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National Holiday to Honor the Iconic Civil Rights Leader

Vermont Business Magazine Post Offices across Vermont will be closed on Monday, January 16, as our employees pause to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Street delivery on Monday will be limited to guaranteed overnight parcels and there will be no collection of mail.

Full retail and delivery operations will resume on Tuesday, January 17.

Vermont Business Magazine Champlain College will honor and celebrate Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a week-long series of short talks, films, and events starting Monday, January 16. These events will encourage students, faculty, staff, and community members to add their voices to the discussion of MLK's contributions, legacy, and the challenging work that remains for us all. A highlight of the day will be a keynote address by Neil Phillips, Chief Diversity Officer of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), who will speak on celebrating human value: grace and renewal. Phillips is a nationally renowned speaker and entrepreneur who brings visibility to the most pressing issues of our time. A Harvard University graduate and former professional basketball player, he now creates opportunities to elevate human value in education, business, and the public/private sector.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont has announced the appointment of Katharine Shepherd, Ed.D., as dean of the College of Education and Social Services (CESS) effective Jan. 15. Shepherd is the Levitt Family Green and Gold Professor of Education who served as interim dean of the college since July of 2021. In addition to her extensive teaching record, she has held numerous leadership positions, including Special Education Program coordinator, vice chair of the Department of Education, interim associate dean for academic affairs and research, associate dean for academic affairs, and interim dean of the college.

Leonine Public Affairs Lawmakers settled into their new committees this week and began the process of familiarizing themselves with the areas of government they oversee. Administration officials from agencies and departments across state government provided the legislative committees with overviews of the work they do and started to lay the groundwork for Governor Phil Scott’s priorities, which will be detailed in his budget address next week.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Mayors Coalition (VMC) have announced their 2023 Legislative Agenda and its commitment to collaborate on and advocate for these areas of common interest for their cities. The Coalition’s priorities include housing, homelessness, support for substance use and mental health, public safety, childcare and public transportation. The Vermont Mayors Coalition was created in 2013 by Vermont’s eight mayors. Six mayors must concur on any recommendation for the Coalition to take a position.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont gets millions in new Appropriations as Leahy casts final vote; November tax revenues surge ahead of targets; Vermont’s unemployment rate increases to 2.5% in November; Governor Scott launches voluntary paid family and medical leave; ‘Visionary’ Vermont entrepreneur Will Raap dies, 73; Blue Cross to halt relationship with OneCare Vermont in 2023; GlobalFoundries cuts 148 from Vermont plant.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center (VMEC) has announced the results of its December 6, 2022 annual election of VMEC Advisory Board members. Newly elected to the VMEC Advisory Board for two-year terms were Melissa Bounty, Assistant Director, Central Vermont Economic Development Corporation (Montpelier) and Cristin O’Donnell, Director of Training and Development, Cabot Creamery Cooperative/ Agri-Mark Inc. (Waitsfield). Dr. Parwinder Grewal, Ph.D., President, Vermont State University (Randolph Center) was designated an ex-officio Advisory Board member.

Saint Michael’s College students planning careers focused on the environment – or those hoping to better understand humans’ impact on the natural world – will directly benefit from federal funding included in the 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, thanks to the hard work of alumnus and now-retired Appropriations Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy ‘61. The approximately $6.5 million funding – the largest direct grant ever received by the College – will fund the continued growth and development of the College’s Center for the Environment. The Center, which was officially launched in 2019, creates and supports interdisciplinary, project-based, and place-based education in, for, and about the environment.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s state-wide Free Ice Fishing Day is Saturday, January 28, 2023.

Free Ice Fishing Day is held annually on the last Saturday in January. The day is geared toward giving new ice anglers an opportunity to try ice fishing before purchasing equipment, but any angler may ice fish on any waterbody open to ice fishing statewide without a fishing license on Free Ice Fishing Day.

To celebrate, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is holding an Ice Fishing Festival at Silver Lake State Park in Barnard—its first since the start of the pandemic. The festival will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is free and open to all ages as well as families with kids.

Vermont Business Magazine Switchback Brewing Co, home to Switchback Ale — Vermont’s #1 draught beer, has released their cult favorite, Dooley’s Belated Porter, in 16oz cans for the first time. The move marks the first of many Switchback Specials that will transition their way from 12oz bottles to cans throughout 2023. Dooley’s Belated Porter (named after the brewery’s first employee) was first brewed in 2009 and quickly became an annual favorite for die-hard Switchback fans.

Vermont Business Magazine Sunsoil, a certified organic hemp farm and vertically integrated CBD brand based in Burlington, has announced price cuts of up to 40% - a move that runs counter to its major competitors and economic inflation at large. This comes on the heels of a successful new product launch into the edible CBD segment with Sunsoil’s first-ever organic, vegan CBD gummies. In a recent survey of 2,500 Sunsoil customers, 40% of respondents reported cutting back on their CBD use due to financial concerns. In response to the findings, Sunsoil accelerated its plans for price reductions and announced sweeping changes to their product line.