Vermont Business Roundtable Blog

VERMONT SEEN AS NATIONAL LEADER IN STATE PRE-K ACCESS

MUST NOW TURN ATTENTION TO TEACHER QUALITY

Washington, D.C. —  Vermont continues to demonstrate national leadership for its commitment to pre-K access even as many states are faltering in their efforts to deliver high-quality preschool education to children most in need, says a landmark national report capping 10 years of research. Read the rest of this entry »

During recent tough times, a saying was coined that ‘flat was the new up’ or, if you were holding even with prior year you were doing very well.  I now hear many more businesses saying they have reached or exceeded their previous high water mark (i.e. from 2008 or thereabouts).  Up is the new up, and this may suggest more opportunities. Read the rest of this entry »

For newer members who may not yet understand how we engage legislatively, as a civil welfare organization, the Roundtable aims to inform and educate policymakers based on the recommendations contained within our working groups’ outputs/products, and so we are registered as a lobbying organization. We engage the legislative team led by John Hollar, Downs Rachlin Martin, to be our eyes and ears on those board-established policy priorities set each year by our Board of Directors, and identify opportunities for our CEO members to testify before committees of jurisdiction. Read the rest of this entry »

When you’re good, you’re good. But when you’re the ‘best’, well that’s a different matter altogether. Kudos to the CEOs, management and staff of our member companies that were recently recognized as being among Vermont’s Best Places to Work for 2012, as presented by Vermont Business Magazine and Vermont Chamber of Commerce.

We salute the following Roundtable companies with less than 149 employees

• Hickok & Boardman/ Financial Planning & Group Benefits  – www.hickokoandboardman.com

• Gallagher Flynn & Company, LLP – www.gfc.com

•  Sonnax Industries, Inc. – www.sonnax.com

And we salute these Roundtable companies with more than 150 employees:

• Entergy Vermont Yankee – www.safecleanreliable.com

• King Arthur Flour – www.kingarthurflour.com

• Merchants Bank – www.mbvt.com

•  Green Mountain Coffee Roasters – www.greenmountaincoffee.com

• Vermont Energy Investment Corporation – www.veic.org

•  Comcast Cable – www.comcast.com

Please join us in welcoming the Roundtable’s newest staff member and office assistant, Laura Sharpe. She is a Massachusetts native (less the accent), who recently graduated from Saint Michael’s College, earning a B.A. in Anthropology/Sociology.

Through work on the Roundtable’s 2010 Pulse of Vermont:  Quality of Life Study, conducted under the leadership of Saint Michael’s College professors Vincent Bolduc and Herb Kessel, Laura’s contributions to VBR predates her official start here.

Please offer her your warm welcome when you see her at our Summer meeting on June 14th, if not earlier.

Welcome aboard, Laura! We are delighted to have you.

Crossing the quarter century mark is no small feat for any organization, and certainly not for one in the non-profit sector. So, as the Roundtable turns the big 2-5 this year, we find great cause for celebration – on June 14^th at the Burlington Sheraton to be exact. A program is developing that promises to educate, honor and entertain, and will include a moderated oral history by our  former board chairs, color commentary  by former Governor Kunin, Dean (invited) and Douglas, generational experts and the presentation of the 2012 Vision Award.

To sweeten the festivities, all net proceeds of the 25^th Anniversary Celebration will benefit the Nordic Educational Trust, the  scholarship fund entrusted to the Roundtable by its founders, Ross and Gail Anderson. Your participation will, in fact, make a difference. So, mark your calendars and don your party hats. It’s time to celebrate!

Formal invitations to follow the first week in May.

Vermont’s leaders know a thing or two about bridging gaps – whether they be of the $150 MM economic nature, educational or of the literal nature, like what we witnessed with washed out infrastructure post Tropical Storm Irene – all of which the Roundtable has focused a fair amount of energy on. Another gap that seems to be cropping up in discussion with increasing frequency is that of the generational nature.

Succession, leadership, talent management, diversity, social media – name a hot topic in business today and you better bet that generational gaps are getting in the way. That is why it is our great pleasure to announce that our dinner speakers for the 25^th Anniversary Celebration will be generational experts and founders of Bridgeworks, a consulting firm that has become the authority on solving the generational puzzles, Lynne Lancaster and David Stillman. To learn more about our speakers, click here.

With four distinct generations (and each with its own core values) in the mix at work, in the marketplace, community and at home, there’s bound to be friction and room for improvement in how we all relate and communicate.

Vermont has some unique issues with relation to the generations. We have heard from other experts that our population is aging and the state’s young educated workers are leaving the state. Our generational experts will shed light on how to bring out the best in every generation, what to do to retain the younger talent.

This is a not-to-be-missed event full of opportunity to invite dialogue from those of multiple generations in your close circle. Start planning your multi-generational table now and make sure your calendars are marked. Thursday, June 14^th, 5:00 – 9:00pm, at the Burlington Sheraton. Be there or be square!

Joint House Natural Resources and Energy and Commerce Committees

Remarks by Lisa Ventriss

April 10, 2012 Read the rest of this entry »

As the character, Nettie Fowler, sang in the Broadway show, Carousel, springtime “is busting out all over”, and for those of us who never quite got into the swing of winter, it’s about time. We’ve been looking at a barren landscape long enough. Certainly the week of 80 degree weather gave a massive jumpstart to spring fever, but we knew it was a temporary diversion; Mother Nature will present her true spring when she’s good and ready. Nevertheless, the optimism that attaches itself to budding trees and chirpy robins has also presented itself in the economic temperament of the business community.  Read the rest of this entry »

(South Burlington, Vt.)  The chief executives of Vermont’s leading businesses demonstrated increasing optimism in their economic forecasts for the coming six months, improving on results from the previous survey.  The survey, which was completed between March 9 and March 23, was released today by Vermont Business Roundtable Chair Steve Voigt, CEO, King Arthur Flour and President Lisa Ventriss. Read the rest of this entry »