Current News

KidSafe Collaborative of Chittenden County is pleased to announce the election of its new Board Officers.

President, Penrose Jackson, Community Health Improvement at Fletcher Allen Health Care;

Vice President, Jay Fayette, Pizzagalli Construction Company;

Treasurer, Kurt Liebegott, Problem Knowledge Coupler (PKC);

Secretary, Suzanne Koch, Howard Center.

KidSafe Collaborative engages agencies, community groups and individuals to work together to improve our community's response to child abuse and neglect. For more information about KidSafe and its programs, please contact us at 863-9626.

TPW Management Inc., a Manchester, Vermont-based community association management and consulting company celebrates its 20th anniversary. Founded in 1987, TPW Management is a family-owned business that was formed to respond to the needs of southern Vermont communities seeking professional management services.
"When we started our company, we had no idea that the demand for professional services like those we provide would be in such high demand," said Paul T. Carroccio, President and CEO. "Now, after twenty years in business and nearly ten focusing on community management, we have come to realize that knowledgeable homeowners in community associations demand the type of services we provide." The company has since grown to five locations across the state, including Stratton Mountain, Manchester, Okemo, Killington, and Burlington and was a "Best Places to Work in Vermont" winner for 2006.

The Manchester, VT based firm of Ramsay Gourd Architects has recently opened a satellite office in Burlington. The new office, located in the Hall Block, at the corner of College & South Winooski Streets provides the firm with the opportunity to expand their service territory to the north, while maintaining a personal connection with their client base.
Founded in 1996, Ramsay Gourd Architects is a small practice with a strong portfolio of residential and small-scale commercial and hospitality projects to its credit. "We see the Burlington office as providing us with an opportunity to reach a more diverse client base. While we currently have projects in Boston and New York, it's great to do work in your backyard." said Ramsay Gourd. "We are just expanding our backyard."

LYNDON CENTER, VT.-- Lyndon State College has secured a USDA Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) that will help the Newport-Derby area grow new businesses and respond to the changing economic climate. The RGEG project, dubbed an Incubator without Walls, will help businesses identify the most effective ways to respond to the addition of big box stores in the area and other challenges. The total cost of the project is $322,059. Lyndon State and the collaborative partners will contribute a total of $59,695 towards the project, in addition to the grant.

What do chiropractors, bankers, doctors, and entrepreneurs all have in common? They come from diverse professions and educational backgrounds, but on the evening of June 13, they all gathered at UVM's Waterman Hall to celebrate a common milestone. For the second year since its inception, graduates of UVM's Vermont Business Center Leadership and Management Professional Certificate Program celebrated completion of the yearlong program.
Program director Daniel Van Der Vliet launched the program in 2004 and 9 students completed it this year. Designed to provide an MBA "toolkit", the program provides topical highlights from the University of Vermont's MBA curriculum. Students choose seminars from 4 core areas: leadership, strategy implementation, sales and marketing, and finance.

BURLINGTON, Vt--Champlain College has named longtime faculty member Dr. Robin Abramson as its new provost. Abramson has been with Champlain College for 12 years, serving as interim provost since October 2006, and previously as an interim dean and the College's math and science coordinator. She has also been an associate professor of biology and the director of Champlain's former overseas program in Israel.
In her new role as the chief academic officer at Champlain, Abramson will provide leadership for internal operations to ensure the delivery of a first-class academic experience. The College is a leader in educating students to become skilled practitioners, effective professionals and global citizens.

WILLISTON, VERMONT - FreshTracks Capital II, L.P. ("FreshTracks"), a Middlebury-based venture capital fund with primary interest in Vermont investments, announced that it has invested an undisclosed amount in NEHP Inc. NEHP is a highly successful Vermont company that has developed a patented modular method of tool installation for semiconductor manufacturing and also provides hygienic piping and skid solutions to the life sciences industries.
NEHP manufactures the high purity, SEMI compliant modules at its facility in Williston, Vermont and ships finished product to its customers around the world, including Applied Materials, IBM, Intel, and Nikon. FreshTracks' investment was structured to accelerate the sales and marketing efforts of NEHP, as this profitable company executes the next stage in its growth strategy.

Colchester, VT: Summer is growing season for food, and this year, it's the same for MyWebGrocer, the online world's leading services provider to grocery retailers. MyWebGrocer is expanding in two ways by adding additional staff to their home office in Colchester, Vermont, and by opening a new office in Charlotte, North Carolina.
In describing the new hires, MyWebGrocer CEO Rich Tarrant said, "Pardon the pun, but you could say we had a shopping list of the types of people we wanted to hire, and we not only got everything on it, we got more. I always say that even though we employ and rely on the latest technologies, it's top-notch people who drive our success."

ESSEX JUNCTION, VT:
It is fresh lemonade, buttery corn-on-the cob and Italian sausage with the works. It is wild roller coasters, giant sand castles, clucking chickens, excited 4-H kids, neon-colored prizes, first kisses and death-defying aerial acts.
It's the Champlain Valley Fair, presented by Progressive -- and it all comes together at the end of summer on Aug. 25-Sept. 3 for a "Go Big" experience that earned it a prestigious spot on the 2007 American Bus Association's Top 100 Events in America list.
Vermont's biggest annual agricultural and entertainment tradition brings together people from across Vermont, New England, Quebec and beyond for 10 days of fun. It is a chance to see old and new friends, enjoy great local food, and compete for blue ribbons and bragging rights for the best strawberry jam, handmade quilt or biggest pumpkin in the state.

The Stern Center for Language and Learning of Williston has received a $15,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation for support of the development of a new website.
The existing website provides general information as well as links to other online sources. The new website will be redesigned and expanded to contain updated informational sections specific to parents, students and teachers. The new, interactive, expanded site will also be a vehicle for fundraising, including secure, online payments. In addition, online course registration will be available.
Past Verizon Foundation support of the Stern Center includes $25,000 for TIME for Teachers Onlineä professional development program for K-3 educators and $20,000 for the Medical-Education Project, which teaches medical students to recognize and refer children with reading disabilities.

President Ty Handy of Vermont Tech is pleased to announce that one of the signature business/labor/education partnership programs delivered at the college -- The Verizon/CWA/IBEW Next Step Program -- won the Stevie Award® for Best Human Resource Team in the 2007 American Business Awards on June 11, 2007.
Stevie Awards were presented in over 40 categories including Best Overall Company, Best Executive, and Best Corporate Social Responsibility Program. More than 2,000 entries from companies of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted for consideration.
Hailed as "the business world's own Oscars" (New York Post,April 27, 2005), The American Business Awards are the only national, all-encompassing awards program honoring great performances in business.

Recent figures published by the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing estimate that visitors made a total of 13.4 million trips to Vermont in 2005. Thirty-seven percent of those visitors came during the summer. Many of these summer visitors take advantage of Vermont's outstanding outdoor camping facilities.
Recently however, some vacations have been canceled or postponed because of the increasing cost of gasoline. Now there is a new choice when planning your outdoor vacation. Vermont Campers offers an economical and environmentally friendly choice in RV Rentals.
Those of the baby-boomer generation remember the Volkswagen van with reverent admiration. Large enough to fit your friends and family, yet small enough to go anywhere at any time, these vans traveled across the country and many are still in use today.