People in the news

Jack Hanson announced today that he is running to represent the East District (Wards 1 and 8) on the Burlington City Council. The Pearl St. resident is seeking the Progressive nomination. Hanson is a UVM graduate who has lived in Burlington since 2012. Jack is most known as a community organizer and a local jazz musician.

Veteran communicator Audra Burns has joined the Dartmouth-Hitchcock staff as Media Relations Manager. Burns, of Merrimack, started at Dartmouth-Hitchcock on December 3. As Media Relations Manager, Burns will work out of D-H offices in Bedford and in Lebanon, developing and placing stories promoting the work of Dartmouth-Hitchcock with journalists locally, regionally and nationally.

Vermont State Auditor Doug Hoffer is pleased to announce the appointment of Andrew Stein as Deputy State Auditor. Stein takes over from Susan Mesner, who served the State of Vermont for 18 years and retired from state employment at the end of the year.

Auditor Hoffer thanks Mesner for her many contributions to Vermonters and the Office of the Vermont State Auditor.

Rutland Regional Medical Center is pleased to welcome, Matthew Sommons, MD to our psychiatric inpatient services team. Dr Sommons received his BS in Biological Sciences from Muhlenberg College and Medical Degree from Creighton University School of Medicine. Dr Sommons completed his internship and residency in psychiatry at the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Perri Freeman, a community organizer and home care provider, is announcing her candidacy for Burlington’s Central District city council seat. Freeman, 27, will seek the Progressive Party endorsement for the council seat at the party’s January 6th, 2019 caucus. The caucus is from 6-8PM at the Sustainability Academy on North Street in Burlington.

United Way of Northwest Vermont has hired Sarah Allerton as Working Bridges Resource Coordinator. In her new role, Sarah will work with employers in the Working Bridges Employer Collaborative, connecting with local employees at their work sites.

David Silverman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank is pleased to announce that Stacie W Griffiths has been selected for the Branch Manager position at its new Jericho branch located at 368 VT Route 15. Currently under construction, the bank’s nineteenth full service branch is scheduled to open in the spring of 2019.

After 26 years of successfully serving clients in Vermont, Mortgage Financial will cease to operate as of January 1, 2019. Former Vice President of Mortgage Financial, Mark Chaffee, CMP is happy to announce that he and his colleagues and staff will continue to provide the same quality lending services as they join Draper & Kramer Mortgage Corporation.

Accel-VT, a business accelerator providing support, mentorship, and access to capital for early stage companies committed to climate economy innovation, announced the winners of the latest Accel-VT Ag & Food Tech business cohort last week at Ben & Jerry’s headquarters in South Burlington, VT.

Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s Board of Trustees elected two new physician members during the Board’s meeting Dec 6-7, 2018. Dr Jocelyn Chertoff and Dr Kurt K Rhynhart will serve a three-year term beginning on Jan 1, 2019.

Col Matthew T Birmingham, director of the Vermont State Police, is pleased to announce the following promotion: Lt Scott Dunlap, commander of the Major Crime Unit-South, to captain/Major Crime Unit Commander at Headquarters. The promotion is effective Jan 6, 2019.

Krystyna Davenport Brown, who has served Saint Michael’s College as associate vice president for development since November 2017, started work December 19 as the College’s new vice president for institutional advancement.