The Burlington Emergency Shelter is pleased to announce the appointment of Valerie Brosseau to Executive Director. Valerie, who joined the Burlington Emergency Shelter (BES) team in 2010 has been serving as the Community Relations Director. In this role, she has been instrumental in cultivating lasting relationships with agencies, individuals, student groups, volunteers, churches and local businesses to further the mission of BES.

In remarks entered today in the Congressional Record, Sen. Bernie Sanders recognized Ken Squier, the “Voice of the Daytona 500” and a Vermont native widely respected in the motor sports and broadcast communities. Squier, 77, is the owner of independent Radio Vermont, Inc. and a famous NASCAR contributor, holding an 18-year-long tenure as the lap-by-lap announcer for the Daytona 500. The pioneer broadcaster in 1979 convinced CBS Sports to broadcast the entire NASCAR race, an event that ESPN later described as “NASCAR’s revolutionary event” which led to the sports’ massive popularity today.

Former Freestyle Junior National Mogul Champion and Killington Mountain School (KMS) alumnus Nick Keating ‘10 worked his way into the finals and placed ninth in his World Cup debut last Thursday at Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid, N.Y. Keating, of Waterbury Center, is a member of the U.S. Development Group. Kelsey Albert (KMS ’07) just missed the finals, finishing 13th. In all, five KMS alumni including Bryan Zemba ’10, Darius Baradaran ’12 and Colin Lang ’13 challenged the best mogul skiers in the world at the Lake Placid World Cup.

BlackRock Construction co-owners Adam Hergenrother and Tom Hergenrother, Jr. are very pleased to announce Mark D’Angelo as CEO of BlackRock Construction.

Central Vermont Medical Center recently hired three new physical therapists: Sarah McNamee, Timothy Mousette and Angela Nicknair.

Sarah McNamee worked most recently in the Mad River Valley. She received her BS in Physical Therapy at the University of Toronto, where she also earned a BS in Zoology. Sarah has had further education in Tree of Life Teachings, Mindfulness Meditation and Reiki.

Timothy Mousette earned his BS in Kinesiology and his doctorate in Physical Therapy at Husson University in Bangor, Maine. He also completed a sports management internship.

Steve Churco, Purchasing Manager for rk MILES in Manchester Center, VT, will be recognized for his achievements as Vermont Retail Lumber Dealers Association’s (VRLDA) Lumber Person of the year award at the Northeastern Retail Lumber Association's Industry Recognition Breakfast to be held at the LBM '13 Show in Boston on February 7th, 2013.

Churco, who has been with rk MILES for more than XX years was presented with the award by his peers in the lumber and building material industry because of the contributions he has made to the industry and to his community.

Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman Realty is pleased to recognize Steve Lipkin, Realtor®/Broker as the top selling Agent of Multi-Family properties in Vermont and the Northern New England Real Estate Network (NNEREN).

In 2012, Steve Lipkin sold more Multi-Family properties than any other agent in Vermont and N.H. according to the NNEREN MLS. NNEREN is a member network of Real Estate professionals licensed in Vermont and New Hampshire. Steve was the #1 Agent for Multi-Family sales in Vermont for the third year in a row out of more than 1,100 members.

The Essex, Vermont’s Culinary Resort & Spa, today announced the recipients of its Employee of the Year and Manager of the Year Awards for 2012. The Employee of the Year is Tucker Wright, an employee in the Resort’s Food and Beverage Department. Wright came to The Essex in May 2008 and has worked as a banquet server, restaurant server in Amuse and The Tavern, and as a bartender. The Manager of the Year is Shana Farer-Feld, manager of Spa at The Essex. Originally hired as Spa Front Desk Lead in June 2010, she currently also serves as co-chair of the Resort’s annual United Way campaign.

Annemarie Daniels, Vice President of Real Estate Services and Principal Broker Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman Realty, has been elected to serve as the 2013 President of the Northwestern Vermont Board of REALTORS® (NVBR). She assumed her position on January 1. Daniels returns to the position after serving as board president for the Northwestern Vermont Board of REALTORS® in 2009. In 2010, she was honored by the Association as REALTOR® of the Year. “Annemarie’s vision is invaluable to the REALTOR® organization,” said Kathleen Sweeten, NVBR Executive Vice President.

Deborah Mackin, founder and principle leadership coach at New Directions, a workforce development firm in North Bennington, Vermont has been chosen to speak at Vermont Women in Higher Education’s 2013 Women’s Leadership Conference. The conference will be held at the Killington Grande Hotel on March 21st and 22nd of 2013.