Current News

The 5x5x5 Growth Awards celebrates the top 5 fastest growing Vermont businesses in each of 5 categories: Technology, Contracting, Retail, Wholesale and Manufacturing.
The event is moderated by Lisa Ventriss, president of the Vermont Business Roundtable, and will feature presentations by the presidents and CEO's of Connor Contracting, Inc.; Vermont Pure Holdings, Inc.; Hubbardton Forge Corporation; Gardener's Supply Company; and Chroma Technology, Inc.

The Vermont Council for Quality is now accepting applications for the Excellence in Action Award.
The Excellence in Action Award was established to generate performance
excellence among all Vermont organizations and drive higher levels of
quality in Vermont services and products.
a.. Receive a comprehensive review and a written feedback report giving
you expert insight into the strengths of the practice or process.
b.. Receive recognition at the VCQ Annual Awards Conference on February 18,
2004 by presenting your innovation at the Best Practice Spotlight.
Any Vermont organization is eligible to submit their practice, process, or
innovation that was implemented in the last three years.
For more information:
1) Contact VCQ at 802-655-1910

2) Email [email protected]

3) Download the attached Pre-Application form or

The Vermont Credit Union League
Services Corporation, a subsidiary of the Vermont Credit Union League, has
signed an agreement with John M. Floyd & Associates, Inc. (JMFA) of
Houston, naming the profitability-consulting firm as its "Preferred
Business Partner" for the JMFA OVERDRAFT PRIVILEGESM program.
The League (VCUL), founded in 1947, is a statewide, full
service, financial trade association representing 37 Vermont credit
unions with 243,000 members and assets of more than $1.3 billion at the
end of 2002. Leagues in Alabama, Florida, Michigan, Mississippi, New
Jersey, New Mexico and Texas also have recently endorsed JMFA. The firm's
non-discriminatory, automated service helps members avoid added costs and
embarrassment from bounced share drafts (checks).
"The public is demanding value-added services like overdraft
privilege," CEO John M. Floyd told both the Consumer Advisory Council to

Tim and Diane Mueller, owners of
Okemo Mountain Resort are pleased to announce staff promotions and
additions at Okemo Mountain Resort.
Michael Kraatz has been named Director of Planning and
Permitting. In his new position, he will oversee all aspects of Okemo's
real estate planning and development. Michael came to Okemo in 1985 and
was formerly Manager of Rental/Repair and oversaw Okemo's retail and food
and beverage operations. Michael will also serve as a Division Manager at
Okemo. Michael replaces Dan Petraska, Okemo's VP of Resort Development
and Planning. Dan has been with Tim and Diane Mueller for the past 30
years and will be retiring in the Fall.
Ethan Mueller has been promoted to the position of Assistant
Director
of Operations where he will oversee Okemo's Cutting Edge Learning Center,
Racing and Mountain Services departments. Ethan has worked in many phases

Duane Marsh has been chosen the new President of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. Marsh, a resident of Midland, Michigan succeeds Christopher Barbieri who resigned in April to relocate to Shanghai as the Vermont Chamber's International Trade Liaison.
Marsh will assume his new position with the Vermont Chamber of Commerce on Monday, September 29, 2003.
Marsh was formerly President of the Midland (Michigan) Area Chamber of Commerce which he headed from 1997 until 2003. Midland is an 850 member chamber with 10 employees and an annual budget of $850,000. He holds an MBA from Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, MI.

ECSMarin has been named on The Zweig Letter’s Hot Firm list for the third consecutive year. The annual national survey identifies the 100 fastest-growing architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting firms in the United States. ECSMarin moved up 21 spots from last year to land at number 40 on the 2003 list.
The ranking is based on an equal weighting of percentage revenue growth and dollar revenue growth from 1999 to 2002. The complete list will be announced in an upcoming issue of a weekly newsletter published by ZweigWhite, a firm specializing in management consulting, information, and education for the design and construction industries.
ECSMarin will be honored along with the other 99 winners at The Zweig Letter Hot Firm Conference and Celebration October 22-24 in San Francisco, California.

InfoSTEP, Inc announced the availability of eLustroHarmony and eLustroCSA solutions built on Sun Microsystems’ Java™ and Sun ONE platforms (Nasdaq: SUNW) to help companies with Sarbanes Oxley Act compliance requirements. These offerings empower CEOs, CFOs, Corporate Controllers and process owners with tools to monitor internal controls and manage business risks within acceptable tolerance levels.

The Community Mapping Program, a collaborative project of
the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) and the Orton Family
Foundation, received a 2003 "Special Achievement in GIS"
award from ESRI. ESRI is a global Geographic Information System (GIS)
industry leader and producer of ArcView software. According to ESRI,
"Every year the Special Achievement in GIS award honors an elite group of
organizations that have embraced GIS technology to better serve the world.
By their extraordinary contributions to our society they have set new
precedents throughout the GIS community." ESRI president Jack Dangermond
presented the award to the Community Mapping Program at ESRI's annual
conference in San Diego.
The Community Mapping Program provides GIS and Global Positioning Systems
(GPS) training and support to K-12 students, teachers, and community

Sugarbush Resort announced that it
has secured an amended land-use permit from Vermont’s District 5 Act 250
Environmental Commission and the required local and Agency of Natural
Resources permits. This completes the necessary permitting to make The
Lodge at Lincoln Peak a reality.
"We are extremely pleased with the outcome of the permitting process,"
commented Bob Ackland, Sugarbush President and General Manager. "It is
through the input and support of all of the groups involved that the Lodge
at Lincoln Peak is what it is today, a remarkable project that is both
architecturally outstanding and environmentally sound, completely in
keeping with the values of Sugarbush and the Mad River Valley. It seems to
me that a lot of people understand that the Lodge at Lincoln Peak will
breathe new life into the entire area and they want to contribute to its
success."

John King, president and CEO of Vermont Public Television, the statewide
public television network, has been appointed to two boards. He was
elected treasurer and executive committee member of NETA, the National
Educational Telecommunications Association. NETA is a professional
association based in Columbia, S.C., that serves public television
stations and educational entities. Its mission is to provide quality
programming, educational resources, professional development, management
support and national representation for its members.
King has also been appointed to the Assembly of Overseers of
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover, N.H. The overseers act as
advisers to the board of trustees on hospital affairs and customer and
community relations.
He holds a master's degree in public administration from Harvard
University, a bachelor's degree from Johnson State College and an

Acting on petitions filed by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and other concerned business interest organizations,
the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a stay of new
regulations governing fax advertisements until January 1, 2005.
The FCC granted the stay request after receiving hundreds of comments
and
requests for interpretation from associations and other businesses over
the past several weeks regarding the rulemaking, published July 25 in
the Federal Register. ASAE and others argued that the fax regulations as
written would significantly impede the marketing strategies and basic
communications between associations and their own members. The new rules
were due to go into effect August 25, but will now be given more
deliberate consideration to determine congressional intent.

Banknorth Group, Inc. (NYSE: BNK) today announced record quarterly net income of $87.5 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2003, an increase of 15% over net income of $76.2 million for the second quarter of 2002. On a diluted earnings per share basis, the Company earned 53 cents for the second quarter, up 4% from 51 cents for the same quarter a year ago. Exclusive of merger and consolidation charges, earnings for the second quarter ended June 30, 2003 were $88.5 million, or 54 cents per diluted share, as compared to $76.9 million, or 52 cents per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2002.