Current News

The Vermont Hospitality Council (VHC), the tourism division of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, is currently seeking nominations for five high-profile industry awards: the Borden Avery Innkeeper of the Year, Chef of the Year, Restaurateur of the Year, B&B Innkeeper of the Year, and Allied Member of the Year. The deadline for nominations is July 30, 2009.
The winners will be honored at the annual reunion of the tourism industry, the Vermont Hospitality Gala. The Gala is scheduled for the evening of September 16 at The Essex, Vermont's Culinary Resort & Spa (formerly the Inn at Essex).
Award winning businesses will:

Demonstrate superior management ability as reflected in a successful business
Display commitment to training, motivating and furthering self-improvement of staff
Promote and support legislation beneficial to the hospitality industry on local, state and national levels, and Provide consistent leadership within the community

Vermont leads the way, yet again. The national spotlight will soon fall on the new "Farm-to-Plate" initiative, which aims to strengthen the "Buy Local" movement in Vermont.
Several hundred politicians, funds, and policy experts around the country will be listening to two Vermont State Representatives on Mon., June 29 through a national webinar. The principal architects of Vermont's new law, Rep. Jason P. Lorber (D-Burlington), and Rep. Christopher Bray (D-New Haven) will share insights of how they developed their program, which leverages federal stimulus funds designed to create new jobs in Vermont.
"Farm-to-Plate is a prime example of how to stimulate the economy in a socially responsible way," said Lorber, who serves on the VT House Commerce & Economic Development Committee. "We designed Farm-to-Plate to not only spur the Buy Local movement and create jobs, but also to strengthen the environment and Vermont's farms and working landscape."

Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Bonnie Rutledge announced today that effective July 1st, 2009 the DMV will issue just one registration sticker to all vehicles. Currently, the DMV issues two stickers, one for each license plate. The new one-sticker system calls for the single sticker to be applied to the rear plate of the vehicle to be legal. A vehicle, however, is still required to have two license plates: one attached to the front and one attached to the back.
The move from two registration stickers to one registration sticker is a cost-savings measure adopted by the Vermont Legislature as part of the Fiscal Year 2010 Transportation Bill. Starting July 1, vehicle registration renewals will be issued with one registration sticker printed with the vehicle s registration information and the second sticker will be printed with the word VOID.

The Fourth of July weekend in Vermont offers many ways to celebrate, but to truly appreciate the meaning of the holiday the state s historic sites are the place to start.
Special events at the Bennington Battle Monument, Mount Independence in Orwell, and the Calvin Coolidge Historic Sites will range from a reading of the Declaration of Independence and Colonial-era music to a ceremony honoring Calvin Coolidge, the only U.S. President born on the Fourth of July.
The many fun and unique activities at the state s historic sites can help visitors and residents alike discover the stories of Vermont s contributions to early American history, said Governor Jim Douglas.
On Saturday July 4th, the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site celebrates the birth of the nation as well as its 30th president.

Customers and members of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont (BCBSVT) may take advantage of special discounts and offers for selected events at the Burlington International Waterfront Festival from July 2 to July 14, the company announced today.
The Burlington International Waterfront Festival will include an array of events and activities to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the expedition led by French explorer Samuel de Champlain to the waters now known as Lake Champlain. BCBSVT will host several events as part of the company's sponsorship of the festival.
Information about the exciting events is listed below.
400 Years of Healthcare in Vermont Exhibit

Senate President Pro Tem Shumlin and Speaker Smith commented today on the loss of over 200 jobs at the Ethan Allen manufacturing plant in Beecher Falls, Vermont.
The loss of so many jobs is a devastating blow to the economy of the Northeast Kingdom, said Senator Shumlin. I have reached out to the plant manager and let him know that our thoughts are with the workers and their families as they deal with the loss of their jobs during such difficult economic times.
I was saddened and frustrated to hear of the job losses at the Ethan Allen plant, said Speaker Smith. Addressing the faltering economy as well as the unemployment insurance system will continue to be among the legislature's top priorities."

Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin and Speaker Shap Smith moved forward today on addressing the challenge of unemployment insurance by appointing the Unemployment Trust Fund Reform Study Committee.
Vermont s unemployment insurance system is in desperate need of reform, said Speaker Smith. The Fund has been in decline for many years and without reform will go bankrupt. I am pleased that we have put together a strong committee who will continue the work we did on this issue, over the summer and fall months.
The Committee will undertake a comprehensive study of all the issues that affect the solvency of the trust fund and develop recommendations for reforms to make the fund more sustainable. These issues will include negative balance, seasonal and reimbursable employers, taxable wage base and the rates that are applied to those bases, benefit levels and others.

Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) today announced the results of its mid-year financial audit, showing an increased budget deficit of $17.3 million for the six months that ended on March 31. Based on audit results, senior management projects a substantially higher deficit of $22.1 million by the end of the fiscal year in September.
"The current and projected shortfalls in our operating budget are intolerable," said hospital CEO Dr. Mark Novotny. "After my appointment as the interim CEO by the Board of Trustees in March, it quickly became clear that fiscal 2009 budget projections were seriously flawed. The board, former and current executives, and the senior management team all share responsibility for the outdated fiscal management practices, ill-informed decisions, and lack of adequate oversight that led to this serious financial situation."

Governor Jim Douglas attended the kick-off event for the Vermont Biosciences Alliance. The Vermont Biosciences Alliances is a partnership of businesses that make-up Vermont s growing bioscience industry as well as academic partners from the higher education community.
It is great to see business leaders from the bioscience community coming together to support one another, Governor Douglas said. These cutting-edge employers will play a leading role in our economic recovery and provide great job opportunities for Vermonters.

Ledyard National Bank recently completed a three-year commitment to the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies. The total contribution was $3,000.
Ledyard National Bank proudly supports the Center s mission to raise new ideas and improve debates through quality information and analysis on issues shaping New Hampshire s future.
Ledyard Financial Group, Inc., headquartered in Hanover, New Hampshire, is the holding company for Ledyard National Bank. Ledyard National Bank, founded in 1991, is a full service community bank offering a broad range of banking, investment, tax and wealth management services in the Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee Region. Ledyard National Bank has eight offices with locations in Hanover, Lebanon, Lyme, New London, and West Lebanon, New Hampshire and in Norwich, Vermont.

Senator Patrick Leahy has announced that he will seek re-election to the United States Senate in 2010. Below is is a video of his annoucement, also if you haven't read our Profile on Leahy from the May issue of Vermont Business Magazine check it out here.

A new Vermont cheesemaker will begin producing high-quality artisanal cheeses this summer at the Plymouth Cheese Factory, located at the President Coolidge State Historic Site in Plymouth.
Fairfield Farms Artisan Cheese has signed a lease with the State of Vermont that will begin July 1. The company will create three types of hand-crafted, limited supply cheeses from raw milk at the facility. The site will be operated by Jesse Werner, cheesemaker and owner of Fairfield Farms Artisan Cheese.