People in the news

Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility has announced the hiring of Ed Richters as finance and operations manager.

Martha Leiper, executive vice president and chief investment officer at the Unum Group, has been elected to the National Life Group Board of Directors, effective Feb. 14.

Heidi Stumpff, regional president for Vermont at M&T Bank, has been named recipient of the 2025 Catherine McAuley Community Award by Mercy Connections, a community-based education and social-justice organization that supports and advances the lives of underserved Vermonters.

DEW Construction, one of the region's largest and most respected construction companies serving the Northeast, has announced the hiring of Clint Oftedahl as marketing specialist and Ray Burns as superintendent.

Pat Elmer, president and CEO at Associates for Training and Development, has announced plans to retire this spring, marking the conclusion of a 42-year career.

The Howard Center Board of Trustees has announced its officers for 2025 and welcomed new and returning members to three-year terms.

James “Jamie" Murphy, a partner at the St. Johnsbury law firm Cloutier & Murphy and a certified agent of Major League Baseball, has been elected to the Passumpsic Bank Board of Trustees.

Dr. Javad Mashkuri, an emergency medicine physician at the University of Vermont Health Network — Central Vermont Medical Center, has been named 2024 recipient of the Davida Coady Gorham Medical Professional of the Year Award by NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals.

Owen Milne, executive director of the Community Sailing Center in Burlington, has been named Outstanding Organizational Leader for 2024 by U.S. Sailing, the national governing body for the sport of sailing.

Alexander Armani-Munn, an experienced economic development and government administration professional, has been named executive director of the Addison County Economic Development Corp., effective Feb. 10. He succeeds Fred Kenney, who has led the organization since 2017 and plans to retire in June.

Seth Blanchard, a private wealth adviser at WellBridge Wealth in Colchester — a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services — has qualified for the company’s Circle of Success annual recognition program. Only a select number of high-performing advisers earn this distinction.

Kylee Beaucage, of Washington, Vermont, has been named one of 12 winners of Bar Harbor Bank & Trust's Brand Behavior Awards, which recognize employees who demonstrate behavior that exemplifies the bank’s core values of communication, initiative, positivity, professionalism, quality and teamwork.