Economic Development newsletter: Blake Hill, World Cup, Trapps, Burke and more

Vermont Department of Economic Development The Economic Development Department released its monthly newsletter Friday. It talks about the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Blake Hill Preserves in early October, in Windsor’s Artisans Park. The park represents a combined investment of the private sector, VEDA, the Springfield Regional Development Corporation, and the town of Windsor. It is where you can find — Harpoon, VT Farmstead Cheese, Silo Distillery, and now, Blake Hill.

The Economic Development team will be hosting a tent, we hope to see you here. Click here for details.

Trapp Family Lodge opens new Beer Hall; the successful project that has been in the works since 2010 and utilized the Vermont EB-5 program.The inspiration was to give the brew hall a European feel with a traditional Austrian pub fare, and American flair.

Burke Mountain opened in early September just in time for foliage season. The 116-suite hotel is located just below the MidBurke Express quad and can accommodate over 450 guests a day. The new facility also features a day lodge complete with a restaurant, pub, coffee shop, retail store, and an arcade.

Ian Davis, joined the Department of Economic Development as the Economic Development Policy Specialist. Davis is a 2016 graduate of UVM’s Master of Public Administration (MPA) program and also a native son of South Burlington. Davis will continue conducting the Department’s statewide workforce needs assessment, help support the economic development marketing plan implementation efforts.

Kristie Farnham, joined the Department of Economic Development early October. Farnham has been with State Government for 17 years. Farnham will be providing business support to companies in advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, financial services, healthcare, software and IT sectors. She will help these business to access the workforce development assistance, capital raising, international trade development, government procurement and other government programs that can help these companies to thrive in Vermont.

Brett Long has taken over responsibility for the Brownfields revolving Loan Fund. The funds are made available to Vermont from EPA. The monies are provided to non-profits in the form of grants and as loans to for-profit businesses for site remediation. Contact: Brett at [email protected] or 802.461.9353.

The Department of Economic Development is pleased to announce the launch of our new website. Click here to view the new site.

Vermont Wins Top U.S. Domicile for Captive Insurance for Fourth Year Captive Review Magazine Unveils Industry Awards. Read More>>

The Northern Border Regional Commission, the Agency of Commerce and Community Development announced Vermont’s 2016 NBRC grants. Fourteen projects were awarded a combined total of $1,824,000.

The VT Department of Economic Development was awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense’s (‘DOD’) Office of Economic Adjustment to help Vermont businesses. After completing Phase One, more than 40 companies could qualify. Read More>>

In June of 2016, Renewable Fuels of VT (RFVermont) received a VT Training Program Grant for the on-site training of nine employees. The company is the state's newest wood pellet manufacturing facility with operations located in West Windsor. Training started on the first of July with low-rate production runs, tests and trials at the pellet mill. Read More>>

The State of Vermont received a $286,439 grant  to assist small businesses reach international markets. The funds are used to participate in foreign trade missions, export training and compliance, and website upgrades. Read More>>

Vermont Depends on World Markets. Vermont's export shipments of merchandise in 2015 totaled $3.2 billion. The state's largest market was Canada. VT posted merchandise exports of $1.2 billion to Canada in 2015, representing 36.7 percent of the state’s total merchandise exports. Read More>>

Women’s Business Ownership and the Vermont Economy, is the third in a series of reports published by Change The Story.  This report is recaps important data on the status of women owned businesses, and the potential contribution to the Vermont economy. To down load the full report click here.

The VT Training Program to help support growth by hiring and training staff. Andrew Stickney, CEO of Burlington Bytes, had this to say about the program:  "This opportunity has been a wonderful asset for our business allowing us to dedicate specific resources to training as new employees get up to speed. One of the most exciting elements about this grant is the risk we took on team members that may not be highly experienced, but have a great cultural fit. We're able to train them into the role they were hired for and get the best of both worlds in terms of team fit, and talent."