Save the Date and Submit a Workshop Proposal for
VBSR's 2011 Spring Conference
"Building on Our Strengths: What makes a great place to do business?"
Thursday, May 12, 2011; 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
University of Vermont Davis Center, Burlington, VT
Planning for our 2011 Spring Conference is in full swing. You are the experts, and we want to hear from you! Please consider submitting a proposal for a workshop session for this day-long event full of inspiration, great stories, lots of practical information, and connections with amazing business people from all over the state. Please visit our web site for more information and proposal guidelines. Please contact Rita Bothfeld, ritab@vbsr.org or 802-862-8347, if you have questions. Deadline for proposals is Friday, January 14, 2011.
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We are just weeks away from the Vermont Legislature's 2011 session, and the theme in the halls of the Statehouse is change.
    Not only will Vermont have a new governor, but it will also have a new lieutenant governor, secretary of state, senate president, state treasurer and dozens of new lawmakers. VBSR will also have a new face in the Statehouse - me.  I'll be in Montpelier everyday the Legislature is in session representing the policies that VBSR members support.
    Health care reform will be a major focus of VBSR's policy work next year. Governor-elect Peter Shumlin has vowed to bring universal coverage to Vermont and the Legislature's health care consultant, Harvard economist Dr. William Hsiao, recently said he envisions a system that decouples health insurance from employment.
    Vermont has a real opportunity to make dramatic changes in our health care system to ensure universal coverage and create a healthier and happier state. It won't be easy, but we are ready for the challenge.
    Chittenden County VBSR members recently heard from House Speaker Shap Smith and met with Shumlin at our Dec. 9 policy forum. Nearly 100 members and lawmakers attended.
    VBSR members should feel free to contact me at danielb@vbsr.org if they can help further our policy goals at the Statehouse. If you are willing to write letters to lawmakers and local newspapers or even come and testify on bills and proposals at the Statehouse - let me know. I'd love to hear from you.
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Shop Local this holiday season and pick up your copy of the Local First Vermont Resource Guide and Coupon Book.

"They're a great idea for client holiday gifts. Affordable, easy to ship and well within IRS gift limits, yet you're potentially giving each recipient and their family a major gift - up to $2,300 in cash savings. Plus, of course, you support VBSR and local business."  -Todd Walker, Progressive Asset Management
    The book features coupons, stories, and a business directory of locally-owned, independent businesses. It's a perfect gift for friends, family, employees, or clients.  For more information and a complete list of distribution sites to date, follow the link to the Local First Vermont web page.
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VBSR Members Support Next Generation of Vermont Food Businesses
Construction at the 15,000 square foot Vermont Food Venture Center (VFVC) in Hardwick, Vermont is moving ahead at a lively pace with interior walls being framed and plumbing and electrical networks installed. Our opening target for the spring of 2011 is becoming a reality with many new and existing food processing companies developing plans for utilization of the facility.
     Ben and Jerry's, Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Vermont Soy, Butternut Mountain Farm and Rhino Foods have all announced charitable support for the procurement of equipment for the new VFVC. In an innovative move to provide high quality equipment for a wide range of Vermont food processors, the VFVC is now reaching out to all Vermont food companies, restaurants and grocers for the donation of processing equipment. "The early response has exceeded our expectations," said Tom Stearns, a member of the VFVC steering committee. "Several businesses have been very generous in their offerings and now we hope a wide range of Vermont food companies can follow their lead." Read more...

Steve Conant Salvages Garage Junk for Energy-Efficient Lighting
Practically Green blog entry, November 29, 2010
Our friend Meg Smith turned us on (forgive the pun) to an innovative local business that blends the best of vintage with green design. This holiday season, we're grateful for all your leads on eco-creative gift ideas.
From Meg's dispatch:
     It's so like a Vermonter to come up with this: take a quintessential symbol of the farmhouse kitchen, turn it on its head, and let it shine.  Conant Metal & Light of Burlington, Vermont, salvages thick-glassed, antique canning jars, the ones Granny used for putting food by and turns them into energy-efficient lights. Read more...

Applications are Now Accepted for the 2011 Governor's Awards for Environmental Excellence
Applications are being accepted in the following award categories: Pollution Prevention, Resource Conservation, Earth Stewardship and Resource Protection, Land Use and Land Use Planning, Environmental Justice and Sustainability, Education and Outreach, and Youth Environmental Citizenship Award. Applications are due January 5, 2011. You may nominate your organization or another organization or individual. Please visit the Vermont DEC web site for more information.
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story online at Vermont Business Magazine
On December 15, the EPA and the Clean Air Act got a huge boost from large and small US companies, when over 60,000 firms represented by 14 business organizations told Congress to keep the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Clean Air Act strong.
     At the same time, the groups expressed concern that the EPA's half-year delay of pending ozone (smog) rules will be costly to US companies. The delay could result in higher health costs due to increased employee sick-day absenteeism and related medical costs borne entirely or partially by small and large US companies.
     The groups' joint letter (http://www.abce.us/) reads in part as follows: "... (S)mall business owners support some of the key strategies needed to reduce pollution and transition to a clean energy economy. A recent national poll of small business owners conducted by Small Business Majority ... found that 61 percent of respondents agree that moving the country to clean energy is a way to restart the economy and make their businesses more competitive in the global economy, and that 50 percent support comprehensive clean energy and climate policy ... Larger businesses also support EPA's authority under the Clean Air Act and understand that it has spurred innovation and economic value for the U.S." Read more...