As the pandemic began to affect Vermont, Paul Raulston, CEO of Vermont Coffee Company, started a fundraiser for Addison County’s H.O.P.E. (Helping Overcome Poverty’s Effects), pledging to match donations up to $25,000 to restock the food shelf to help those affected by Covid-19. 

Vermont Coffee Company was able to meet its goal, donating a total of $50,000 within a few days. Raulston then launched a second fundraiser with the same $25,000 donation match to benefit the John Graham Shelter in Vergennes and the Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS) in Chittenden County.

After 29 years at the helm, Paul Millman announced his upcoming retirement and shared musings about the state of the iconic employee-owned company, science in our society, mission-driven management, and business in Vermont.

Paul's long-planned announcement coincided with the international peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which drove escalating demand for Chroma's precision optical filters and optical coatings for the medical, scientific and imaging industries. Headquartered in Rockingham (Bellows Falls), Vermont, the company serves an international market. Local, regional and national media covered the news — each with an appropriately different take.

Vermont Works for Women announced the Trailblazers program for this year, running from March 2 through May 2, 2020. Trailblazers is a training program to prepare women for careers in the trades, focusing on construction, electrical work, and plumbing.

These are historically male-dominated fields and are often higher paid occupations. The Trailblazers program can help women attain better salaries, as jobs in the trades generally pay much more than the minimum wage.

Call2Recycle, the first and largest consumer battery stewardship organization in the US, published its annual report on which states had recycled the most batteries. This year, these calculations excluded batteries recycled by major retailers and other private companies, bringing a focus on batteries recycled by consumers.

This month the Vermont Commission on Women, in consultation with the Vermont Attorney General’s office and the Vermont Human Rights Commission, launched a state-wide public education program, Workplaces For All.

A central component of the program is the new website, workplacesforall.vermont.gov containing useful resources for Vermont employees, employers and members of the public regarding the laws relating to and best practices for addressing sexual harassment and workplace discrimination.

The Chill Program, established by the founders of Burton Snowboards, Jake and Donna Carpenter, is a nonprofit that inspires youth to overcome challenges through board sports.

Since its inception, Chill has introduced more than 25,000 youth to snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing, and stand-up paddle boarding.

Rock Point School was thrilled to have a student featured in a new video about the Chill Program. Rock Point students are encouraged to explore multiple ways to overcome challenges by keeping physically active and enjoying the Vermont outdoors. Watch Charlie, of Rock Point School, share his experience in the Chill Program, and what it means to him.

Small Dog Electronics had gifts aplenty for lucky audience members who were able to snag tickets for this VPR live event on November 6, 2019 that quickly sold out. 

An Evening with Audie Cornish, Reporting on Politics in 2020 was an entertaining and illuminating experience for everyone in attendance at the beautiful Elley-Long Music Center at Saint Michael's College. Audie Cornish is co-host of All Things Considered which airs weekdays on VPR each afternoon. Her wit and humor shone through as she described many aspects of reporting and broadcasting in the current fast-paced news cycle.

Small Dog Electronics' sponsorship was integral to the success of the event, and we congratulate them on their efforts.

Call2Recycle, Inc. and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources have kicked off the 2nd annual Vermont Battery Collection Challenge. The challenge once again seeks to rally Vermont residents to recycle their batteries at drop-off locations, thus diverting them from landfills, lowering the risk for potential safety incidents, and reducing waste collection costs.

The Burlington area in summer is glorious in Vermont and this year that drew a film crew to produce a pilot episode at Rock Point School and other local spots.

"Local film crew films new pilot episode in Burlington" was the lead on CBS-affiliate WCAX-TV Channel 3 News on August 17th. The interior and exterior of Rock Point School's iconic stone classroom and dorm building were featured prominently in the news segment as were the surrounding campus grounds.

WCAX-TV News featured Burlington Electric Department's new incentive to purchase electric lawn mowers, including an incentive for commercial electric mowers by Mean Green Mowers. Our client Eco-Equipment Supply is the regional dealer for Mean Green Mowers.