Okemo Mountain Resort has welcomed Dennis Barquinero as the new general manager at the Jackson Gore Inn.

Speaker of the Vermont House Shap Smith has reappointed Danielle Martel of St. Albans to serve on the Vermont Commission on Women.

The New England Association of College Admission Counselors has honored Katharine “Kaki” Hutchinson with its prestigious Professional of the Year award.

Hutchinson, who retired earlier this month as director of guidance at Bellows Free Academy, was recognized by her colleagues as an “outstanding professional in the college admissions process in Vermont” at the annual meeting at St. Anselm’s College in Manchester, N.H.

The Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) is a non-profit organization created by the State of Vermont to help develop Vermont’s sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and forest product market sectors. Today Executive Director, Ellen Kahler, announced the following Board of Directors membership updates:

Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC) employee Melanie Sheehan was presented with a Prevention Champion award during Prevention Works! VT’s annual Prevention Day event held at the Vermont State House. Sheehan is MAHHC’s Director of Community Health Outreach and Chair of Mt. Ascutney Prevention Partnership (MAPP), serving the towns of Windsor, West Windsor, Hartland and Weathersfield, Vermont.

Vermont Trophy & Engraving has announced the acquisition of the Engraving Bench and Fine Gifts of Essex Jct. as of July 11th. Vermont Trophy & Engraving has focused on developing the business-to-business market since Steve and Margi Swett bought the company in 1996. With the purchase of the Engraving Bench they will now add to their company a well established customer base that they will serve with the same professionalism they have with Vermont Trophy customers for years.

The Vermont Brewers Association congratulates their Executive Director Kurt Staudter, and Vermont historian and longtime volunteer Adam Krakowski for the publication of Vermont Beer: History of a Brewing Revolution by the History Press as part of their American Palate series. This book captures in one place the history of brewing in Vermont from colonial times to the present, and will remain the authoritative book on the subject well into the future.

The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) has announced its Board of Directors and Officers for the 2014-15 year:

Emerge Vermont, dedicated to increasing the number of Democratic women serving in elected and appointed office at all levels of government through a comprehensive 5-month campaign training program, graduated 17 inaugural program members on Saturday, July 12th in Rutland. Program members received in-depth instruction from expert trainers in: campaign strategy, public speaking and communication, fundraising, media and messaging, networking, field organizing, labor and endorsements, and technology.

A Norwich University English professor has received funding from a national nursing organization for the development of a book. The American Association for the History of Nursing, Inc. awarded Lea Williams a research grant for a biography that explores the life of nurse, writer and activist Ellen N. La Motte (1873-1961).

Williams’ biography will explore La Motte’s life and how her devotion to public health causes shaped her involvement in the anti-tuberculosis campaign, the vote for women, and the anti-opium crusade.