Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Sara King, CEO of the VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region (VNAHSR) announced her plans to retire after more than 23 years of leadership with the agency. King began with VNAHSR as its Chief Financial Officer, added the responsibilities of Chief Operating Officer in 2016, and promoted to Chief Executive Officer in 2021. King explained that spending more time with family was the reason behind her retirement. King was instrumental in the agency’s growth into Bennington County, and it was her ability to simultaneously streamline and strengthen operations without sacrificing quality of care that allowed VNAHSR to begin providing services in Franklin County, despite not being geographically adjacent.

Poinciana, Florida - John Henry Lang, 88, of Essex, Vermont passed away peacefully Wednesday, March 14, 2024 at Vitas Hospice in Lake Wales, Florida surrounded by love and lilting Irish melodies. John was born September 21, 1935, on the family farm in Essex, Vermont. He was the fifth child of nine and the first son of John Kenneth and Lida May (Wiley) Lang. He spent his childhood working on the farm and getting into hijinks with his siblings. John was a 1954 graduate of Essex Junction High School where he played basketball and baseball. But the real highlight of his high school years was when he took the new girl in town, Nancy Repa, on a date to celebrate her 15th birthday. That first date was the beginning of a 70 year journey through life together.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark today announced her campaign for re-election. Clark was sworn in as Vermont Attorney General in January of last year and is running for a second term. Clark reflected on her accomplishments over the past 16 months and outlined her vision for the future. “Sixteen months ago, Vermonters gave me the privilege of serving them and my beloved home state as Attorney General,” said Attorney General Clark. “I’m running for re-election to continue fighting for Vermonters and protecting this state we love.”  

Vermont Business Magazine KeyBank announced today that Tony DiSotto, Key Private Bank Market Leader for Maine and Vermont, as well as Market President for Maine, will now assume expanded responsibilities as Market President for Vermont as well. DiSotto will continue to lead KeyBank’s wealth management teams in both states; in addition, he will oversee and coordinate KeyBank’s go-to market strategy across its various lines of business and serve as the executive face of KeyBank in both Vermont and Maine with a focus on business, philanthropic and sponsorship efforts. 

Devon Green, VP of Government Relations, VAHHS Ah, spring at the State House. I started my draft last week with something about our roads being muddy but the session shaping up with the money committee crossover deadline on Friday. By Saturday I’m finding myself in a snowstorm and House appropriations postponing its formal vote on the FY’25 budget until Monday. Among other issues, the House Ways and Means Committee financed the $21.9M bill for expanding the Medicare Savings Program by removing the deduction for global intangible low-taxed income and foreign-derived intangible income and increasing the corporate income tax to 10% for income over $25,000 along with increasing security fees. The expansion of the Medicare Savings Program is expected to bring in over $40M for low-income older Vermonters. 

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.37 per gallon, up 8.4 cents per gallon from last week's $3.29/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $3.15/g while the highest was $3.59/g, a difference of 44.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has risen 6.4 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.51/g today. The national average is up 27.0 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 8.7 cents per gallon higher than a year ago.

Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets Join Red Wagon Plants for a day of learning about getting started in the garden! Gardening is a lifelong hobby, and can be full of both bounty and challenges, especially in the early years. Red Wagon Plants is creating a whole day of workshops and activities geared towards the newer gardener. Come with all your questions, hopes, and dreams, and leave inspired for this year's planting season! Red Wagon Plants will also have cold hardy plant starts for sale, as well as seeds, soil, tools, pots, and more. The event is free. Workshops are $25 each.

by Emily Bradbury By the time Donovan Arnold was a junior at Richford High School, he had completed most of the available higher-level classes. “He only had a few graduation requirements to complete senior year,” said his school counselor, Allison Witherspoon. “Together, we discussed Early College as a good next step.” Vermont’s Early College program allows high school seniors to enroll full-time in college courses at no cost to them, earning college credit and a high school diploma at the same time. This spring, he will graduate from Richford High School with one year of college and a certificate in bookkeeping under his belt. The experience has been so positive for him that he plans to continue at CCV for a second year through the Free Degree Promise, currently funded by the McClure Foundation for the Vermont high school classes of 2023-2026. 

by Ellen Friedrich, VT Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets The Best Management Practices (BMP) Program provides technical and financial assistance to farmers for the implementation of engineered, structural improvements on farmsteads which are designed to protect and improve water quality. The BMP program provides up to 90% cost share on eligible practices. The following are some examples of BMP eligible practices: Manure storage structures; Composting stack pads; Barnyard runoff collection systems; Gutter & ditches to divert clean water; Laneway development and stream crossings for livestock; Milk house waste collection and treatment systems. Since 2020, the BMP program has provided nearly 40 million dollars in cost share supporting water quality improvements on about 130 different farms across the state. The Severy Farm, owned and operated by Nate and Karianne Severy, is one of the many farms which has received technical and financial assistance through the BMP program.  

Vermont Business Magazine On Sunday afternoon, March 24, over 120 CVMC nurses and technical staff, community members, and legislators rallied in Barre. Seven months after winning their union election, techs and nurses are pushing the CVMC administration to agree to terms that would create livable wages for all staff, reduce consistent staffing challenges and improve patient care as a result. 

by Olga Peters, Vermont Business Magazine Good. Solid. These are the two words used by many in Windsor County to describe the economy in 2024. Not the most exciting descriptors, to be sure. Yet, after the one-two punch of the coronavirus pandemic and last year’s summer floods, residents are all too willing to settle for “good” and “solid” nowadays. Jason Rasmussen, executive director of the Mount Ascutney Regional Commission, laughed when asked how he would characterize the county’s economy. “In the middle of the summer, I may have had a little different answer, but mostly good,” he said. “I mean ... you know ... interesting times, right?”Still, Windsor faces many of the same challenges plaguing other Vermont counties: the high cost of living; a lack of affordable housing and child care services; workforce shortages; and difficulty accessing public transportation.

by Olga Peters, Vermont Business Magazine “Springfield’s economy has evolved — and is evolving,” said Bob Flint, executive director of the Springfield Regional Development Corp., which serves 10 towns in southern Windsor County. The community had moved on from the machine tool industry by the time Goldman Industrial Group went bankrupt in 2002. He said the bulk of the layoffs happened in the late 1980s and 1990s. In his opinion, the Springfield region is similar to other Vermont communities.