NBT Bank’s New England Regional President Matthew Durkee announced David Micklas has been hired as the Branch Manager for NBT’s Williston Office. Micklas has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. Before joining NBT Bank, he was a Mortgage Loan Officer for KeyBank in the Burlington, VT area. Prior to that, he served as Branch Manager for KeyBank’s Burlington Office.

Five candidates are vying for three open seats this year on the board of the Vermont Electric Co-op (VEC). The election will open April 17 and will end, and winners will be declared, at the VEC Annual Meeting at Smugglers’ Notch Resort May 12. Every year, co-op members elect local representatives to serve on VEC’s twelve-member board. Directors participate in setting policies and mak­ing decisions and are expected to represent the interests of the VEC membership.

The Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center (VMEC) is pleased to announce that Professional Manufacturing & Business Growth Advisors Jon Bates, Karl Swanke and Carla Wuthrich have completed the requirements necessary to be named Innovation Engineering Blue Belts. Additionally, Jon Bates has recently been certified as a Kata Trainer by the TWI Institute, qualifying him to deliver a unique, 10-hour Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata program designed to help companies learn Kata concepts and patterns and develop a Kata culture in their organizations.