit that advances policies and programs for energy efficiency, has, for the fourth year in a row, ranked Vermont among the top five in the nation (this year number 4) for advancement and support of energy efficiency. Massachusetts was first and the coal and oil heavy central plain states were worst. This announcement was made as part of ACEEE’s 2017 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard, which gave Vermont a fourth-place ranking, and as Vermont Governor Phil Scott proclaimed October 5 as ‘Energy Efficiency Day.’

Vermont Business Magazine The Permanent Fund for Vermont’s Children is pleased to announce the finalists for the third annual Early Educator of the Year Award, which recognizes and celebrates early educators who have gone above and beyond to positively impact the lives of children, and have been a valuable resource for families. The 2017 Early Educator of the Year finalists are: Cheryl “Cookie” Danyow, of Addison, and Ellen Kraft, of Richmond.

Both finalists will be honored at the Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children (VAEYC) Annual Conference on Thursday, October 12^th at the Killington Grand Hotel, where one will be named the Early Educator of the Year and receive $5,000 and all expenses paid to attend the 2018 VAEYC conference as well as one national conference. The runner-up will receive $1,000 and all expenses paid to attend the 2018 VAEYC conference.

Vermont Business Magazine Justin Johnson has been elected to the Brattleboro Retreat's Board of Trustees. Johnson, a native of Australia, is currently the head of Global Strategic Markets at MMR, LLC, a government relations, advocacy, and public relations firm based in Montpelier, where he oversees efforts to help international businesses and governments meet their goals under the 2015 Paris Climate Accord.

“The Brattleboro Retreat is a critical part of Vermont’s system of mental health care,” said Johnson. “The staff is incredibly dedicated, and as a trustee I hope to help the Retreat build its programs and continue providing critical services to Vermonters and others who need treatment for mental health and addiction issues.”

Vermont Business MagazineFollowing the close of a two-week campaign for donations, Vermont Attorney General TJDonovan announced the completion of the inaugural “Lawyers Fighting Hunger” food drive.” The Lawyers Fighting Hunger food drive is a collaboration between the Office of the Attorney General, the Vermont Bar Association (VBA) and the Vermont Foodbank. The drive ran the last two weeks of September during Hunger Action Month in Vermont. Thirty-two Vermont law firms and law offices signed up in advance to participate in this first-ever event.