Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Livestock Care Standards Advisory Council is pleased to announce the availability of important bilingual educational materials, for use by Vermont’s cattle industry members, intended to help ensure the humane handling and transport of calves and cattle within Vermont. The release of these materials is the culmination of a year-long initiative undertaken by the Council that was supported by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, the Farm to Plate Network, and many other individuals and agricultural organizations within Vermont and New England.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) is pleased to announce the transfer of its mobile flash freeze unit to the Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center (PHCC) in Middlebury, Vermont under a long-term lease agreement. PHCC will utilize this innovative food processing tool to flash freeze locally grown fruits and vegetables for long-term storage, and will partner with Helping Overcome Poverty’s Effects (HOPE), also of Middlebury, to distribute frozen produce through the Addison County Food Shelf.

“This acquisition by the Hannaford Career Center supports a broad effort among Addison County partners to strengthen their local food system,” said Vermont Secretary of Agriculture Chuck Ross. “We’re excited that this important asset will not only be used to preserve farm fresh produce at the peak of harvest but will also increase underserved communities’ access to locally grown food.”

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine With its annual shareholders meeting a week from Friday, Casella Waste Systems, Inc is muscling up to fend off one of its investors in a shareholders proxy fight that could result in Chairman and CEO John Casella being removed from the board of directors. The annual shareholders meeting is November 6. In that effort, Casella has been supported recently by two independent advisory firms and an improved third quarter 2015 financial report released last week, which showed an increase in revenues and earnings.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s fourth and eighth graders scored among the best in the nation on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests of Reading and Mathematics, the Agency announced today. Additionally, Vermont students are showing improvements in reading, which includes closing an achievement gap among low-income students. However, the 2015 test scores suggest that students across the country did not perform as well on the mathematics assessed by NAEP when compared to previous years, including in Vermont.

NAEP highlights the statewide academic performance for all students, as well as demographic groups including race, ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic status. The test is administered every other year to students in all 50 states, but does not include results for individual students, schools, or classrooms.

SEE TABLES BELOW, INCLUDING STATE RANKS IN 4TH GRADE MATH AND READING

Vermont Business Magazine After 29 years at the Greater Burlington YMCA, the last eight as President and CEO, Mary Burns is saying goodbye. With a move out of state, the Burlington native is closing one chapter in her life, while opening another. Burns’ departure has set in motion the process of searching for her replacement, which has started with Renee Bourget-Place, Chair of the Y’s Board of Directors, announcing the selection of Pam Mackenzie as the Y’s Interim CEO.

Mary Burns. linkedin photo

“Mary’s dedication to the Y has been nothing short of inspiring,” said Bourget-Place. “It is hard to imagine our Y without her. The mark she has made on our community will be felt for years to come,” Bourget-Place added.

Kicks off campaign with $20k to help families with heating emergencies

Vermont Business Magazine The Burlington Electric Department (BED) today is encouraging the Burlington community to contribute to the WARMTH Support Program of the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO), leading by example with its own $20,000 gift - up from $12,000 last year - that will help Burlingtonians and Vermonters with heating emergencies this winter. During last year’s 2014-15 heating season, WARMTH served 403 Burlington households with 649 assists, or direct payments to BED to keep the heat on, totaling more than $42,000.

Vermont Business Magazine Continuing its run of significant double-digit growth quarter over quarter, Darn Tough Vermont, the American manufacturer of the fastest growing collection of performance outdoor and lifestyle socks, maintains pace for the third quarter of 2015 with an astounding 51 percent year-over-year increase. The increasingly high demand for Darn Tough socks translates to double-digit growth across all categories. Hike/Trek leads with a 59 percent increase followed by Endurance/Running up 52 percent, and Lifestyle up 48 percent. Demand among men has risen 49 percent, 55 percent among women and 46 percent among kids.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin today announced a milestone in Vermont State Park visitation. So far this year, more than 1 million people have visited state parks. That hasn’t happened in 27 years and has only occurred four other times over the 91 year history of the park system. The state will receive an estimated $6.1 million in direct revenue from this year’s visitation. The statewide economic impact from those visits is about $88 million.“We are all pleased that so many Vermonters and guests are realizing the treasures we have in our wonderful park system,” Gov. Shumlin said. “Outdoor recreation is such an important part of Vermont’s culture and economy and state parks offer a way for all of us to enjoy Vermont’s best.”

State Park attendance has been growing steadily over the last several years. Commissioner Michael Snyder of the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation attributes the success to a number of factors.

Vermont Business Magazie Al's Snowmobile in Newport is an international leader in the sales of new and used snowmobile, ATV and UTV parts, as well as complete machines. Al Briere and his family have worked tirelessly since 1984 to grow the rural company into a remarkable global business and a critical piece of Newport's economy. Recently the time came to transition the business to the next generation. In September 2014 NCIC partnered with Community National Bank and Vermont Economic Development Authority to provide a lending package for Al's son Scott Briere, his wife Carole, and Al's daughter Denise. This purchase was key to keeping the business in the Briere family.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) announces the availability of $25,000 in grant funds for the Trade Show Assistance Grant. Part of VAAFM’s growing Domestic Export Program, the Trade Show Assistance Grant is designed to help expand out-of-state sales opportunities for Vermont farm, food, and forestry businesses by increasing the financial accessibility of national trade shows. Held annually throughout the United States, trade shows attract many thousands of retailers and represent a valuable opportunity for VT businesses to exhibit their products and connect with new out-of-state markets and distribution channels.

Vermont businesses have the option to apply for funding in two different areas:

Vermont Business Magazine As the winds begin to pick up, Green Mountain Power’s storm team has ramped up to respond quickly to any outages. “We’ve already restored power to more than 500 customers (by mid-afternoon Wednesday) and additional outages are picking up,” said Dorothy Schnure, GMP spokesperson. “We have brought in outside contract crews to assist GMP crews so that we can work through the night, if necessary, to restore power quickly for our customers.”

Contract crews will be positioned initially in Rutland, Middlebury and Montpelier so that they can be close to where the winds are projected to be strongest on the western part of the state, while GMP crews will remain in their home district to ensure fast local response. As the storm progresses, they may be sent to harder hit areas. The response team will be supported by contract tree crews.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Arts Endowment Fund and the Concert Artists Fund, two component funds at the Vermont Community Foundation, announced that together they have awarded a total of $111,770 to 34 artists and arts organizations across the state. The Vermont Arts Endowment Fund awarded grants totaling $57,700 primarily to support the commissioning, creation, and presentation of new work or to assist Vermont artists wishing to take their work in new or different directions. Eleven awards were made to individual artists and 12 to arts organizations presenting the work of Vermont artists. The Concert Artists Fund awarded $54,070 to 11 organizations to support performances of classical music in Chittenden County.

The following grants were made in 2015:

Vermont Arts Endowment Fund 2015 Grants to Individual Artists

A2VT in Burlington received $2,000 to support the recording of A2VT’s second album.