Current News

Everybody Wins! Vermont's Holly Lane was awarded the Lynne Von Trapp Award by the Vermont Childrens Trust Foundation (VCTF)at their luncheon on June 18.

This award is given annually to a staff person of a Vermont Children's Trust Foundation grant site who was a driving force in establishing or moving the program or organization forward, was responsive to and accurate in meeting the requirements of the VCTF, was a good ambassador for the VCTF and was a positive and optimistic colleague to all.

Governor Highlights Consequence of Legislative Inaction on Property Tax Rates

BRUCE DOUGLAS, P.E., JOINS STONE ENVIRONMENTAL

MONTPELIER, VERMONT The partners of Stone Environmental, Inc. are pleased to announce that Bruce Douglas, a nationally respected soil scientist, hydrologist, and engineer, has joined their staff as vice president of the Water Resources Management group.

Bruce has 27 years of experience in evaluating and mitigating environmental concerns from both agricultural and urban activities. He has led numerous projects involving field studies (at field, watershed, and regional scales), modeling, spatial analysis, and engineering to characterize, analyze, and reduce the impacts of nutrients, pathogens, and pesticides on water quality.

More Than $241,000 Awarded to Nonprofits to Promote Civic
Engagement; Diversity and Equity; and Education
MIDDLEBURY, VT
- $241,959 was awarded to 31 organizations across the state as part of the
Vermont Community Foundation’s Successful Communities grant round, which
makes awards to organizations that support civic engagement; diversity and equity;
and education.

The following
organizations received grants:

Statewide
Brattleboro
Community Justice Center
was awarded $6,200 to support its Returning Prisoner Simulation workshops.

Chittenden
Community Television
was awarded $10,000 to support the Center for Media & Democracy’s
skill-building workshops and events for nonprofits.

Common
Ground Center was
awarded $3,750 to host the second annual Camp Kaleidoscope, a retreat for

Representative Robert Dostis has accepted a leadership position with
Green Mountain Power and stepped down from his position as Chairman of
the House Natural Resources Committee. "An affordable and sustainable
energy future has been a top priority of the legislature and
Representative Dostis' leadership has helped move Vermont in that
direction," said Speaker Symington. She continued, "Representative
Dostis' skill of bringing legislators from all three political parties
together to move legislation has been critical to our effort to create a
more secure and affordable energy future for Vermonters."
Representative Dostis will remain as a regular member of the House
Natural Resources and Energy Committee and the Joint Energy Committee.
Representative Tony Klein has been appointed Chair of the House Natural
Resources and Energy Committee for the 2008 interim. Representative

The IBM plant in Essex Junction, which was once the states largest private employer, is laying off 180 employees. 110 of the positions are being eliminated, along with 70 long-term supplemental positions. The state is activating their rapid response system to help the layed-off employees find new jobs. In a released statement Governor Douglas said, To those at IBM who have lost jobs, and other Vermonters who have experienced the same challenge, we will continue to help you with all the tools we have available. Layoffs punctuate the importance of doing all we can in Montpelier to make Vermont a welcoming and supportive place to do business. My administration respects the role that every employer plays in ensuring the economic security and prosperity of our families. IBM currently employs 5,500 in Vermont.

groSolar Signs $175 million Deal for Solar Panels
Sales Contract with Evergreen Solar Helps Drive Company Growth
North American solar energy leader groSolar announced today the signing of a $175 million, long-term sales contract for solar electric panels with leading manufacturer Evergreen Solar, Inc.
The contract will assure fast-growing groSolar a steady supply of solar panels for the exploding commercial and residential solar market.
The contract with Evergreen (Nasdaq: ESLR) continues a relationship that saw the two companies sign a previous contract for $88 million in 2006.
Evergreen Solar is a manufacturer of solar power panels with its proprietary, low-cost String Ribbon(tm) wafer technology. The solar panels will be manufactured at the companys Devens, Massachusetts facility, which will begin panel production in July. The contract will continue through 2012.

Kindred Design Studio of Hinesburg, Vermont has been choosen by Sterling Construction, Inc. of Williston to create the identity and supporting marketing materials for Thistle Hill, the newest project for the developer that's currently being built in Hinesburg.

The Real Estate market is very competitive and it's becoming evermore critical to capture the character of a new neighborhood and portray it in new and unique ways&we need to go beyond location, location, location when asking customers to give these homes a look.

Design work was initiated back in March and will continue during all 3 phases of construction. We need to make sure the message is consistent yet flexible throughtout the project.

Peter Hofstetter, Chief Executive Officer of Northwestern Medical Center, was awarded QHR's first annual "CEO of the Year" award during their annual meeting in Brentwood, TN, Thursday, June 5, 2008. Peter was chosen from among more than 150 of his hospital CEO peers across the U.S. for this great honor.

QHR is one of the quiet partners in NMC's success. Dating back to the hospital merger in the late 1970's, NMC has enjoyed the benefits of management, consulting, and education services provided by QHR, formerly known as Quorum Health Resources.

Orlando, Florida (May 20, 2008) Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans, Vermont has been named a National Award winner in healthcare service quality for Exemplary Service Overall Best Performer 2007 by Avatar International, a leader in healthcare surveys and consulting.

This is a wonderful recognition of the efforts of everyone in the NMC family, said Peter Hofstetter, NMC's Chief Executive Officer. This is national recognition of what we have each worked so hard to achieve that our entire staff provides incredible care and service to our patients and our community.

Jane Catton, NMC's Director of Process Improvement, and Lynn Desautels, NMC's Process Improvement Specialist, attended Avatar International's Client Symposium 2008 in Orlando, Florida to accept the award on NMC's behalf.

Union Institute & University and Vermont College of Fine Arts Announce Sale of Montpelier Campus & Fine Arts Programs
Sale marks the beginning of Vermont College of Fine Arts; Union Institute & University continues to serve students from the campus
Union Institute & University (UI&U) and Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) today announced they have completed the purchase agreement for the historic Vermont College campus and the three Master of Fine Arts (MFA) programs located in Montpelier, Vermont. VCFA now owns and will operate the campus and three MFA programs as an independent institution. UI&U will continue to operate its bachelors and masters programs, leasing offices and classrooms from VCFA.

06/23/08
For Immediate Release
Contact: Will Patten
802-862-8347

VBSR Announces the 2008 Terry Ehrich Awards for
Excellence in Socially Responsible Business

Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility recently announced the winners of the prestigious annual Terry Ehrich awards. This year's award winners are as follows:

Terry Ehrich Award: Melinda Moulton, CEO of Main Street Landing Company

Small Company Leader of the Year Award: Nathaniel Group, Inc., Vergennes

Large Company Leader of the Year Award: King Arthur Flour Company, Norwich

The prestigious Terry Ehrich Award was established in 2002 in honor of Terry Ehrich, of Hemmings Motor News in Bennington. In addition to running a successful business, Terry was a founding member of VBSR, founder of the First Day Foundation for public schools, and a tireless advocate for public policies to protect the Vermont environment, workforce, and a sustainable economy.