Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Funding is now available through the Laurance & Mary Rockefeller Fund for organizations and projects that preserve and enhance the physical, cultural, spiritual, and wellness environment of the people in the town of Woodstock and surrounding communities. The fund awards grants ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. Applications will be accepted from organizations and projects serving the towns of Barnard, Bridgewater, Hartland, Killington, Plymouth, Pomfret, Reading, and Woodstock. Applicants must be serving one or more of these communities to be eligible to apply. The fund will consider requests for both general operating and project/program support.

Vermont Business Magazine The United States Postal Service (USPS) has announced plans to retain certain local mail processing operations at the Burlington postal facility in Burlington, VT. This decision to leave those operations in Burlington is made possible due to a proposed operational strategy aimed at increasing efficiency, improving service quality, and saving USPS an additional $3 billion per year nationwide. As a result, the Postal Service would now not need to relocate local originating mail processing operations outside of the Burlington facility. This ensures that mail being delivered from one address in Burlington to another would not leave the region for processing. This update follows a previous USPS decision to shift local originating mail processing operations to the Hartford Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) in Hartford, CT, in 2025. There are no anticipated employee impacts with the decision to keep these operations at the Burlington facility.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine VermontBiz has confirmed that a group led by Kyle Clark, CEO of BETA technologies in South Burlington, has signed a purchase and sale agreement with the state of Vermont to acquire the Caledonia County State Airport. The state had put out an RFP in the summer 2023 to sell the airport. Basically, the state couldn’t afford to keep it up. Dennise Casey, a representative for the Clark group, which is separate from BETA, said their first order of business would be to refurbish the 3,300-foot runway, which is paved. She also noted that the airport must maintain in perpetuity public access to general aviation. Financial terms were not disclosed but will be at some point. The purchasing group is CRAFTVT, LLC.

Vermont State Police The Vermont Chief Medical Examiner’s Office on Tuesday, Sept. 17, completed autopsies on the three victims whose bodies were found Sunday at their home in Pawlet. The state police is now able to confirm the identities of the victims as Brian Crossman Sr., 46; his wife, Erica (Pawlusiak) Crossman, 41; and Erica’s son and Brian’s stepson, Colin Taft, 13. The medical examiner determined that Brian Crossman’s cause of death was gunshot wounds to the head and torso, Erica Crossman’s was a gunshot wound to the head, and Colin Taft’s was multiple gunshot wounds. All three deaths were ruled homicides.

Vermont State Police On September 14, the Vermont State Police St. Albans Barracks was notified via Apple Crash Detection of a motor vehicle crash in the area of Highgate Rd near Bushey Road in Swanton, VT. Missisquoi Valley Rescue and the Swanton Fire Department also responded to the scene. Upon responder arrival, a single vehicle was found at a position of rest off the roadway into trees. The operator, Shelby Adams-Cherrier, was found to be deceased on scene.

Vermont Business Magazine From July 9-11, 2024, seven counties in Vermont were hit with severe storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides. One month later, local, state, and federal support is continuing to help Vermonters move forward in their recovery including funds for home repair, emergency lodging, transportation, and other needs. On August 20, 2024, President Joseph Biden declared a Major Disaster for the state of Vermont making federal funding available to affected individuals in Addison, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Lamoille, Orleans, and Washington counties. Within hours of the declaration, FEMA representatives were interacting with survivors to answer questions and help residents apply for disaster assistance. Federal funding was also made available to state, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations in Addison, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, and Washington counties for emergency work and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University’s School of Architecture + Art kicks off the 2024-25 academic year with presentations on Friday, September 20, at 1 p.m. in Chaplin Hall Gallery. The series is free and open to the public. This first event in the annual lecture series will feature presentations by architectural historian Lisa Schrenk, PhD and undergraduate student researcher Riyam Al-Janabi. A reception and the induction of newly licensed alums to the school’s ‘Wall of Fame’ will follow the presentations. Riyam Al-Janabi will present her student research titled: How is natural light strategically used in museums to foster emotional engagement and attachment to visitors? Her research evaluates and contrasts lighting design strategies and their role in shaping the art-viewing experience in three Washington, D.C. museums.

Vermont Chamber of Commerce Will we see you at Vermont’s premier workforce development event? The Vermont Chamber’s 2024 Solutions Summit is dedicated to transforming how we approach and address the challenges of the modern job market. This dynamic event will be held on September 25, 2024, at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Burlington. The Solutions Summit is designed to address the most pressing issues in workforce development and provide actionable solutions to advance Vermont’s economy. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to be part of shaping the future of work in our state. Secure your spot to engage with leaders, educators, and policymakers dedicated to transforming our workforce landscape.

Vermont Business Magazine Dream Maker Bakers created a 1,187-pound whoopie pie, breaking The World's Largest Whoopie Pie record! Saturday, September 14, 2024, at The Third Annual Whoopie Pie Festival in Downtown Rutland, Dream Maker Bakers made history. The previous record had been held by Wicked Whoopies in South Portland, Maine since 2011. Their whoopie pie weighed 1,067 pounds. Dream Maker Baker beat the record by 120 pounds! The festival exceeded 7,500 people throughout the day in Downtown Rutland! Sixteen bakers gave samples of their whoopie pies and competed for awards determined by attendees and the judges. Cookie's Cupcakes from Otis, Massachusetts won Overall Best and Most Creative Awards, both awarded by our judges. Sweet Birch Coffee Roasters and Bakery in Wallingford, Vermont won the People's Choice Award, determined by our attendees. 

Vermont Business Magazine Evernorth Rural Ventures, a subsidiary of Evernorth, has closed on $14.3 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation to create a larger, new state-of-the-art facility for Square One, a nonprofit early childhood education and care provider. The NMTC supports the construction of a new building dedicated to early learning classrooms and workforce development programming for families. This expansion is a vital step in meeting the community's childcare needs and supporting working families. The new facility will create 80 additional childcare slots, including a pioneering 24-hour care program, making it the only center-based licensed childcare center in South Springfield, Massachusetts. Additionally, the facility will house administrative, finance, and home visit teams for the nonprofit and generate 16 quality, living-wage full-time positions, further bolstering the local economy.  

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) has announced the start of a new Fiber Optic Apprenticeship Program in Vermont. The program puts participants to work right away, allowing them to learn on the job and earn a paycheck from the start. The Fiber Optic Apprenticeship Program is part of the Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP), a Department of Labor-registered apprenticeship program. VCBB is partnering with Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA), TIRAP’s national sponsor, to bring the program to Vermont. It’s now officially underway with its first Vermont employer, Sertex Broadband Solutions, signing on to participate.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced the appointment of Jessica Seman of Reading as Family Division Magistrate serving the southeastern region of the state and Patricia Gabel of Stowe as Assistant Judge in Lamoille County. Jessica began her legal career as a Law Clerk for the New Hampshire Judiciary, and then spent several years in private practice. For the past 10 years, Jessica has worked for the Vermont Office of Child Support, as both a Staff Attorney and most recently the Managing Attorney. Patricia began her legal career working in private practice, advising clients on a range of business, employment and conflict resolution matters. In 2013, the Supreme Court of Vermont appointed her as the Vermont State Court Administrator.