Vermont Business Roundtable Blog

As I write this I am happy to see that we have 75 registrations for our winter meeting.  I look forward to seeing you Thursday and hearing your input even with snow in the forecast.  2012 promises to be an exciting year – and in a more positive way than some of the excitement we’ve experienced in the last few years.

Our recent Board planning retreat felt excitement around leveraging the Roundtable’s preeminent position as Vermont’s long term think tank to suggest innovative solutions across many areas.  Success here will further our vision for Vermont to be the best place to do business, be educated, and live life. Read the rest of this entry »

I admit it; I’m an optimist. How can I not be when all around me is evidence that, despite hardship and uncertainty, Vermonters ~ both individual and corporate ~ possess the kind of resilience that one typically attributes to young children? You’ve heard it and even said it yourself, “Oh, he was so sick, but look at him now! Children are so resilient.”   The same is being said about the state of our communities and economy, we are indeed “Vermont Strong.” Read the rest of this entry »

The Roundtable is pleased to announce the following directors who will be ratified by the full membership at the upcoming Annual Meeting. We thank them in advance for their commitment to the Roundtable and for the important work that they will do on behalf of the entire membership during their terms of service on the board. Read the rest of this entry »

Beach. Fallon. Mackenzie. Neagley. Shields. Stritzler. These are names that resonate with gravitas, which bear witness to significant accomplishments brought about by their leadership on the Vermont Business Roundtable’s Board of Directors. Individually and collectively, they have championed the Roundtable’s statewide initiatives, served as the face and voice of reasoned, principled policy development, and have helped to position us for a strong future. We owe them each a debt of gratitude for their myriad contributions, their wise counsel, and their friendship. Read the rest of this entry »

Based upon the recommendation from the Governance Committee at its planning retreat this past fall, the Board of Directors voted to create a new membership category; one that it believes will both enrich the Roundtable experience within your company as well as continue our commitment to identifying the business and thought leaders of the future.

Effective January 1^st and for members in good standing, we invite you to select a colleague from within your company for Associate Membership and, in doing so, provide him/her with the opportunity to develop meaningful professional relationships and understanding of key policy issues within the environment of Vermont’s preeminent CEO-led civic welfare organization. According to the bylaws, Read the rest of this entry »

On January 19^th the Roundtable will co-sponsor, along with the Vermont Council on World Affairs, a luncheon presentation by Adam Weinberg, CEO of the Brattleboro-based World Learning, an international non-profit that runs exchange, education and development programs in more than 70 countries. Weinberg’s presentation is entitled, “Cultivating Global Leadership.” Read the rest of this entry »

Over the past several years, under the leadership of Howard Pierce, CEO, PKC, the Roundtable has been actively involved in understanding the more practical and nuanced aspects of the state’s complex policy challenges such as ubiquitous telecommunications (cellular and broadband); a Smart Grid system; the state’s comprehensive energy plan; expansion of a natural gas pipeline into Addison County; the merger of GMP/CVPS; the consequences of a shift to renewables; and the challenges and opportunities wrought by Tropical Storm Irene. The goal has been to provide practical business solutions to seemingly confounding policy problems. Along the way the Roundtable has provided formal testimony and information suggestions and comment to numerous audiences. We thank Howard for his dedication to this task and for the opportunity to learn much on our deep dive into these issues.

Now the Roundtable welcomes Don Gilbert, President and CEO, Vermont Gas Systems, as the new chair of this important working group. As a first step, Gilbert wishes to solicit ideas from the membership on issues of particular importance germane to this Working Group. If you are interested in energy, housing, permitting, telecommunications, transportation, or other related infrastructure issues, please consider joining this group. A calendar of meeting dates/times will be announced in February.  In the meantime, just notify sherra@vtroundtable.org

Earlier this year the Education Working Group (EWG) spent some time reflecting on the need to refresh our messaging on the importance of investing in education. With 25 years of championing education behind us, several important policy reports under our belt, and unfinished business ahead of us, we felt it was time to fine-tune our elevator speech; to make it easier for members to articulate, and easier for the public to understand and to connect the dots. Read the rest of this entry »

Vision Award Recipients David Coates (2007) & Fred Hackett (2009)

Five years ago in recognition of our 20^th Anniversary, the Roundtable Board of Directors established the Vision Award to pay tribute to a Vermont resident who had a lifelong commitment to the ideals expressed in our vision statement to “Make Vermont the best place in America to do business, be educated, and live life.”

To date, the Roundtable has been proud to present the Vision Award to two individuals: David Coates (2007) and Fred Hackett (2009).

As we ramp up our planning for our 25^th Anniversary Celebration, the Board of Directors extends an invitation to members to nominate someone meeting that high standard. The award will be presented at gala dinner during the evening of June 14, 2012.

Nominations, including a brief description of the candidate’s contributions, must be submitted in writing to Lisa Ventriss at lisa@vtroundtable.org. Deadline for submissions is January 30^th.

(South Burlington, Vt.)  The chief executives of Vermont’s leading businesses appear poised to maintain their growth plans through the first half of 2012, improving on results from the previous survey.  The survey was completed between December 9 and December 23 and released today by Vermont Business Roundtable Chair Steve Voigt, CEO, King Arthur Flour and President Lisa Ventriss. Read the rest of this entry »