Current News

Tim and Diane Mueller, owners of Okemo Mountain Resort are pleased to announce staff promotions in the Marketing Department.
Jennifer Smith has been promoted to the position of Marketing Manager. Jennifer joined Okemo in 1991 and served as the Manager of Guest
and Information Services for nine years. Since 2000, she has held the position as Communications Manager.
Lori Edwards has been promoted to the position of Online Marketing Manager. Lori came to Okemo in 1998 and served as a Marketing Assistant. In her new role, she will oversee all aspects of Internet marketing and communications and web support for both Okemo and Mount Sunapee.
"This is very exciting time at Okemo with the expansion of the new Jackson Gore area well underway," commented Diane Mueller. "Both Jennifer and Lori support our vision for the future of Okemo and for the Ludlow region and are valuable members of our Okemo Team."

Steve Pouliot, Executive Director for the Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (VABVI), is pleased to announce that Abbe Sweeney recently joined the staff as the development assistant. This position is based in the Burlington office.
A native Vermonter and Colchester High School graduate, Abbe currently resides in Burlington. She has an Associates Degree in PC Networking from
Champlain College and is working towards a Bachelors Degree in business. Her responsibilities in her new position include recording daily gifts, mailing donor acknowledgments, assisting with direct mail campaigns and other development projects. In her free time, Abbe enjoys travel, reading, yoga and cooking.
VABVI was founded in 1926 with the assistance of Helen Keller and the American Foundation for the Blind. The organization is the only private,

The North American Snowsports Journalists Association (NASJA) has announced its first Annual 2002 Survey of Winter Resort Favorites. Members of NASJA, who cover all aspects of mountain resorts in North America, selected their top picks in nine "best of" categories among
all of the resorts in the country.
Okemo Mountain Resort received the top-honors and the most votes for its immaculate slopes in the "Best Grooming" category for the East. Okemo has become renown for its snowmaking, grooming and consistently good snow conditions. With one of the largest snowmaking capabilities in the East and a Mountain Operations team that is passionate about what they do, Okemo continues to receive raves year-after-year. Deer Valley was chosen as the #1 choice for the Western region.
The North American Snowsports Journalists Association is a professional organization comprising more than 400 journalists that

Laney's BBQ Sauce was introduced to the local market with a tasting at the Jelly Mill. It was a huge success and exceeded all of Laney's
expectations. Clint Lewis, owner of the Jelly Mill, said: "we've always thought the barbeque sauce on the ribs at Laney's was the best in the world, so we are thrilled that Laney is now offering it for sale through our shop and others across the country. We always like to be proud of the quality of what we sell, and we know we can tell our customers sincerely that they'll never find a better barbeque sauce anywhere--for ribs, chops, chicken or steak. When Laney set up a tasting here at The Jelly Mill, nearly every customer who tried it bought at least one jar. We are proud to be one of Laney's first dealers, and we're looking forward to a long relationship."
Sales of Laney's BBQ Sauce are gaining momentum in New York City and surrounding areas. The sauce will again be available for tasting on

The Vermont Employee Ownership Center (VEOC) announces the formation of its founding board. Cindy Turcot, Chief Financial Officer of Gardener’s Supply Company, was elected Board Chair. "At a time when the Vermont economy is faced with business shutdowns by out-of-state owners, it is clear we need a new model for business development and growth," said
Turcot. "We must recognize that the strength of the Vermont economy is built on strong, locally-owned businesses."
The Vermont Employee Ownership Center is a new statewide non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and foster employee ownership in

On May 13th, Kaleidoscope Yarns opened at 15 Pearl Street in Essex Junction. The shop continues the tradition of providing a haven for knitters, one started 62 years ago by Mary T. Booth Yarn Shop of Essex Junction.
When Mary T. Booth Yarn Shop announced in January that it would be closing its doors in April, many knitters felt a great sense of loss.
The shop had built a loyal following by providing excellent customer service and offering an extensive inventory and a wide range of knitting products. The shop served many local and out of state customers.
“I was in mourning when I heard the news”, said Jill Bujold of Williston, Vermont “and I knew that I was not alone”. Bujold has been an avid knitter for over 20 years and has a retail background. The week of the announcement, Bujold approached Marilyn and Bob Vincent and Carol Booth of the Mary T. Booth Yarn Shop, about opening a shop that would fill the void created by the closing of their shop.

Banknorth Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:BKNG), one of the country's 35 largest commercial banking companies, has signed a long-term agreement with Metavante Corporation for a suite of Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and Card solutions. Metavante is the financial technology subsidiary of Marshall & Ilsley Corporation (NYSE:MI).
Metavante will provide Banknorth with ATM management, transaction routing and switching along with PIN-based card transaction processing. Banknorth has over 400 ATMs and over 800,000 ATM and debit cards. Metavante currently provides Banknorth with trust processing from its Wealth Management solution. Metavante anticipates completing the Banknorth conversion to its EFT and Card solution in the fourth quarter of 2002.

In an effort to help people find employment in summer recreation, the American Red Cross of Central Vermont-New Hampshire Valley has added a new service to its web site. Job seekers can access a listing of summer-camp employment opportunities by signing onto the chapter's web site -
http://www.redcross.org/vt/cvtnhv/classifieds.htm.
"Many camps and recreation departments are looking for water safety instructors and lifeguards for the summer months," said Bill Codling, the chapter's director of community education. "When we receive notices of summer recreational jobs, we will post them on our web site, providing a communications connection between lifeguards and water safety instructors
looking for jobs and recreation employers with job openings."

Hayes Group, an integrated marketing, advertising, strategic planning and public relations firm located in Williston, Vermont has won two coveted, 2002- 2003 Golden Web Awards given by the International Association of Web Masters and Designers.
The Golden Web Award is presented to those sites whose web design, originality and content have achieved levels of excellence that are deserving of recognition. Voted by the Internet's leading IT and Web professionals, the IAWMD serves more than 135,000 members and affiliates in more than 145 countries.
The Hayes Group won for its own web site: www.hayesgroup.com and for the web site the company designed and built for Quadra-Tek, www.Quadra-Tek.com of Arlington, Vermont.

With the addition of web compression services, PB Publishing has become a well rounded interactive web and video shop.
"From scripted and narrated slide shows to 360 degree cubic vr panoramas of products or attractions, to data driven web sites, hosting and shopping carts, PB Publishing has become a true one stop internet and video shop," states PB Publishing president,Timothy Palmer-Benson.
PB Publishing's high quality work recently won it an award for an interactive tour of Quechee. "The entire production from photography to sound track, scripting and narration was produced in house," says Palmer-Benson. "When you keep all the ingredients under one roof, the result is usually a better product with less overall production time and lower cost for the client."
To see PB Publishing's recent web movies and panorama productions, go to http://www.pbpublishing.org

Artistic Digital Sound & Photography (http://adsp.com) announces the availablity in Vermont of affordable digital video productions released on DVD. Everything and anything from marketing messages to personal milestones can now be captured and preserved and shared for decades to come.
Owner and sole-proprietor, Andre de Saint Phalle has previously produced marketing videos for the Stowe Mountain Resort as well as the Stratton Mountain Resort. For Stowe, he shot and edited an 11 minute video presenting the resort's signature Triple A's program, which seeks to make guests and employees cognizant of the importance of their Attitude, Awareness and Accountability. "It was a fun project to do, despite the serious nature of the content. We managed to throw in a fair amount of hi-speed thrills and spills to keep the audience from falling asleep!"

FreshTracks Capital, L.P., of Middlebury, VT announced today the completion, along with three co-investors, of a $750,000 round of financing to enable the re-launch of EatingWell: The Magazine of Food and Health, based in Charlotte, VT. Joining FreshTracks Capital in the Series A investment are Boston Community Venture Fund, Village Ventures, Inc., and EW Partners, LLC.
“We are enthusiastic about funding the new EatingWell Magazine,” said FreshTracks Capital Managing Director, Charlie Kireker, “because the founder/ publisher has re-assembled the original team to revive a brand that attracted a paid circulation of 650,000 in the mid-1990’s”. Publisher James Lawrence believes “the combination of an experienced locally-based investor group and the growing national awareness of the vital inter-connections between nutrition, good food and personal health provides a great opportunity to provide readers with the news and recipes they need”.