Business

When photographer Kelly Fletcher set out to capture images in and around Brattleboro, Vt., to help promote Brattleboro Savings & Loan’s new Local Rewards checking account, she expected beautiful New England vistas and great personal moments of people enjoying their community.

Indeed, the project brought her to various locations in Brattleboro, from eateries to retail establishments to rooftops, where she captured scenic panoramas. But Fletcher’s favorite stop was Miller Farm, an organic milk farm in Vernon, Vt., with 160 cows-in-residence owned and operated by Pete and Angela Miller, Art and Judy Miller, and Keith and Tina Franklin and their families.

New checking account option benefits customers and area businesses

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. – A dinner on the house, a bag of groceries, a frame for a new art print, or a gift basket brimming with Vermont-made products are just a few of the extras Brattleboro Savings & Loan customers could receive from BSL’s new Local Rewards program.

Local Rewards checking account holders who meet three qualifiers – 20 or more debit card transactions, use of electronic statements, and at least one direct deposit or withdrawal – will now benefit from up to a 1.25% annual percentage yield (APY), and also be entered to win gift cards from a variety of local vendors.

The Future of the Putney Co-op is in our hands. An important member discussion on the direction we as a community would like to see our Co-op evolve toward.

Thursday, December 11th at 7:00 PM, Putney Library

Find out about major changes that have been proposed to our bylaws, and what they would mean for our co-op and our community.

Holiday shopping brings an extended market day starting this Saturday at the Brattleboro Winter Farmer’s Market. 

As usual the market will open at 10 am and stay open until 3 pm for an extra hour of holiday shopping. 

Make it your first stop on Saturday for fresh farm products, local foods, gifts and basics like soap…we even have homemade laundry detergent!

Stacey Conn has joined Strolling of the Heifers as its new general manager, it was announced by Orly Munzing, Stroll founder and executive director.

Conn earned a Master’s of Business Administration degree from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College in 2014. As part of her MBA program, she visited Ghana to teach entrepreneurship skills to high school students and to prepare them for the Babson Cup, a regional business plan competition. 

She also served for a year as a Babson Board Fellow — a non-voting board member for the non-profit organization Partners for Youth with Disabilities, and created a strategic road map.

Dan Normandeau, President of Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation announced today that the Board has selected Adam Grinold of Wilmington as the next Executive Director. The position has been vacant since May. Stephan Morse has served as Interim Director and conducted the search.

In making this announcement Normandeau said, “We had some great candidates to choose from and I am excited about our decision. I look forward to working with Adam in the upcoming year as we strive to improve the regional economy through working with our existing businesses, helping to create new business ventures and attracting people and businesses who want to relocate to our region.”

We were happy to see that a new craft store had opened up on Main Street in between Mocha Joe’s and Sam’s. The name of this new business is The Crafty Cauldron, which would make you think it’s a Halloween store, but you’d be wrong. The store has a large assortment of different unique and homemade crafts plus natural skin care products. Some of the prices for the different crafts were affordable for those who have a minimal amount to spend.

The two owners are from Massachusetts and they have a long commute to get to Brattleboro. They are extremely nice and understanding.

MLS data for Windham County shows median home prices during the first three-quarters of 2014 running 5.26% below median home prices for the same period a year ago.

National real estate and other economic indicators are mixed and increasingly volatile, with even a fragile recovery, uncertain. The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) reports that prices for existing homes nationwide rose by 4.8% in August compared with the previous year, despite the number of sales slipping by 1.8%.

2nd Annual CAREER EXPO & JOB FAIR:

Monday, Nov. 10, Brattleboro Union High School gymnasium

Top employers from tri-state area are coming together to raise awareness of career opportunities; will also recruit for specific job openings. Several schools, agencies also on hand to support job searches, training needs

Whether an experienced professional or a newcomer to the job market, all are welcome to stop by the Brattleboro Union High School gymnasium, Nov. 10, to learn how to advance your career in southeastern Vermont and in the greater tri-state area. More than 20 employers, along with several temporary staffing agencies, colleges, technical schools, and human service agencies, will be staffing informational tables as part of the Second Annual Career Expo & Job Fair organized by the Windham Workforce Investment Board.

The National Academy of Public Accounting Professionals (NAPAP) has named its 2014 “Top 10 Public Accounting Professionals” for Vermont. The award winners include:

• Jerry Bowin of McSoley McCoy in South Burlington
• Renee Bourget-Place of KPMG in Colchester
• John Davis of Davis & Hodgdon Associates in Williston
• James Donohue of Gallagher Flynn & Co. in South Burlington
• Christopher Goulette of A.M. Peisch & Co. in Saint Albans
• Marcia Merrill of Montgomery Merrill in Burlington
• John Meyer of Pieciak & Co. in Brattleboro

Join Amy Schram, Community Outreach Specialist for The Better Business Bureau, on Wednesday, September 17, at 7 PM, in the library’s meeting room for a program on Scams, Fraud & Identity Theft. 

The talk will  cover the most common tactics scam artists are using to obtain our personal information and steal our identities, the major Red Flags to watch out for, and the precautionary steps we can use to protect ourselves from falling victim to fraudulent activity.

Alex Gyori, a staple item at the Brattleboro Food Co-op for many years, has announced his intentions of retiring. The news comes in the latest issue of Food for Thought, the Co-op’s newsletter to shareholders.

He says in part, “In ten months, and the end of this fiscal year, I will be moving on to another phase of life after 33 years of service to the Co-op. This phase is often referred to as retirement, but I am hoping it will be a lot more than that – I still have plenty of energy and enthusiasm! Nevertheless, the Co-op will benefit from new directions and fresh eyes, so to speak.”

Community Appreciation Day Friday August 29th from 11am-1:30pm

Tomorrow is the big day! Stop by our Main Office for a veggie burger, hamburger, hot dog, or a fresh baked cookie from the Vermont Country Deli! 11am-1:30pm on the front lawn.

Please bring a cash or non-perishable donation for Load the Latchis and we will make sure it gets down to them for you. See you there!

Dosa Kitchen South Indian Soul Food, a new food truck, has pulled into 139 Main Street, down the alley leading to the Hooker-Dunham Theater. We’ll be here all summer, into the fall, and beyond. This week’s hours: Tuesday through Saturday, noon till we sell out We feature from-scratch dosas, curries, and chutneys. We favor local produce and never use factory farmed meat. Our menus is gluten-free with vegetarian and vegan options.

SALON JACQUE will be closed August 3-11 for our annual week of summer vacation. We encourage our clients to book their appointments as soon as possible. We look forward to seeing you after our week of vacation all refreshed and ready to go. To book your appointment with Jacqueline, Krystie, Re, Madison or Brianna please call 802-258-4411

A new eatery is open downtown: Hazel, 75 Elliott Street. Soft opening.

Pizza, BBQ, sandwiches, salads. Some interesting sides: poutine, collards. And some interesting pizza ingredients: Grafton cheddar, pulled pork, crushed peanuts. No anchovies. Kids menu. All sandwiches and pizzas available gluten-free, or gluten-full. 

This message presented in the spare style of Hazel’s storefront and interior.

The Winston Prouty Center recently welcomed Shawna Parker to its Board of Trustees.

Parker is a longtime Brattleboro area resident. She is currently the Director of Marketing at World Learning in Brattleboro and Washington D.C., where she has been for the past five years. Shawna brings more than 15 years of experience in marketing and public relations, including local outreach for a variety of causes, events and organizations.

Join Rob Fish, Nonprofit Advisor and Community Organizer, Vermont Digital Economy Project Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) in a workshop, Social Media Surgery for Non Profits on Wednesday 18 June 2014, 7 pm – 8:30 pm at the Brooks Library. 

Does your organization need help using Facebook or Twitter? At this event, we will be bringing social media experts from around the state to work one on one with area organizations. This won’t be a workshop like any you have attended before.

Created by the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) in response to the 2011 floods, the Vermont Digital Economy Project’s mission is to construct more resilient communities, by helping Vermont communities, businesses, and nonprofits better use online tools as a way to speed flood recovery, spur economic development and job growth, and improve community resilience to disasters.

Greetings,

We are very happy to let you know that Jon Potter of Brattleboro will take over duties as Executive Director of the Latchis as of July 1.

Lisa Bloch, President of Latchis Arts and Rick Hashagen, President of Latchis Corp. issued a joint statement, saying “We’re delighted to welcome Jon Potter to lead both the non-profit arts component at the Latchis, and the day-to-day business dealings of the Latchis Hotel and Theatre. His relationship to the arts and artists in the area is a big plus to both halves of our equation.”

Many of you may know Jon as the creative force behind the arts coverage in the Brattleboro Reformer, having served the past 11 years as editor of Ovation, the paper’s weekly arts and entertainment section.

Greetings.

As you may have heard, after ten years at the Latchis I will be stepping down from my position as Executive Director at the end of June. What a wonderful time it has been.

Most of the wonder comes from the support of people like you, who helped us meet every challenge, from annual appeals to capital campaigns, to facing down the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene.