Current News

CEO of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters joins Saint Michael's Board of Trustees
Lawrence J. Blanford, president and chief executive officer of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Waterbury, Vt., has joined the Saint Michael's College board of trustees and attended meetings on campus Dec. 5 and 6.
"I felt very privileged to be asked to join the Saint Michael's board," Blanford said, explaining that he had become familiar with the college by attending Mass in the college's Chapel of Saint Michael the Archangel since moving to Vermont. Blanford and his family came to the area 18 months ago.
"We've been thrilled with the masses at Saint Michael's, he said. "The Edmundite priests are wonderful speakers and it's a beautiful mass with five, six or even seven priestsI look forward to it every week."

Dealer.com Wins Top International Emerging Media Award
Burlington, VT - (December 8, 2008) - Dealer.com (www.Dealer.com), the leading provider of online marketing solutions for the automotive industry, is a Leader Award winner in the 2008 Summit Emerging Media Award (Summit EMA) competition for their work with Checkered Flag Motor Car Corporation (www.checkeredflag.com). The 2008 competition included approximately 700 entries from numerous countries for which only 12% earned recognition. Dealer.com's work was recognized in the Consumer Product Website category.

Bruce Bouchard, Director, announced today that satirist and nationally prominent radio personality, Garrison Keillor will be bringing his "Evening with Garrison Keillor - Tales From Lake Wobegone" to the Paramount Theatre, in a co-production with the Rutland Herald on Monday, February 2, 2009.
Bouchard commented, "There is no question that Garrison Keillor is an icon; a Mark Twain/Will Rogers of his day and his generation. To say that we are agitated with excitement and anticipation for this very special event would be something of an understatement. A number of corporate leaders and friends of the theatre (beginning with the Rutland Herald) pulled together to help us make this happen. It is clear that a person of Mr. Keillor's stature certainly raises the bar for The Paramount."

Health Plans Achieve Bridges to Excellence Physician Incentive and Reward Program Endorsement

Intrawest's Eastern Ski Resorts Experience the Best Early Season Snow Conditions in Recent History
VANCOUVER, Dec. 5 /CNW/ - Intrawest, a leader in the development and management of experiential destination resorts, today reported outstanding early season snow conditions throughout its ski resorts in eastern North America. A favorable combination of natural snow and cold temperatures suitable for snowmaking is providing the best possible early season conditions at Snowshoe Mountain (West Virginia), Tremblant (Quebec), Stratton Mountain (Vermont), Blue Mountain (Ontario) and Mountain Creek (New Jersey).

VEC farm customer joins CVPS Cow Power(tm)

Whey-based Wood Finish Company Based In Hardwick
MONTPELIER, Vt. - A Hardwick company that makes wood finishes from a dairy by-product has won a prestigious award for environmentally friendly building products and hopes to parley that into continued growth.
Vermont Natural Coatings' PolyWhey(tm) product, developed with the assistance of the Vermont Department of Economic Development and the University of Vermont, was selected as one of BuildingGreen's 2008 Top-10 Green Building Products by the editors of Environmental Building News and GreenSpec(r).
This seventh annual award recognizes the most innovative and exciting green building products added to the GreenSpec(r) Directory during the past year or covered in Environmental Building News.

Duane Marsh, President of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, has accepted the position of Executive Director of the Illinois Funeral Directors Association. Marsh, who has been with the Vermont Chamber since September of 2003, will begin his new position in early January.

As a former funeral director, with family still in the business in Michigan, the lure of renewing the funeral service connection made this position highly desirable, Marsh said. I have enjoyed my tenure in Vermont and will leave here with many fond and lasting memories.

State Audit Says Railroad Contracts at Vermont Agency of Transportation Could Be Managed Better
Agency did not competitively bid $7.2 million in construction work; did not charge interest on late lease payments; and did not collect
salvage proceeds properly, among audit findings
MONTPELIER (December 5, 2008) - The Office of Vermont State Auditor Tom Salmon, CPA, reported today that oversight of railroad construction contracts in the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) is inadequate and is costing the State money.

"One conclusion of the audit is that the Rail Division is not ensuring that the required competitive bidding in these contracts is taking place," said Deputy State Auditor George Thabault. "Contracts are being 'sole-sourced' and this denies other companies the opportunity to compete for State contracts, and may be keeping the State from getting the best price for goods and services."

Burlington Job Market Expected to be Among Strongest in Nation
December 9, 2008 - Burlington-South Burlington area employers expect to hire at a favorable pace during the first quarter of 2009, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. Among survey participants, the Burlington-South Burlington area employment outlook is the fourth best in the nation.
"From January to March, 25% of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while 7% expect to reduce their payrolls," according to Manpower spokesperson Amanda Niklaus. "Another 62% expect to maintain their current staff levels and 6% are not certain of their hiring plans."

CNL LIFESTYLE PROPERTIES ADDS OKEMO, CRESTED BUTTE AND
SUNAPEE TO SKI & MOUNTAIN LIFESTYLE PORTFOLIO

-- Relationship with family-owned Triple Peaks, LLC provides immediate capital and
long-term stability for top-ranked ski mountains --

(ORLANDO, Fla.) Dec. 5, 2008 - CNL Lifestyle Properties, Inc., a real estate investment trust
(REIT) focused on lifestyle properties, announced today its acquisition of the privately held
assets of three ski and mountain lifestyle properties: Vermont's Okemo, Colorado's Crested
Butte and New Hampshire's Mount Sunapee. CNL Lifestyle Properties is purchasing the resorts
from family-owned Triple Peaks, LLC and leasing the properties back to Triple Peaks to
manage the ski, golf, hospitality and conference operations under a long-term lease.

Rockingham Area Community Land Trust Receives $27,900 to Support Foreclosure Prevention Counseling Efforts