Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Michael S Pieciak, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation (DFR), announced Thursday the appointment of Christina R. Rouleau as deputy commissioner of the Insurance Division. Rouleau joined DFR in 2009 as assistant general counsel and became director of the Market Conduct Section in 2012. In that role, she managed the team that is responsible for investigating and examining insurance companies. In 2015, the Consumer Assistance Section merged with the Market Conduct Section and her supervisory duties were extended to include the staff that handles all consumer inquiries and complaints received by the department.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Thomas JDonovan, Jr, and Secretary of State Jim Condos will hold a meeting of the Committee on Campaign Finance Education, Compliance and Reform on Tuesday March, 21 in the Winooski city offices at 6pm. This is the second meeting in a statewide tour of the committee. The Committee is tasked with gathering information, analyzing the current state of Vermont’s campaign finance law, and making recommendations for changes or improvements in the law and its implementation. The Committee will initially seek input from Vermonters, including elected officials, activists, PACs, parties and, most importantly, voters at a series of public forums to be held throughout the state. The issues raised by stakeholders will guide the Committee’s work in formulating their analysis and report.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University in Northfield will once again host this year’s Vermont Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Fair on Saturday, April 1. The day-long event runs from 9 am to 4 pm, anchored in Norwich’s state-of-the-art science complex, Bartoletto Hall, with an awards ceremony in Dole Auditorium starting at 2 pm. Free and open to the public, the fair showcases the work of Vermont public, private and homeschool students in grades 5-12 who have won local science and math fair competitions. The students will display projects that tackle questions and pose solutions arising from the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Attorney General TJDonovan has joined a coalition of states to oppose President Trump’s directive for federal agencies to reconsider vehicle emission standards. The coalition includes the Attorneys General from Vermont, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington State, the District of Columbia, as well as the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The coalition issued the following statement:

“President Trump’s action represents a dramatic wrong turn in our nation’s efforts to fight air pollution from passenger cars and trucks, and protect the health of our children, seniors, and all communities.

Vermont Business Magazine After two weeks of relatively high numbers, weekly unemployment claims fell by over 300 last week and are nearly 300 fewer from the same time last year. Over the last week, the the Vermont unemployment rate and state tax revenue results have also showed positive results for the early part of 2017.

By industry, Services reported the most claims with 182 (39 percent of the total), but all sectors were below last week's levels. Services typically report the most claims. The spikes in the graph below reveal the volatility in hiring and firing in Service positions around the holidays.

For the week of March 11, 2017, there were 468 claims, down 317 from the previous week's total and 290 fewer than than they were a year ago. Year-to-year claims had been running lower the last several weeks.

Public Assets Institute Most Vermonters do not have a big enough nest egg for retirement. In fact, for many, the nest has no egg at all. And the problem is worst for women and people of color. These were just some of the findings in a report released earlier this year by the Vermont Public Retirement Study Committee. As Public Assets documented in A Framework for Progress: Investing in Vermont’s people, infrastructure and good government, there are many barriers to saving for retirement. Nearly half of working Vermonters do not have access to an employer-based plan, people often do not enroll in plans on their own, and stagnant wages make it a struggle for many employees to save.

Vermont Business MagazineThe Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2017 State Barn Preservation Grants. Seventeen matching grants totaling $211,369 will aid in the restoration and maintenance of significant historic agricultural buildings in ten counties around the state.

Funding will help owners to repair a broad range of barns from a 1933 gambrel-roof horse barn in Underhill to a circa 1830 English barn that is part of a complex of historic agricultural buildings at the Miller Farmstead in Ferrisburgh. Grants will support foundation repairs, drainage work, timber frame repairs, and replacement of failing roofs.

Vermont Business Magazine The president and owner of Maple Landmark was today named the 2017 Vermont Small Business Person of the Year. Michael Rainville is being recognized by the US Small Business Administration for Maple Landmark's employment growth, financial success, expansion and community involvement. Rainville is now a finalist for the 2017 National Small Business Person of the Year. Vermont's Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry's Homemade were presented the national award by President Reagan in 1988.

"It's a privilege to have Maple Landmark recognized for its efforts," said Rainville. "Throughout the years we have been recognized for our toys, but this is the first time Maple Landmark has been recognized for its overall business operations."

Vermont Business MagazineVermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) is pleased to announce that Peter Rossi has joined VEC as Chief Operating Officer (COO), a key position in VEC’s senior leadership team. As COO, Rossi will be responsible for overseeing engineering and operations for the co-op, which serves approximately 32,000 members over 2,000 square miles of Northern Vermont.

Rossi joins VEC after 10 years at Powder River Energy Corporation in Wyoming, where he worked first as its Manager of Business Support Services and then as Manager of Service Operations. Prior to that, he worked for eight years in various roles at IBM. He started as VEC’s Chief Operating Officer on March 6.

Vermont Business Magazine The members of Porter Medical Center voted unanimously at the PMC annual meeting on March 15 to approve necessary amendments to the Porter bylaws representing the final step for Middlebury hospital tocomplete an affiliation with the University of Vermont Health Network. The affiliation will become effective in April, and the formal community launch is planned for May 11 during National Hospital Week.

Vermont Business Magazine House Speaker Mitzi Johnson on Wednesday afternoon joined House Majority Leader Representative Jill Krowinski, Appropriations Committee chair Representative Kitty Toll, and the Ways & Means Committee chair, Representative Janet Ancel, to remind Governor Phil Scott that Vermonters expect him to present responsible budget proposals. Governor Scott replied that he proposed a balanced budget that does not cut key programs no matter what the legislative leaders suggest.

Vermont Business Magazine National Life Group once again set records for earnings and sales in 2016, a year that also saw the company’s culture receive national attention. Mehran Assadi, the president and chief executive officer, said National Life set a number of historic milestones in 2016. “Across the board, top line and bottom line, we had yet another record-setting year,” said Assadi. “Our extraordinary performance reflected our long history of financial strength and our deep roots on Main Street, America.”

Asked to single out key metrics from 2016, Assadi focused on two: