Current News

Vermont Business Magazine US Ski & Snowboard has announced that prize money for all domestic Audi FIS Alpine World Cups will be increased in collaboration with Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team title partner Stifel. This will begin with the Stifel Killington Cup November 25-26, 2023. With the additional support from Stifel, the World Cup races in the United States will feature a prize purse increased 30% from the season prior, the highest amount of prize money given in U.S. Ski & Snowboard history. Prize money for both men and women has been equal within the International Ski Federation and U.S. Ski & Snowboard landscape for decades. On the podium, the first-place winner will receive $64,300, second place will receive $30,000 and third place will receive $16,600.

Vermont Business Magazine Former Vermont State Treasurer Beth Pearce has been appointed to the Financial Accounting Foundation’s Board of Trustees. The FAF provides oversight of the financial standards-setting boards for U.S. companies and governments. The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) is an independent, private non-profit organization that oversees the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). Both entities establish and improve financial accounting and reporting standards.

Vermont Business Magazine The Department for Children and Families (DCF) announced the release of $12 million in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding for households that heat with fuel oil, propane, kerosene, coal, electricity, and natural gas. This funding helps keep thousands of Vermonters warm during the winter months. The benefit was sent directly to certified fuel dealers on behalf of approximately 13,000 households, and the average benefit was $933 per household. Individual notices of benefit amounts are being mailed to program participants. 

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced a six-week holiday campaign to raise funds for Vermonters and businesses impacted by this summer’s flooding through ongoing sales of Vermont Strong license plates and limited-edition socks. Since the “Vermont Strong” license plates were reintroduced in August, $715,000 in proceeds have been donated, with half going to individual needs via the Vermont Community Foundation and half to help businesses through the State’s Business Emergency Gap Assistance Program (BEGAP). During the press conference, Scott also addressed public safety; debris cleanup from the flood; the economic impact from the summer storms; heating system repair for those who lost it; the FEMA trailers in Montpelier; and the $200 million state pensions shortfall.

Vermont Business Magazine The Northeast Kingdom will be home to new resources for technology innovation, thanks to a grant secured by Vermont State University’s Do North Co-working in partnership with the Northeastern Vermont Development Association (NVDA and several other partners. More than $750,000 in funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) Build to Scale Venture Challenge Grant will infuse the team’s launch of the InnovateNEK initiative, which is also receiving funding or in-kind contributions from the state, the Town of Lyndon, the Town of St. Johnsbury and the two partners themselves.

Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center Today, Monday, November 20, is the last opportunity for you and your company to take advantage of the CONNEXVT FREE YEAR OF FULL NATIONAL ACCESS offer! This valuable online platform connects all Vermont manufacturers, buyers, and suppliers in a single, searchable supply-chain solution. If you sign up by the end of business today, using promo code vmec1year, you will have access to the national database of over 20 other states who've also joined the CONNEX Marketplace, a database of 140,000+ U.S. manufacturers and suppliers.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) on Saturday eleased the following statement calling for the conditioning of U.S. aid to Israel amidst the growing crisis in Gaza and the West Bank: "Hamas is a corrupt terrorist organization which began this war by slaughtering 1,200 innocent Israeli men, women, and children and taking over 200 hostages. Hamas has made clear, before and after October 7, that its goal is to destroy Israel. Under those circumstances, Israel absolutely has the right to defend itself."

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets is inviting Vermont agricultural and forestry businesses to apply for Trade Show Assistance Grants (TSAG). These grants provide businesses with funds to exhibit and sell their Vermont products at trade shows targeting out-of-state buyers. These matching grants can partially offset the expenses associated with exhibiting at trade shows.

Vermont Business Magazine Technology for Tomorrow (T4T) kicks off its Microsoft TechSpark partnership with a Roundtable Conversation on Friday, Dec. 1 at the South Burlington Public Library. Guests include TechSpark U.S. Program Manager Michelle Schuler, Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale and Vermont nonprofit leaders. T4T, a nonprofit based in Williston, is the Vermont organization selected for the inaugural Microsoft TechSpark Fellow Program to foster inclusive economic opportunity, job creation, and innovation in the state. Microsoft announced the expansion of its TechSpark program earlier this year to tackle digital inclusion in four focus areas: digital access, digital skills, computer science education, and digital transformation with local-based organizations. 

by Christine McGowan, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund Efficiency is the lens through which Phil Gervais sees business. After 15 years working with multinational corporations around the world to find greater efficiency in infrastructure, computerization, and administration, Phil returned home to Enosburg, Vermont to help his son, Josh, and his business partner, Matt Gregoire, open Vermont Natural Forest Products.

Vermont Business Magazine Archer Aviation Inc, a leader in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, and BETA Technologies, an electric aerospace company developing electric aircraft and charging systems, have announced an industry-first agreement to accelerate the roll out of an interoperable fast-charging system across the electric aircraft industry. Archer is utilizing two of BETA’s Charge Cube systems at Archer’s flight test facilities, as well as a number of BETA’s Mini Cube mobile charging systems, which Archer plans to rapidly deploy as needed. BETA’s charging system utilizes the Combined Charging Standard (CCS) – a multimodal, interoperable standard employed by the top OEMs. BETA’s charging systems are already in use at 14 locations across the eastern U.S., and development work is underway to install them at another 55 locations along the East and Gulf Coasts, as well as at Archer’s facilities in California.

by Lynn Dickinson, VSCS Board Chair, St. Albans The optimization plans at Vermont State University (VTSU) chart a path toward financial sustainability by 2027, something that has eluded its legacy institutions for far too long. When we set about this work nearly four years ago, we knew that it would be a multi-year process, informed by input from stakeholders at all levels of the organization, including faculty, staff, and students. We knew fundamental change was required from the familiar ways that we were used to and we would need to update our academic programs to be more relevant to our students and to increase efficiencies in our operations.