Bilodeau, Wells & Company, P.C. Certified Public Accountants, of Essex Junction, announces the addition of Melissa Seymour as a Staff Accountant.

Melissa graduated Cum Laude from Champlain College in May, 2011, with a Bachelor's degree in Accounting. She will be performing tax, accounting and attest services with the firm’s broad client base.

Ricky Padgett, vice president of Finance and Operations and chief operating officer for the past five years at the George West Mental Health Foundation (GWMHF) in Atlanta, has been named director of Corporate Accounting at Fletcher Allen Health Care.

Amy Vaughan has been named director of Revenue Finance and Reimbursement at Fletcher Allen Health Care where she previously held the roles of manager of Revenue Finance and Reimbursement and senior reimbursement analyst. Prior to joining Fletcher Allen in 2001, Vaughan worked in sub-acute care reimbursement positions in Denver, Chicago, and Connecticut.

In her current position, Vaughan is responsible for directing reimbursement projects and strategy, overseeing revenue cycle reporting capabilities, and directing accounts receivable net revenue process and strategy.

Gov. Peter Shumlin announced today that he has tapped Chief Deputy Dean Shatney to replace retiring Caledonia County Sheriff Michael Bergeron when Bergeron steps down at the end of the year.

“Dean’s extensive experience with the Sheriff’s Department, as well as his lifelong commitment to his local community and civic involvement, make him a great choice to replace Sheriff Bergeron,” said Gov. Shumlin.

Tom Bailey, president of the Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) Board of Directors, announced today that George Lague will join the board as an eastern zone director. Lague was appointed by the board to fill a vacancy caused by the death in July of long-time director, Bert Lague. He will serve by appointment until the term expires in May 2012.

“George brings a great deal of experience and expertise to the VEC Board of Directors,” said Bailey. “He’s a great addition and will play a strong role in setting policy that reflects the interests of co-op members.”

As a teenager in Houston in the late ’60s and early ’70s who excelled in science, Dr. Lawrence Slocki says his career options were twofold: join NASA or become a doctor. Dr. Slocki chose the latter and, after years in the South, is bringing his experience and expertise in obstetrics and gynecology to Vermont – a state where he has longed to work. “Vermont,” he says, “is a state of mind.” Feeling like he has stepped into a Norman Rockwell painting or – soon – a holiday greeting card, Dr. Slocki enthusiastically joined Gifford Medical Center in Randolph last month.

Pomfret artist and printmaker Marilyn Syme has brought her latest technique – white line woodblock printing – to the Gifford Gallery in a show that runs until Jan. 25.

Syme began studying white line woodblock printing, also called “Provincetown Print” because it was developed by a group of Provincetown and Cape Cod printmakers in 1915, this summer under Kathryn Smith of Provincetown.