Business

Multiple Broadband Providers Leverage Sovernet’s State-of-the-Art Network to Serve Vermonters

BELLOWS FALLS, VT (June 6, 2016) – Sovernet Communications today announced that its state-of-the-art fiber network now supports broadband services for numerous rural Vermonters in the so-called “last mile,” by providing dedicated Internet access and data transport to other service providers. These providers, in turn, are extending further and further into rural Vermont to serve residential and business customers.

Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire Board of Trustees Approves Affiliation with Dartmouth-Hitchcock

Affiliation to strengthen patient care effective July 1

June 6, 2016 (White River Jct., VT) – The Board of Trustees of Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire (VNH) has voted to approve an affiliation agreement with Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health. With the May 24 vote, VNH will become an affiliate of Dartmouth-Hitchcock (D-H) on Friday, July 1, 2016.

VNH, the region’s largest provider of home health services, will become the first home health and hospice provider affiliate of Dartmouth-Hitchcock, which also includes five hospital affiliates.

Experienced Goods Thrift Shop announces a new and exciting adventure in shopping. PopUp@77Flat is an online shopping event, featuring the best of the best that Experienced Goods has to offer. All proceeds of Experienced Goods Thrift Shop including PopUp@77Flat benefit the important work of Brattleboro Area Hospice.

The Pop-up event will go live at 5:00 PM on Friday, May 6th. Monthly, a new themed auction window at Experienced Goods at 77 Flat Street, in downtown Brattleboro will be unveiled. At that time the online auction also goes live at www.32auctions.com/popup77flat. Items can be viewed from the street or more closely online at the auction site. Bids will be accepted only online and can take place 24 hours daily from the comfort of your own home.

SAVINGS BANK OF WALPOLE WELCOMES NEW COMMERCIAL LOAN OFFICER

Keene, NH – Savings Bank of Walpole (SBW) is pleased to welcome Stephanie Huestis, Vice President and Commercial Loan Officer, to their business banking team.

Ms. Huestis brings over 20 years experience within the finance industry to her new position and has a broad understanding of Relationship Management, Commercial Lending, Sales and New Business Development. Previously, she held a number of positions at Peoples United Bank in Brattleboro, most recently as Senior Vice President, Relationship Manager, where she serviced several towns within Southern Vermont and established a proven track record of successful new business development and portfolio management. Prior to Peoples United Bank, Ms. Huestis was a Mortgage Lender and Originator at Brattleboro Savings and Loan.

Meet Job Hunt Helper Ben Howe! During March & April, CCV student intern Ben Howe will help library patrons use computer technology for job and career-related tasks. Stop by for help exploring online career and education tools, finding resume prep tools, and completing online applications. Make an appointment with Ben at the Reference Desk: (802) 254-5290 x109, or by emailing him at jobhuntbml@gmail.com.

He’ll also provide drop-in help on a first-come, first-served basis during his regular library hours: Tuesday evenings, 5:00-8:00 and Thursday afternoons, 1:00-4:00. Feel free to call ahead for info on his likely availability. 

Hi there! We at BS&L are refreshing our blog, beginning with a good piece on a mail scam that a few of our customers have fallen victim to.  Please take a moment and read:

Rotary International, along with its various clubs throughout the world, has established January as Rotary Awareness Month. 



Greg Worden, Brattleboro Rotary Club president, said, “A lot of people don’t know what Rotary International does. We want to get the word out.”



One of the biggest focuses of the organization is working to eliminate polio. The club has worked closely with World Health Organization (WHO) and the Gates Foundation in this effort. 



“We pretty much have polio eliminated except for two or three countries,” Worden said. 



The Brattleboro Rotary Club bestowed the fourth annual “Norm Kuebler Four-Way Test Award” upon The Works Bakery Cafe at the club’s weekly meeting on January 14, 2015.

The award honors the late Norm Kuebler, who was a past president of the club, a local businessman, and a longtime community volunteer. Kuebler died unexpectedly at the age of 63 in April 2010.

Kuebler was a strong proponent of Rotary International’s code of ethics, called the “Four-Way Test,” which asks, “Of the things we think, say, or do: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?”

In this spirit, the Brattleboro Rotary Club each year recognizes a local business that best exemplifies these values.

Are you looking to start or grow your business in 2016? Community Capital of Vermont is a nonprofit small and micro business lender, with loans ranging in size from $1,000 to $100,000. CCVT specializes in providing loans to business owners who lack the collateral or credit history to qualify for traditional bank loans.

Loan proceeds can be used for working capital, to purchase equipment or inventory, or to refinance debt.

On Wednesday, January 13, at 6:30pm, the Community Development Action Team of the West Brattleboro Association will host the first ever BizUp West B! This will take place in the center conference room at 55 Marlboro Road.  (The building with Central Appliance on one corner.)

Connect, Collaborate and Innovate! BizUp events intend to connect our talented local business owners and organizational leaders with one another, providing the possibility of sharing resources, supporting collaboration and sparking innovation.

I tried to order a final gift online on Monday and my BS&L card was rejected by the web site. The site told me to re-enter my info, so I did, and it gave me the same error.

I had been doing this quite easily for the last few weeks, with items of similar prices, so I knew it wasn’t my card. I assumed the web site had errors.

So, while I liked the price and location of the original store in New York, I went to a different site in a different location and it worked. I ordered my item without a problem from a different place in Tennessee.

Unfortunately, after ordering, that store owner called me to tell me he was out of stock and didn’t expect a replacement until September.

BRATTLEBORO – Governor Peter Shumlin, U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, U.S. Congressman Peter Welch, and local officials joined Norm Schneeberger, President and CEO of G.S. Precision, to break ground on a $17 million expansion that will bring 100 new jobs to Brattleboro in the next few years. The event capped nearly eight months of work by G.S. Precision, Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation, the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, the Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA), and the Town of Brattleboro to ensure that the company expanded its business in Brattleboro and not elsewhere.

“This project has been a team effort to combine federal, state, and local resources to retain and create great jobs in Brattleboro,” said Governor Shumlin. “This is the kind of public-private partnership that will help ensure Windham County’s economic future.”

Congratulations to our Brattorama Winners! We had 32 Putney Road establishments participate in our first-ever Brattorama Game, in celebration of our new completely solar-powered branch in Black Mountain Square.

More than 90% of players picked up their game boards in the new branch, and we were glad to make the acquaintance of many new people, including our winners below! We awarded 25 prizes from various Brattleboro businesses, plus a grand prize of a $1,000 Savings CD from BS&L! Is your name among the winners? Feel free to share this news and tout your good fortune!

Grand Prize Winner:

Margaret Ingram, $1,000 Savings CD

Free Oil Change, Brattleboro Tire
Daniel Nicholson

Are you ready to take the next step in your career? Do you want to earn more money in a new career field with growth potential? Are you thinking about college or a future career?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then you should stop the Brattleboro Union High School gym, Thursday Oct. 22, between 1 and 5 p.m. for the 3rd Annual Career Expo.

Thirty local employers will be on hand to talk to job seekers and students, alike, about career opportunities in health care, manufacturing, financial and professional services, hospitality, forestry, food, and other industry sectors. Several local colleges and career services agencies also will be there to help guide your career and education plans.

Are you moving? Just need to pack stuff up?

Come on by Everyone’s Books and take all the bubble wrap! We have boxes and boxes of it, along with kraft paper and used (but free!) mailers and, of course, heaps of cardboard boxes. It’s all free, just stop by the front desk and ask for it! 

😀

Your friendly booksellers who really want to get rid of packing material…like, a lot. A lot, a lot, a lot. *puppy eyes*

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. – To celebrate its new solar-powered branch on Putney Road, Brattleboro Savings & Loan has launched Brattorama, a community-based game that charges area residents with collecting game pieces from various businesses to win prizes, now through Wednesday, Sept. 23.

The new location in Black Mountain Square on Putney Road, Brattleboro opened on Monday, Aug. 31, and is the latest entirely solar-powered bank branch operated by BS&L, which became the first completely solar-powered bank in Vermont earlier this year.

Brattorama has BEGUN! Grab your gameboard from last week’s Commons, today’s Reformer, Baker’s Hallmark, or The Marina! You can also stop in to our new Putney Rd brach in Black Mtn. Square, see our newest solar powered digs and pick one up!

Grab a sticker from five different gameboard businesses, and you will be entered to win a gift card to a Putney Road business. Collect 15 stickers and be entered to win a $1,000 BS&L 12 month CD! Keep an eye out on our facebook page for news about a different featured Brattorama buiness each day. Game ends on September 23rd, drop your gameboards off at either BS&L branch.

Let the games begin!

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. – Brattleboro Savings & Loan will open its new branch in Black Mountain Square on Putney Road, Brattleboro on Monday, Aug. 31.

The new location represents months of building and renovation and is the latest entirely solar-powered bank branch operated by BS&L, which became the first completely solar-powered bank in Vermont earlier this year.

To introduce the new branch and call attention to the vibrant business community in Brattleboro’s Putney Road area, BS&L will also celebrate with Brattorama, a Monopoly-style game for all residents, from Sept. 9 – 23. More than 30 North End businesses have signed on as partners, each with their own spot on the Brattorama game board and stickers that can be collected to win prizes ranging from gift certificates to a $1,000 Savings CD from BS&L.

The Vermont BENE Group (Better Economics for Neighbors Everywhere) has been meeting in Brattleboro since January to discuss and plan for bringing the rCredits alternative currency to Vermont.rCredits is an online exchange of credits that can be spent instead of dollars at participating businesses or for making payments to other participating individuals. It has been operating successfully in the Greenfield Massachusetts area since the Fall of 2013.

The credits can be earned and spent locally, which encourages local circulation thus stimulating the local economy. In addition, both businesses and individuals receive incentive bonuses rewarding use of the system.

Six Windham County startup businesses will pitch their ideas to a “gang” of motorcycling investors, entrepreneurs and advisors who are stopping in Brattleboro on Tuesday, Aug. 4, at 10 a.m.

The event, which will take place at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden, is part of the second annual FreshTracks Road Pitch, a four-day motorcycle tour, in which the riders make stops in eight Vermont towns to listen to entrepreneurs pitching their business concepts.

The hosts of the Brattleboro stop are Strolling of the Heifers and Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation, with sponsorship support from Marlboro College Graduate School. The pitch portion of the event, from 10 a.m. until about noon, is open to the public.