Current News

Vermont Business Magazine A painting by Cassy Pan of Lyndon, won the Best of Show in the Vermont competition of the 2025 Federal Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Art Contest. The judging was held at the North Branch Nature Center on March 27th. Cassy, a student at Lyndon Institute, entered a painting of a common merganser. The Vermont Best of Show artwork will now compete in the National Federal Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Art Contest. Cassy’s artwork will be included in an exhibit that will tour the United States for the coming year. The youth waterfowl conservation and design program is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It is part of a program that teaches students in grades K-12 about wetlands and waterfowl conservation. The art contest is modeled after the Federal Duck Stamp Contest for adult artists. 

Vermont Business Magazine The 19th annual Vermont Organics Recycling Summit (VORS) will be held on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Randolph, VT. Organized by the Composting Association of Vermont (CAV) and the Agency of Natural Resources, the VORS brings together leaders, learners, and community members for valuable opportunities of networking, knowledge-sharing, and collaboration. With the theme "Sustainable Communities Begin with Compost!" this year’s Summit will explore how composting supports resilient communities, reduces waste, and nourishes soils at every scale – from backyard bins to large-scale facilities. Following the one-day event in Randolph, there will be free tours and workshops across the state on Thursday, May 1, 2025.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (FPR) is reminding the public that mud season is here and many trails around the state are closed. During mud season, which can run until Memorial Day in upper elevations, hiking and biking trails are wet and muddy due to the combined effects of snow melt, thawing ground, and seasonal rain. We ask the public to avoid muddy, soft trails to protect sensitive vegetation, reduce erosion, and ensure trails are in good shape for the upcoming hiking and biking season.

by Josh Knight, VT Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets Are you a specialty crop grower in Vermont interested in selling to restaurants?  Or a restaurant owner/buyer interested in purchasing Vermont grown specialty crops?  The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets wants to hear from you! You may be asking, “What are Specialty Crops?” Specialty Crops, as defined by the USDA, include fruit & tree nuts, vegetables, culinary herbs & spices, and most horticultural crops. It is sometimes easier to say what specialty crops aren’t than what they are: if the crop is used for animal feed or fuel, it is NOT typically considered a specialty crop. With support from the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, the Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets is launching a project to connect Vermont specialty crop producers and restaurants for the purpose of increasing sales and enhancing marketing opportunities.

Vermont Business Magazine Nearly 250 students from more than a dozen high schools and career centers in Vermont met with health care professionals from across University of Vermont Health Network today, at a health care careers fair at Champlain Valley Exposition. More than two dozen departments from health care partners across the health system participated in the career fair, as did representatives from educational partners like Vermont State University and University of Vermont. UVMHN employs approximately 4,000 health care professionals. The event, the first of its kind in Vermont, comes after a similar career fair in Plattsburgh, N.Y., drew hundreds of high school students from across northern New York last October. 

Vermont Business Magazine Karen T. Moran will join Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan as executive vice president and President, Commercial Markets, effective April 7, 2025. Moran will transition into the role, succeeding Ken Dallafior, who is retiring at the end of 2025 following more than 20 years of executive leadership at BCBSM. BCBSM's Commercial Markets division accounts for $18 billion in annual revenue and serves 4.1 million of BCBSM's 5.1 million members nationally. The division operates the company's commercial health insurance business, Blue Care Network HMO, the long-term care and specialty benefits subsidiary LifeSecure, and the company's affiliation with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont.

Inclusive Arts Vermont After nearly 40 years of increasing access to the arts for Vermonters with disabilities, with heavy hearts, Inclusive Arts Vermont will sunset operations and programming, effective June 30, 2025. This date allows IAV to honor all commitments for our current program year and ensures a thoughtfully executed closure. In 1986, Inclusive Arts Vermont began its creative journey as Very Special Arts of Vermont, later VSA Vermont, and a proud member of the national VSA network, a program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. While that network has since dissolved, our mission has remained the same: to use the magic of the arts to engage the capabilities and enhance the confidence of children and adults with disabilities.

Vermont Business Magazine In 2024, M&T supported 179 organizations throughout Vermont with sponsorship and grant dollars. M&T's total impact through the M&T Charitable Foundation and their Amplify grants was $2,966,980. M&T Employees provided 7,343 volunteer hours throughout the state. With branches throughout Vermont and across the region, M&T announced Tuesday that it had provided $4.9 million in grants to 51 nonprofit organizations across New England and Long Island and Westchester County, New York. The announcement of this third round concludes the company’s Amplify Fund supplemental grant program, a three-year, $25 million commitment to address inequities, with a focus on all low- and moderate-income communities and underserved populations.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and members of his cabinet will be in Windsor County on Monday, April 7 for its Capital for a Day 14-county tour. Governor Scott first launched this initiative in June 2018, and he and his cabinet visited all 14 counties over the following 10 months. Capital for a Day gives local constituents, municipal government leaders and other partners the opportunity to connect directly with state leadership and staff. “Spending a day in each county gives us an opportunity to hear directly from Vermonters, see the good things happening in their communities and understand how decisions made in Montpelier are impacting them,” said Governor Scott. “In the past, challenges identified on these visits led us to make historic investments in wastewater systems to support economic growth, strengthen our CTE centers, collaborate on public safety issues and more.”

Vermont Business Magazine Associated Industries of Vermont (AIV) is partnering with allied Vermont business associations, including the Vermont Chamber, the RDCs of Vermont and VMEC to host Vermont Manufacturing Day at the Vermont State House today.  The day features industry leaders, manufacturing businesses and policy makers to celebrate the manufacturing sector’s significant contributions to Vermont’s economy. Manufacturing helps drive Vermont’s economy—supporting 30,000 employees (10.5% of Vermont’s workforce), generating $3 billion in annual impact, and representing over 8% of the state’s GDP. 

Vermont Business Magazine At a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) called out President Trump for firing Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and discussed the importance of a fully functioning FTC, which protects consumers from rip-offs. Senator Welch served as Ranking Member of the subcommittee while Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) held the floor with a marathon speech, which lasted more than 24 hours. 

Vermont Business Magazine Bennington once again welcomes the Northeast's finest Home Brewers on Saturday, May 3rd, from noon to 4 p.m. at the Tuttle Lot (113 Depot St.) Bennington, VT. Home Brew Festival creator Will Gardner and organizational partner Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce look to continue the tradition of bringing the community a fun, safe, and memorable event. The festival was started in 2015 by Will Gardner and partners at 4 Corners North. After several years of growth and success, Will partnered with the Southwestern Chamber of Commerce to create the Winter HomeBrew Festival, which served as a companion event. Between the two events, there have been 16 local HomeBrew Festivals, each with their unique charm, theme, and of course, home brews!