Vermont Custom Closets of Williston announces the addition of Allen Frey as production manager. Frey will be in charge of business to business operations and managing the installation team for Vermont Custom Closets. Frey has sales and management experience in the areas of energy-efficiency utilities, electrical and optical connectivity and the construction industry. Prior to joining Vermont Custom Closets he was employed by Smartwatt Energy, Inc.

Samuel McDowell, Ph.D., vice president of operations with Vermont Information Technology Leaders (VITL) recently presented at the New England Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) 1st Annual Vermont & New Hampshire Fall Event held in October 2013 in Lebanon, NH.

Max Lawton has joined the Propeller Media Works team as Senior Developer and will be building custom websites and web applications that use current best practices for creating intuitive mobile friendly websites. Lawton was formerly with Black Bullet in Burlington where he similarly provided database and custom backend web development.

Lyndon State College announced the hiring of Danielle Isabelle-Berrien as the new director of Career Services. She comes to LSC after decades of practical administrative experience at institutes of higher learning including the University of Arizona and Pima Community College (PCC). She was also an adjunct faculty member at Pima. Isabelle-Berrien received her Master’s degree in Counseling and Human Relations from Northern Arizona University. She takes over the directorship from Linda Wacholder who was at LSC for 26 years.

Laurie Gray is a twenty one year survivor of Breast Cancer. When she was 28, she felt a lump during a “self” exam and although she had no family history and a healthy lifestyle, she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer.

“At the time I had a 6 week old son and I was faced with surgeries, chemotherapy and reconstruction which in the end were “all” part of my “fight” for survival,” said Laurie.

Vermont Tech is pleased to announce the hire of four new staff members for the Institute for Applied Agriculture and Food Systems. Joining the college this fall, Peter Howe will serve as the Farm Operations Manager, John Roe has been appointed Project Manager, Cara Butterly Gauthier will serve as Outreach Coordinator and Melissa Nielsen will be the Student Resource Coordinator. The Institute for Applied Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Tech is a new program focusing on food processing and dairy farm management with an emphasis on soil conservation and innovative energy production.

RJ Ziats, PGA teaching professional at Sugarbush Resort, has won the VT PGA Player of the Year award. The award is given to the player who accumulates the most points at PGA events through the summer. Ziats was also recently named the 2013 Vermont PGA Match Play Champion.

Nancy Cain, of Against The Grain Gourmet in Brattleboro, won the Idea Prize in the Breakfast Category at the 6th Annual America’s Best Raisin Bread Competition. One of only two gluten free entries out of 36 finalists, her creation was a chocolate-covered breakfast bar sweetened by only fruit and honey.