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Plans Underway to Expand Scholarship Eligibility Statewide

(South Burlington, Vt.) The Nordic Educational Trust was created in 1988 by former Roundtable member, Ross Anderson and his wife, Gail, to provide scholarship grants and other financial aid to assist deserving students from Chittenden and Grand Isle counties in pursuing technical education at two-year post-secondary institutions.  To date, the Trust has awarded over 40 need-based scholarships to Vermont students; support that is not predicated on previous academic performance, yet has in many cases provided the opportunity for life-altering educational experiences. Effective this summer, oversight and administration of the Trust and scholarship recipient selection, has been transferred to the Vermont Business Roundtable, in recognition of its long-standing focus on education as an economic development strategy.

According to Bill Stritzler, Managing Director, Smugglers’ Notch Resort, and Chair of the Roundtable, “Of particular interest to the Roundtable is the opportunity to expand the eligibility criteria to students from all across Vermont; to grow the size of the trust by reaching out to the state’s business community to “grow its own” technical workforce for the future; and, to provide mentoring opportunities between scholarship recipients and business leaders. We applaud the vision of the Andersons and are eager to build upon their legacy.”

From previous primary research by the Roundtable, specifically its’ Pulse of Vermont: Quality of Life survey series, which is conducted every five years, there is well-established evidence to demonstrate that one’s satisfaction with life increases with one’s level of education and income. And certainly, in today’s increasingly complex economy, post-secondary education is a mandatory investment that people should make, if they have the opportunity. Said Roundtable President, Lisa Ventriss, “Our 2005 study showed that just under 50 percent of Vermonters came from other states, but they constituted 73 percent of the college graduates and 70 percent of those with incomes over $100,000. So, clearly, helping Vermont students knock down barriers to post-secondary education is a priority for the Roundtable.” The Roundtable’s 2010 Pulse of Vermont survey findings will be released later this fall.

The Roundtable has appointed the following members to serve on the inaugural Board of Trustees: Steve Voigt, President and CEO, King Arthur Flour Co., Roundtable Vice-chair, and Chair of the Roundtable’s Education Working Group; Renee Bourget-Place, Partner, KPMG; Robert “Sparky” Millikin, Managing Partner, TruexCullins Architecture & Interior Design; and, Lisa Ventriss, Roundtable President.

Improving tomorrow’s economy is possible only through smart policy investments today in our human capital – beginning with our youngest children. (more…)

The chief executives of Vermont’s leading businesses appear increasingly optimistic toward all three of the survey’s metrics:  sales prospects, capital expenditures and employment levels for the summer months and fall months, when compared against first quarter 2010 forecasts.    The mood was assessed near the end of the second quarter and released today by Vermont Business Roundtable Chair Bill Stritzler and President Lisa Ventriss. (more…)

(Manchester, VT) Tough economic times require business and government leaders to rethink public policy and not only change the ways in which we deliver public services, but to build capacity for future success. According to Bill Stritzler, Managing Partner with Smugglers’ Notch Resort, and chair of the Vermont Business Roundtable, “Investments in education should be our first economic development strategy.” (more…)

Nobody likes to give up comfortable old habits that make us feel secure and content or that are predictable and familiar. Even when the data show that those habits are bad for us (think smoking), or unsustainable (think Defined Benefit plans) we still find it hard to give them up.  The time comes, though, when the smoker develops cancer or the treasury is empty, and that’s the moment of conversion. Real change happens only in crisis. So it is with the state’s response to the Great Recession – the crisis has finally hit and change, though difficult, is under way. (more…)

Listen in on Lisa’s recent interview with Doug Hall, CEO & Founder of Eureka! Ranch, as he explains why today’s business leaders are being pushed to innovate or die, or as Doug terms it, “Renew, Reboot, Restart,” which requires a system. Find out if you and your team are good candidates to learn and harness such a system.

Doug Hall will be leading an intensive 3-day program entitled, Leading Through Innovation, for CEOs and senior management teams that will teach them  a proven system to accelerate innovation-growth. This Innovation Engineering Leadership Institute event will be held May 19th – 21st  at the Sheraton in Burlington. Registration is limited to 150 participants.

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Click Here to download a brochure or Here to Register

Vermont Business Roundtable is pleased to announce its sponsorship of Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center’s (VMEC) Innovation Engineering Leadership Institute – a phenomenal training opportunity on Leading Through Innovation led by Doug Hall of Eureka! Ranch, and is geared toward CEOs and Senior Management.

Wednesday – Friday, May 19-21, 2010

We are assured: This is not “just another event,” but rather an opportunity to accelerate innovation driven economic development, entrepreneurship and much needed job creation in Vermont.

For more information about the conference, click here.

CEOs Express Optimism for Next Six Months

The chief executives of Vermont’s leading businesses appear increasingly optimistic toward all three of the survey’s metrics:  sales prospects, capital expenditures and employment levels for the spring and summer months, when compared against third quarter 2009 forecasts.    The mood was assessed near the end of the first quarter and released today by Vermont Business Roundtable Chair Bill Stritzler and President Lisa Ventriss. (more…)

In his remarks during last week’s Senate floor debate on Entergy/Vermont Yankee, Senate President Peter Shumlin gave five reasons why he would cast a ‘nay’ vote on relicensure: power price; tritium clean-up; corporate responsibility; liability; and trust.  And then he appealed to his colleagues “to have courage to move onto the next generation of energy creation.” Well, courage is in the eye of the beholder.

Moving onto the next gen of energy is not courageous, it’s common sense, or “a no-brainer” to use Senator Bartlett’s words, and is something that Vermont’s energy utilities (including many Roundtable members) have been doing for awhile now as they plan for an incremental shift away from heavy reliance on nuclear power. What does require courage is this: staring into the head wall of a media tsunami and urging restraint where no restraint exists; calling for patience while waiting for information that doesn’t come fast enough; acknowledging that we don’t know enough at this time to make such a critical decision as closure; and, standing with an important corporate citizen that admits it has, more times than not, been its own worst enemy.  This is what the Douglas Administration and many business and labor leaders, including the Roundtable, have been doing.

Religious crusades and wars require courage. Resolving crises of public confidence and environmental degradation do not. They require steadfast leadership; clear and unambiguous communication; and swift, rational decision-making that is benefitted by credible information.

The Roundtable has just announced it will be holding a workshop on EB-5, a unique opportunity for members of the business community to attract foreign investments, on Friday, March 5th, from 7:30 – 11:00am, at the Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier. Cost is $40, which includes breakfast.

Presenters from state government and private industry with EB-5 application and project experience will touch on topics such as: EB-5 Overview, Immigration Law, Securities Law, Developing Analysis for Proposals, with plenty of Q & A.

For more information on EB-5, click  here.

For more event details or to register for this event, click here.

Contact Sherra Bourget with any questions at 865-0410 or sherra@vtroundtable.org