South Burlington, VT – At the invitation of Kevin Dorn, South Burlington City Manager, Roundtable President, Lisa Ventriss, addressed state leaders at the Vermont School and Municipal Leadership Conference on Education Property Tax and Funding Reform  on the “Current State and Future Trends: Public Education in Vermont” today.

In her opening remarks, Ms. Ventriss acknowledged that the Roundtable’s Board of Directors convened last year to discuss ways in which to:

• “Get Unstuck” from our education rut, where there has been a lot of talk, but little action.
•  Gain traction on comprehensive, system-wide education reforms, and move beyond words to actions,
•  Create an “Informed and Engaged Public,” which is essential to any major policy change.
•  That results in improved educational experiences and outcomes for all our career or college-bound students.

Since then the Roundtable has used data to tell the story and convey the “urgency” with which we believe change must happen.

Download Ms. Ventriss’ presentation, “Current State, Future Trends: Public Education in VT.”

Vermont Business Roundtable and Economic & Policy Resources
1st Quarter 2014 Survey Results Show Positive Outlook

(South Burlington, Vt.)  Today Lisa Ventriss, President of Vermont Business Roundtable (VBR) and Jeffrey Carr, President, Economic & Policy Resources (EPR), announced the 1st Quarter results of their joint initiative, the VBR-EPR Business Conditions Survey.  The survey, which is conducted quarterly, is the next generation of the Roundtable’s economic outlook surveys that began in 2004, and provides a more meaningful and predictive index going forward. The new economic indicator, constructed as a Diffusion Index, is designed to follow economic sentiments of Roundtable members over time, and serve as a tool for analyzing and presenting insight into the Vermont economic outlook, as a leading economic indicator. Continue reading “VBR and EPR Release 1st Qtr Survey Results [4.15.14]” →

By David Coates, Roundtable Member and Former Managing Partner, KPMG (Retired)

I wish there was better news to report to Vermonters on the pension front this year, but unfortunately there is not. In fact, the pension problem is now spreading to our cities and towns.

First, an update on the state picture. Continue reading “Coates Op-Ed: State Pension Woes Become Municipal Woes [2.3.14]” →

Vermont Business Roundtable and Economic & Policy Resources

3^rd Quarter Survey Results Show Mildly Positive Outlook

(South Burlington, Vt.)  Today Lisa Ventriss, President of Vermont Business Roundtable (VBR) and Jeffrey Carr, President, Economic & Policy Resources (EPR), announced the 3rd Quarter results of their new joint initiative, the VBR-EPR Business Conditions Survey.  The survey, which is conducted quarterly, is the next generation of the Roundtable’s economic outlook surveys that began in 2004, and provides a more meaningful and predictive index going forward. The new economic indicator, constructed as a Diffusion Index, is designed to follow economic sentiments of Roundtable members over time, and serve as a tool for analyzing and presenting insight into the Vermont economic outlook, as a leading economic indicator. Continue reading “VBR and EPR Release 3rd Qtr Survey Results [12.17.13]” →

(South Burlington, Vt.)  Today Lisa Ventriss, President of Vermont Business Roundtable (VBR) and Jeffrey Carr, President, Economic & Policy Resources (EPR), announced the inaugural results of their new joint initiative, the VBR-EPR Business Conditions Survey.  The survey, which will be conducted quarterly, is the next generation of the Roundtable’s economic outlook surveys that began in 2004, and will result in a more meaningful and predictive index going forward. The new economic indicator, constructed as a Diffusion Index, is designed to follow economic sentiments of Roundtable members over time, and serve as a tool for analyzing and presenting insight into the Vermont economic outlook; as a leading economic indicator. Continue reading “VBR and EPR Release New Business Conditions Survey [8.14.13]” →

Roundtable Chair Mary Powell, CEO of Green Mountain Power, stated that “The Governor’s budget address today strikes the important balance of needed investments in education as the primary driver of economic development strategy, as well as the tough budget decisions that we must make to keep Vermont competitive. Continue reading “Roundtable Applauds Governor’s Education Agenda” →

(South Burlington, Vt.)  At its 26^th Annual Membership Meeting held today at Topnotch Resort & Spa in Stowe, the Vermont Business Roundtable elected new officers of the Board of Directors, including: Chair – Mary G. Powell, CEO, Green Mountain Power Corporation; Vice-Chair – Winthrop H. ‘Win’ Smith, Jr. President, Sugarbush Resort; Secretary – Robert E. ‘Rob’ Simpson, Jr., President and CEO, Brattleboro Retreat; Treasurer – G. Kenneth ‘Ken’ Perine, President, National Bank of Middlebury; and Immediate Past Chair, Steve Voigt, President and CEO, King Arthur Flour. Powell represents the first woman chair of the Vermont Business Roundtable. Continue reading “Roundtable Elects New Officers and Directors for 2013” →