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(l to r) Mary Barrosse Schwartz, Lisa Ventriss, Elmo, Governor Peter Shumlin, Steven Voigt

The Pew Center on the States’ Pre-K Now campaign last week brought together education leaders, advocates, business leaders, and national and state policy makers to celebrate significant accomplishments in the pre-k movement and highlight Pre-K Now’s capstone report, “Transforming Public Education: Pathway to a Pre-K-12 Future.”

Vermont’s accomplishment in pre-k public policy was highlighted as Governor Shumlin delivered the keynote speech. “Perhaps because I was a kid who learned differently, I understand how vital it is that we get all kids off to a good start. Thanks to the hard work of Pew and all of you with the Pre-K Now Campaign, many more are starting to appreciate how valuable early learning can be. I am convinced that when our kids arrive at kindergarten ready to learn, they will have more successful educational and professional futures as a result.”

As recognition for the role it played in Vermont advocacy for better pre-k public policy, leaders from the Vermont Business Roundtable attended, with VBR Board Chair Steve Voigt, President and CEO of King Arthur Flour, invited to introduce the Vermont Governor. Voigt stated “The Vermont Business Roundtable has long understood that the best way to provide children with a successful start in life and build the productive workforce of the future was to champion a policy shift towards improving both the access to and quality of early education. It has been our highest policy priority for the last five years.”

Pre-K Now was designed as a 10-year catalytic effort, grounded in research, to spark the early learning movement by bringing together different voices and supporting strategic advocacy efforts to advance high-quality voluntary pre-k for three- and four-year olds. This December, Pre-K Now will mark its 10th anniversary, wrapping up a decade of state and federal policy wins.

Also attending the meeting was Lisa Ventriss, President of Vermont Business Roundtable. Ventriss helped lead a coalition of children’s advocates, public educators, business leaders and providers to improve access and funding to pre-k programs. After the meeting, she noted “The Pre-K Now Campaign was helpful to our work in that it provided the research necessary to make an economic case for early education investments.”

Vermont is one of eleven states nationwide to provide funding to allow towns to offer pre-k for all as a voluntary program for families. In 2011, 78% of towns chose to offer pre-k as part of educational offerings in public schools and/or private pre-k providers. Ventriss commented “We’re hoping that eventually every child will have this opportunity, if their parents wish it for them. We’re working with communities that do not yet offer these important programs to encourage them to view the well-researched benefits.”

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On a rainy Thursday in September a group of Roundtable ladies and invited guests gathered to discuss the finer things of life, like solid telecommunications infrastructure, a well-educated workforce and a robust economy…and inevitably how all of those things are being affected in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene.

Pam Mackenzie, Roundtable Member, Chair of the Vermont Telecommunications Authority and former VP of Comcast, graciously served as our luncheon speaker. She apprised the ladies of her role with the VTA and offered an update on progress to achieve Governor Shumlin’s ambitious goal of state-wide connectivity by 2013.

Trademark of any Roundtable event, the group engaged in a lively discussion connecting the dots ~ from the necessity of telecommunications  infrastructure to offer educational opportunities for all of Vermont’s residents (basically from cradle to cradle) to, in turn, strengthen and build our economy.  All agreed that we must raise and maintain a globally competitive workforce. Further compelling evidence was shared from The State of America’s Children Report by the Children’s Defense Fund, that highlights statistics on the wellness (or unwellness) of our children.

If interested in downloading the VTA’s 2011 Broadband Plan or the State of America’s Children, Click Here.

You may have noticed that you have not received a new Member Directory lately. Have no fear; we have not forgotten. In fact, we have been spending time investigating an online platform to enhance your member experience.

For those of you unfamiliar with it, let us introduce Global Classroom, a Vermont-based company originally created to host online distance learning. Realizing the valuable social tool they’ve created, Global Classroom has begun expanding its client base beyond educational institutions. We are pleased to announce that the Roundtable will be partnering with Global Classroom to provide you with a secure and private Roundtable Members-Only site.

Noteworthy features include: member directory, calendar of events, discussion forum capabilities, a one-stop shop for downloadable documents for working groups. Smartphone apps will soon be available to further improve the portability of your membership directory. The site will be live soon in this last quarter of the year. Expect an email with your login information in the near future.

Many of you have spoken and we heard. We are attempting to honor you and our environment by cutting down on our paper consumption. However, if you prefer to have a printed copy of the member directory also, we will be happy to oblige.

Contact: Sherra Bourget, sherra@vtroundtable.org or 865-0410 with questions, concerns or to reserve a printed copy.

Forecast is Steady through First Quarter of 2012

(South Burlington, Vt.)  The chief executives of Vermont’s leading businesses appear poised to maintain their growth plans through early 2012, echoing results from the previous survey.  The survey was completed between September 8 and September 22 and released today by Vermont Business Roundtable Chair Steve Voigt, CEO, King Arthur Flour and President Lisa Ventriss. (more…)

Image Property of WorldNow and WCAX www.wcax.com

Lisa Ventriss, Roundtable President, recently visited with Anson Tebbetts, WCAX News Director, as invited guest on You Can Quote Me to discuss VBR’s 2nd Quarter CEO Economic Outlook Survey and other Roundtable priorities. If you missed  the interview in real time, be sure to visit WCAX’s You can Quote Me site to view their recording.

Click Here to Watch Video |  Interview Date: August 7, 2011

Vermont Business Roundtable is a proud partner of VMEC’s 3rd Innovation Engineering Leadership Institute:

Randolph Center, Vermont – The Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center (VMEC) has announced that it will be hosting its third “Innovation Engineering Leadership Institute” on August 23 – 25, 2011 at The Essex in Essex Junction, Vermont. The first IELI training event was held in Burlington in May 2010, followed by the second in February of this year in Woodstock. Innovation Engineering teaches business leaders a proven, systematic approach to leading profitable growth through innovation. It is an intensive 3-day graduate level program designed for senior managers in business, government, non-profit organizations, and academia. Two separate Georgia Tech studies (2008 & 2010) found that innovation is THE MOST profitable primary business strategy compared to low cost, fast delivery, voice of the customer, or quality strategies. In fact, the 3-year average profit margin of companies with a primary strategy of innovation is over 50% higher than for companies competing with a primary strategy of low prices. This training is equally vital to service industries, inventors, entrepreneurs, researchers, non-profits and economic development professionals. (more…)

Business Roundtable Releases Latest CEO Economic Outlook Survey: Forecast is Slow and Steady for Remainder of 2011

(South Burlington, Vt.)  The chief executives of Vermont’s leading businesses appear poised to hold steady their growth plans through the remainder of 2011, when compared against the first quarter survey period.  The survey was completed between June 10 and June 24 and released today by Vermont Business Roundtable Chair Steve Voigt, CEO, King Arthur Flour and President Lisa Ventriss.

According to Roundtable President, Lisa Ventriss, “Overall, these data show an economy that continues to be in a holding pattern as our members wait for clarity and direction on key policy issues at both the state and federal levels. While roughly 60 percent of our members foresee increased sales projections for their companies, that number has declined slightly (61 percent compared to 73 percent in the previous quarter).  An increasing number of CEOs expect there to be no change in either their capital expenditures or employment levels for the rest of 2011. Only one in ten CEOs are anticipating decreases in these key areas.” (more…)

On a stormy summer day with lightening and thunder rattling the property all day long and well into the night, 75 CEO members and guests gathered at beautiful and historic The Woodstock Inn to network and engage in some substantive discussions around health care reform and social media strategies before retiring to the cocktail reception and dinner. (more…)

Business Roundtable Releases Latest CEO Economic Outlook Survey

Forecast is Steady for Next Six Months

(South Burlington, Vt.)  The chief executives of Vermont’s leading businesses appear poised to hold steady for the spring and summer months of 2011, when compared against the previous survey period.  The survey was completed between April 1 and April 15 and released today by Vermont Business Roundtable Chair Steve Voigt, CEO, King Arthur Flour and President Lisa Ventriss.

According to Roundtable President, Lisa Ventriss, “Overall, these data show an economy that is taking its breath and assuming a “wait and see” posture.  The most positive growth indicator continues to be our members’ sales forecasts which showed a slight uptick over the previous period (73 percent compared to 71 percent).  And while a plurality of our members are forecasting growth outlooks for capital expenditures and employment levels, (47 percent and 44 percent, respectively), another segment of members is projecting no change in those indicators from the previous quarter (38 percent and 41 percent, respectively),Ventriss said.

Chair Steve Voigt said “We believe that these data also reflect a hesitation among our CEOs that is related to the current debate around health care reform in Vermont and the nation. We polled our members on this topic and found it to be a major source of concern; there are still many cost-related reform questions yet to be answered, and this makes future investment decisions regarding people or plant difficult to make at best. We must remember that while growth indicators have been trending upward nicely since early 2009, these changes are still fragile.”

The Roundtable’s CEO Economic Outlook Survey provides a forward-looking view of the economic assumptions and attitudes of chief executive officers for 120 of the state’s top employers with an aggregate economic impact of $135 billion and employing 15 percent of the state’s workforce.  The members represent Vermont’s agriculture, construction, education, health services, finance, real estate, insurance, hospitality/leisure, manufacturing, information, utilities, professional/business services, wholesale trade, and non-profit industries.  The response rate for this quarter was 58 percent.  Historically, rates have varied from 35 to 73 percent.

1. How do you expect your company’s sales to change in the next six months?

Totals may not equal 100 due to rounding.

2. How do you expect your company’s capital spending to change in the next six months?

Totals may not equal 100 due to rounding.

3. How do you expect your company’s employment to change in the next six months?

Totals may not equal 100 due to rounding.

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by Lisa Ventriss, President, Vermont Business Roundtable

In the winter of 2007 the Vermont Business Roundtable, along with the Vermont Superintendents Association, convened a group of business and education leaders around some simple goals: to develop mutual understanding and respect for our respective issues and priorities; to inform each other’s thinking with factual information and industry insight; and, to find common ground that could lay the foundation for policy recommendations. We recruited organizations that could bring balance and non-partisan independence to our discussions, and charged ourselves to provide “bold and long-term leadership” on education reform efforts. Thus was born the Business-Education Alliance. (more…)