March 2008

From: Mary Niebling [mailto:MNiebling@CVCAC.org]

Sent: Monday, March 24, 2008

Subject: Statewide Entrepreneurship Convening: April 16

 

Please join us for a statewide convening on entrepreneurship!

Wednedsay, April 16, 10am - Noon

at the Vermont TechEnterpriseCenter in Randolph

(directions: http://www.vtsbdc.org/sbdc/location.html).

Small and microbusiness service providers (financial and non-financial), educators, economic development professionals, policymakers, opinion leaders, and anyone dedicated to building strong entrepreneurial communities are gathering to discuss and decide on the formation and goals of a statewide "Entrepreneurship Working Group".  Please see the DRAFT Case Statement (attached) for more information.

Please RSVP: http://www.doodle.ch/pfaz7myg5iu5ecvd

Respectfully,
Emily Kaminsky, Community Capital of Vermont 
Janet Bullard, Governor's Commission on Women
Jim Black,  Department of Business and Economics, JohnstonState College
Heather Gonyaw, VermontSmallBusinessDevelopmentCenter  
Ebony Sikat, Vermont Department of Education
Cheryl Young,  Entrepreneurship Education Consultant, Consortium on Entrepreneurship Education
Sarah Phillips, Micro Business Development Program, Central Vermont Community Action Council   

 

 

 

From: dmount@westaff.com [mailto:dmount@westaff.com]

Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2008 9:41 AM

Subject: Population article

Please see the article from today’s Free Press on the decline of population in Southern Vermont

Click here to view the article

From: Grimes, Barbara [mailto:BGrimes@burlingtonelectric.com]

Sent: Monday, March 17, 2008 9:40 AM

Subject: Vt. Rural Development Annual Report

Hello Friends and Partners,

The Vermont Council on Rural Development 2007 Annual Report is complete and online for your convenience.  To review the efforts of the council please click on http://www.vtrural.org/files/Annual%20Report%202007%20final.pdf.

All of our efforts depend on the support of VCRD members and partners and the leadership of dedicated individuals in every town we serve.  Thank you for your part!

All the best,

Paul Costello

Executive Director

Vermont Council on Rural Development

P.O. Box 1384

Montpelier, Vermont05601

802-223-5763

vcrd@sover.net

www.vtrural.org

From: Bill Botzow [mailto:botzow@sover.net]

Sent: Sunday, March 16, 2008 12:56 PM

Subject: CFED related proposed legislation 2008 session

Please find attached two pieces of proposed legislation currently in the House.

               Commerce Benchmarks Bill

               Proposed CFED amendments 3-16-08

As part of our meeting Monday I would like to review the process for developing the bills as well as the status and content of the proposals with the commission and wanted everyone to have the opportunity to see the material ahead of time.

Briefly, The benchmarks bill was voted out of House Commerce Committee late Friday afternoon. In it CFED's role in benchmarking is more clearly articulated. The Proposed CFED amendments propose adding language clarifying CFED's purpose and is part of the House Appropriations process. It also creates staggered terms for commissioners at the time the initial terms of members expire in 2012.

Please let me know if you have any questions and look forward to seeing everybody tomorrow.

  Yours,

Bill Botzow

From: Glenn McRae

Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 7:36 PM

Subject: CFED - March 17 Meeting

Just a reminder that next Monday we will have five guests to speak on their experience in two sectors of the Vermont Economy - Agriculture and Forestry-Forest Products.

Attached is some basic background on the sectors. 

There are not single comprehensive sources when one tries to gain an understanding of any sector individually, so here are a composite of materials sent to me by various resource people.  I hope you will find them of assistance in setting the context for Monday.

Forestry Articles:

               Harvesting Vermont's Forests

               The Economic Impact of The Value-Added Wood Products Industry in 2006

               Vermont Forest Sector Information Summary

                Wood Industry Study

               Carr Study Fact Sheet

               Economic Importance of Forests

Agriculture Articles:

               Vermont Agriculture Stats

               2005 Agriculture Handbook

               Dairy Task Force Report

 

To:  Jay Kaplan, Chair - CFED 

From:  <drhoffer@comcast.net>   Doug Hoffer

Date:  6 March 2008

Re:  February meeting

I just watched the CFED's February meeting and offer the following comments.
 
Bill Botzow asked a critical question. "What do we need to know to make good decisions" about economic development (ED)? In my view, we need to be realistic about what a small state can do in the face of huge forces beyond our control such as interest rates, the federal budget, trade agreements, currency exchange rates, and so on. Not surprisingly, the Vermont economy tracks the national economy very closely (although we've been trailing the U.S. for the last few years; see below).
During this period, the state has spent hundreds of millions on a variety of ED programs only to mirror the national trend. This does not mean we wasted all that money; but we should think carefully about the return on investment.
This leads to an issue raised by Sam Matthews regarding the public meetings. She suggested that people be given choices as to which policies and programs should be prioritized and how scarce resources should be allocated. This is a critical question and must be answered each year by the legislature. But in order to make informed decisions, policy makers need to know which policies and programs are working and which are not; which produce measurable returns on investment and which do not. This is what we need to know to make good decisions.
 

To Read the full memo by Mr Hoffer click here.
 

From: Epscor@uvm.edu [mailto:Epscor@uvm.edu]

Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2008 2:59 PM

To: glenn.mcrae@uvm.edu

Subject: Vermont Public Television and VT EPSCoR Partner for New Series  

Vermont Public Television and Vermont EPSCoR, the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, are partnering on a television series called "Emerging Science." It will feature people doing diverse scientific research and applied science in Vermont - Vermonters on the frontiers of science. The program is set to premiere in April on Vermont Public Television.

PODCAST PREVIEWS
As a lead-up to the broadcast premiere, a series of eight short weekly podcasts on topics in the series will be available for downloading from Vermont Public Television's website:

www.vpt.org/programs/emergingscience.html

The first podcast, available now, is "Nanotechnology's Role in Fighting Cancer." Christopher Landry, professor of chemistry at UVM, gives us the lowdown on some mind-bending applications of nanotechnology, and why there's "always room at the bottom."

A new video clip will be available each Wednesday in the weeks leading up to the premiere of the broadcast series, April 30 at 7:30 p.m. on Vermont Public Television.

From: Glenn McRae

Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 4:51 PM

Subject: CFED - another event of possible interest: Vermont Employer Diversity Network Lunch

Vermont Employer Diversity Network Lunch

We are pleased to invite you to attend a luncheon on Monday, March 10 at the Doubletree Hotel in South Burlington. The purpose of the luncheon is to raise awareness of diversity, what it means to make diversity an integral part of a business strategy, and why it is important to our economy. In addition, we will be inviting and encouraging employers to participate in the Vermont Employers Diversity Network. We are pleased to have Ted Childs, a world renowned speaker on Diversity as a Business Imperative, as our keynote speaker.
 
The Vermont Employer Diversity Network is a collaboration of employers dedicated to supporting and promoting a welcoming environment for customers, employees, and their families through workplace practices, policies, education and outreach. With the changing demographics of the community, the internet opening up the customer base worldwide, and the need to attract and retain more employees and businesses to Vermont, we must collectively improve our diversity strategies and initiatives to ensure employees and businesses will build their futures here.
 
We encourage you to invite as many of your employees to attend the luncheon as you'd like. This is a wonderful opportunity to network with other employers in Vermont and to hear a world renowned speaker. Please RSVP to Sue Kamp e-mail suek@unitedwaycc.org; or (802) 861-7836.
 
EVENT DETAILS:
Date: Monday, March 10, 2008
Location:  Doubletree Hotel, Williston Road, SouthBurlington
Time: 11:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Keynote Speaker: Ted Childs
Cost per Attendee:  $ 35

 

From: Bloch, Robert [mailto:rbloch@champlain.edu]

Sent: Monday, March 03, 2008 4:30 PM

To: Glenn McRae

Subject: Young Entrepreneurs Forum - Tuesday March 11

Glenn,

Just a reminder.  The Young Entrepreneurs Forum is coming up next Tuesday, March 11 at 7:00 PM on the Champlain campus.  We have a great panel representing four Vermont businesses in consumer products and services and business to business.

I would still like to get your input on suggested topics or questions for the panel and would appreciate your spreading the word about the event to your committee members and other interested people.

I hope you will be able to make it.

RB

Robert W. Bloch
Director, BYOBiz Program
ChamplainCollege
Burlington, VT05401
(802) 865-6490

3-1-08
Jay Kenlan forwarded this article from Communities and Banking (Federal Reserve Bank of Boston) on Early Childhood Education and Economic Development. click here to view full article