Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing has announced that it will award $75,000 in dollar-for-dollar matching grants through the Market Vermont program to help Vermont-based organizations and businesses promote themselves outside of the state. Applicants may seek up to $10,000 for their project. Approved by the Vermont Travel and Recreation Council, Market Vermont matching grants are intended to help organizations and businesses initiate or expand events, marketing programs, advertising campaigns and public relations programs that hold great promise of producing significant, measurable increases in non-resident visits to Vermont, with the collateral goals of increasing visitor spending in Vermont.

The grant recipients, which will be awarded for Fiscal Year 2017, will be chosen by the Vermont Travel and Recreation Council.

Vermont Business Magazine Castleton welcomes the greater Rutland community to come celebrate and gain an inside look at the university’s newest Rutland project, as it hosts a Grand Opening for its new downtown apartments on September 15 from 4-6 pm in the Clement Building at the corner of Merchants Row and West Street. The event will kick off with remarks by Castleton President Dave Wolk, building owner Mark Foley Jr, Rutland Mayor Chris Louras, and Steve Costello of Green Mountain Power, all collaborative partners in the project. The open house will also feature a ribbon cutting, apartment tours, and light refreshments.

Vermont Business Magazine Innovation Week, October 15-22, 2016, (presented by Dealer.com) is a series of events that highlights the vibrant energy of greater Burlington's entrepreneurial, technological and creative ecosystem. Powered by BTV Ignite and its partners, this first-ever weeklong celebration of engaging events has something for everyone who loves what Burlington and Vermont IS — and what it can be. The week begins with the annual Hack VT, a 24-hour hackathon in which teams compete to build apps that help the state of Vermont, and ends with the 10th Vermont Tech Jam, a two-day job fair and tech expo showcasing some of the area's most exciting employers and their products, along with K-12 student projects displayed in a school mini maker faire.

Vermont Business Magazine Community College of Vermont (CCV) and the Vermont Department of Labor (VDOL) are partnering with area employers including K&E Plastics Inc., JBM Sherman Carmel, Inc and GS Precision, Inc to offer a Certified Production Technician (CPT) course in Bennington, beginning September 21. This course, which is free to participants,  is the first step in establishing a manufacturing pathway to help advanced manufacturers close a workforce gap and to help individuals receive the necessary training to fill open positions. Courses like the CPT help workers develop their careers by teaching specialized skills that Vermont advanced manufacturers are looking for in their new employees.

Vermont Business Magazine Senate Republicans’ unprecedented blockade of Chief Judge Merrick Garland’s nomination has made him the longest pending Supreme Court nominee in the history of the United States. As the Senate returns after an extended break scheduled by the Republican leadership, Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) said Senate Republicans must finally give Garland a hearing and a vote so that the Supreme Court can fulfill its constitutional role for the American people.

Vermont Business Magazine Champlain College and campus-based adjunct faculty, represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), ratified a multi-year contract agreement on Saturday resulting in the College’s first contract with the union. It was ratified by a majority vote and will go into effect this fall. The new minimum pay rates for campus-based adjunct faculty, assuming satisfactory performance, will rise from $3,499 to $3,825. Adjuncts who qualify as senior adjunct faculty will see pay rates of $4,100 to $4,200, an increase over the prior rates of $3,499-$3,688. Pay rates are set to increase 2.5 percent and 2.0 percent effective September 1, 2017 and 2018 respectively.

Vermont Business Magazine Young Vermonters from across the state are growing vegetables and pasture-raising chicken for 475 food-insecure families this growing season. Next year, with a $95,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation, Orleans County will join this innovative project that addresses hunger and simultaneously provides valuable youth development programming. Cianna, a high school student from the Burlington area, is one of about 100 Corps Members participating in the Food and Farm Program at the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps this year. She says she enjoys coming to work and has learned to use humor to keep a positive attitude throughout difficult tasks. She is motivated to work hard knowing how appreciated each item of food is by the people that ultimately receive it. This inspires her to take great care in all she does in the fields.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University Applied Research Institutes’ (NUARI) Distributed Environment for Critical Infrastructure Decision-making Exercises – Financial Sector (DECIDE-FS) risk resiliency response software has been nominated by FedScoop 50 as one of the best and brightest technologies implemented this year that make the federal government more efficient and effective. Online voting to select the top 50 awardees in the IT community will close September 16 and winners will be announced October 4. The FedScoop 50 Awards celebrate those people and products that make a positive impact in the government community and in public service. To vote for NUARI’s DECIDE-FS technology innovation, CLICK HERE.

Vermont Business Magazine World’s largest business networking organization posts significant gains in Williston, Vermont. BNI Vermont announced today that its Prosperity BNI Chapter in Williston, Vermont has exceeded 1 million dollars in business generated since its founding in September of 2013. “This is extraordinary.” said Vickie Wacek, Executive Director of BNI Vermont. “Prosperity BNI has done an outstanding job in cultivating and expanding its core membership and pursuing their chapter goals. They now join eight other BNI Vermont chapters to have achieved that milestone,” Wacek expanded.

Vermont Business Magazine More than 275 Vermonters who work with children and families will gather in Killington on Wednesday, September 7, for a conference designed to strengthen collaborations to support families affected by substance abuse, including opioid drugs. Sponsored by the Vermont Department of Health, Embracing Today, Empowering Tomorrow conference will be held at the Killington Grand Hotel from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The conference features keynote presentations in the morning, with workshops that highlight Vermont collaborations in the afternoon.

Secretary of Human Services Hal Cohen, Health Commissioner Harry Chen, MD, and Deputy Health Commissioner Barbara Cimaglio will welcome participants and provide the Vermont context. The morning features keynote presentations by two national experts:

Vermont Business Magazine The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Monday  $314,084 in grant funding to assist 58 homeowners preserve their homes during a news conference at the Vermont Center for Independent Living (VCIL) in Montpelier. Seven Vermont and New Hampshire non-profits will use USDA Rural Development Housing Preservation Grants to make loans and grants to homeowners and rental apartment owners to make life-safety and other needed repairs. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Attorney General’s Office has concluded that an email solicitation by Bernie Sanders’ campaign in May of this year that stated Sanders’ support for several state and local candidates around the country, including Vermont state senate candidate Chris Pearson, and encouraged recipients to donate to these candidates, did not violate Vermont’s campaign finance laws.