Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected

peer-review publication in the legal profession, has named S. Crocker

Bennett II as the "Burlington /Best Lawyers/ Medical Malpractice Lawyer

of the Year" for 2011. After more than a quarter of a century in

publication, Best Lawyers is designating "Lawyers of the Year" in

high-profile legal specialties in large legal communities. Only a single

lawyer in each specialty in each community is being honored as the

"Lawyer of the Year."

Gift-of-Life Marathon Blood Drive organizer Steve Costello was

presented the 2010 American Red Cross Presidential Award for

Excellence today at a Washington ceremony. The Presidential Award

for Excellence is presented annually to employees and volunteers.

Costello has been a volunteer blood drive sponsor for 10 years at

Central Vermont Public Service, and conceived and co-organizes the

Gift-of-Life Marathon, the largest one-day blood drive in

northernNew England. The annual drive twice set New England

The Vermont & New Hampshire Valley Region of the American Red Cross

is pleased to announce that Larry Crist has been named as Regional Executive.

Mr. Crist has a long history of work in Vermont State Government, most

recently serving as the Director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness

& EMS at the Vermont Department of Health. In that position, he served as

the principal investigator for the state’s CDC Public Health Emergency

Preparedness Program, HHS Hospital Preparedness Program, served as the

Sugar River Bank is pleased to announce that Bill Hatch has

recently joined its Business Banking Center as Vice President of Commercial

Lending. Mr. Hatch has more than 30 years of banking experience, beginning

his career with the National Bank of Lebanon, New Hampshire. In 1992, Bill

moved to Ledyard National Bank in Hanover, New Hampshire, where he was a

Commercial Lender until joining Sugar River Bank.

Bill earned his BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Plymouth State

Church Hindes, President and CEO of the Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties announced that James E. Manahan II has joined the agency as Vice President for Finance and Administration. Jim was most recently Vice President and CFO of the VNA of the Treasure Coast in Vero Beach, Florida. Prior to his work in Florida, he spent 14 years as Chief Financial Officer for the Franklin County Home Health Agency in Saint Albans. Jim is a graduate of Lyndon State College and earned his MBA from the University of Vermont.

YWCA Vermont and community members honored Lynn Vera, the

2010 Thrive Award recipient, as well as three other finalists—Kesha Ram,

Susan Sgorbati and Nancy Vogele—at the YWCA Thrive luncheon on Thursday,

October 21, 2010, from 12:00pm-1:30pm, on the Northern Lights.

The YWCA Thrive Award recognizes the intrinsic value successful women and

girls bring to their communities, workplaces and the world. In addition to

the recognition of these exemplary women, $6,500 was raised to support