Current News
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VERMONT ADVERTISING AGENCY SWITCHES ON THE POWER
HMC Changes Ownership and Management
Stowe, VT --
HMC Advertising in Stowe is bringing a whole new power source to marketing in New England. Literally. HMC, which has been in existence since 1980, was sold this year to its employees - positioning it for new management, new growth, new opportunities, new ideas and a renewed zeal and commitment to serving clients.
Brian Harwood, now the "Chair Emeritus" of the agency, stepped down from his CEO role in January along with his long-time business partner Brad Moses. The two then passed the management baton to employees Veronica Williams and Anne Loecher.
by tim
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER APPOINTED FOR DEPARTMENT
Murray Named to Replace Richard Smith
MONTPELIER -- The Department of Economic Development named Thomas Murray as Deputy Commissioner. The announcement was made by Commissioner Mike Quinn.
Murray replaces Richard Smith who accepted the appointment as Deputy Commissioner with the Vermont Department of Public Service.
Murray began service in state government directing telecommunications policy development in the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. He will continue those responsibilities as he assumes his new duties as deputy commissioner of the department.
by tim
National Life Group Names Mehran Assadi
President of Life and Annuities
Montpelier, VT The National Life Group has named Mehran Assadi President of Life and Annuities. Assadi, who has been with the company in an interim role for the past two years, will have responsibility for leading and directing all of the National Life Groups life and annuity operations, including product development, marketing, sales and distribution, as well as customer service.
Mehran is a leader who has earned enormous credibility and respect throughout our organization, said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tom MacLeay, in making the announcement. As president of life and annuities for the National Life Group, we know that respect and credibility will only continue to expand and grow.
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Champlain College announced today that retiring president Dr. Roger H. Perry will deliver the commencement address to graduates of the career-oriented college on Saturday, May 7. The Class of 2005 will hear from this educator and administrator with national and international experience who steered the private institution through a host of changes, leaving it well-positioned for the future.
Dr. Perry became the sixth president of the College in 1992. During the prior ten years, he served as Champlains vice president for academic affairs and then provost. After retiring from the College, Perry and his wife, Heather, plan to travel and then teach abroad.
Dr. David F. Finney of New York University has been selected by Champlain Colleges Board of Trustees to become the colleges seventh president. He will succeed Perry on July 1, 2005.
by tim
BURLINGTON, Vt.--Hal Colston, the founder and former director of the Good News Garage, is an adjunct professor at Champlain College, where he teaches community service courses. But now through a new, multifaceted project with the College, he has also become a client of several student and faculty teams who are helping him get his next big idea off the ground.
Champlain students are doing marketing research, surveys, feasibility studies, Web development, electronic game development and video work for Colstons NeighborKeepers project. Colstons goal is to create a nonprofit organization that provides a circle of support to impoverished single mothers and their families. One of the goals, said Colston, is to show these families how to live in the middle class, when all theyve known is poverty.
by tim
Smith Street Design is Open for Business
SHOREHAM, VT - Smith Street Design is a woman-owned business begun by Liz Whitaker-Freitas in 2005. Smith Street Design is a team of experienced designers, marketers, photographers, programmers and writers offering broad-spectrum marketing services. Their goal is to help businesses with all aspects of their marketing needs.
by tim
by Joyce Marcel, Vermont Business Magazine It was the week of Town Meeting, and the last thing Vermont National Guard Adjutant General Martha Rainville expected was to be in the eye of a media hurricane.
But a resolution questioning the war in Iraq - one-third of Vermont's Guard is deployed in Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia - was on the warning in 58 towns, and the discussions attracted international attention. The Los Angeles Times covered Bethel's Town Meeting, and The New York Times and the Asahi Shimbun of Tokyo covered Dummerston's. Everyone wanted a comment from Rainville.
Official Vermont National Guard portait of Adjutant General Martha Rainville.
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New President & CEO Appointed to Run BMH
Barry G. Beeman has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and Southern Vermont Health Services Corporation. He will be coming to Brattleboro this summer. Beeman has roots in New England, and he and his wife, a nurse, are very happy to be coming to Vermont, where they have family.
Beeman comes to BMH with a total of twenty-three years of healthcare administrative experience including as President and Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Director of Human Resources at three previous hospitals.
by tim
VEDA BOARD APPROVES $1.8 MILLION
IN PROJECT FINANCING ASSISTANCE
Montpelier, VT - Business real estate purchase and expansion projects totaling
$3.34 million will receive $1.8 million in financing assistance from the Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA).
Were very pleased to be able to contribute to the growth of these Vermont businesses, said VEDA Chief Executive Officer Jo Bradley. VEDAs mission is to help eligible businesses create jobs, and these projects stand to produce 35 new job opportunities in the next three years. Thats good news for Vermont.
Projects approved for financing assistance by the VEDA Board are:
by tim
BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF VERMONT FILES JOINT APPLICATION TO ADMINISTER MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFIT
Berlin, VT, Together with several of its sister Blue Plans, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont has filed an application to become a Medicare prescription drug plan sponsor. The Plan will co-sponsor the program with other Blue plans in the region designated by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to serve Vermont. Region 2 includes Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, in addition to Vermont, so BCBSVT has teamed with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Connecticut, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) and Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI). The organizations expect to hear from CMS by June of this year if the application is approved, and will announce the details of the plan when CMS completes its review.
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CTC Communications and Lightship Telecom to Merge
Deal creates leading CLEC in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Waltham, MA and Bedford, NH (March 24, 2005) CTC Communications and Lightship Telecom, two of the leading facilities-based telecommunication providers in the New England area, have announced an agreement to merge the two companies. The newly merged company, which will operate as CTC Communications, will be the pre-eminent competitive local exchange carrier headquartered in New England, with its corporate offices located in Waltham, MA.
CTC has provided telecommunication services to business customers throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions for more than 20 years, with customer service and support provided through 15 regional offices. Lightship Telecom, founded in 1998, serves business customers in New England from its operational headquarters in Bedford, NH and 6 regional offices.
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PRESS ADVISORY
Contact Kathryn
Mathieson: 802-828-2148
For Immediate Release: March 22, 2005