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It’s official, the theme for this year’s Stars and Stripes celebration is “Moments in American
History”. The date for the Festival is Saturday, July 18th. The theme was developed with help from
Rick Paul’s Business class at LSC and we thank them for their input. Local student Amanda Gilman
came up with the winning theme, which should make for some great floats and a spectacular parade.
There will be a road race in the morning, and the parade begins at 10 am. Vendor forms and Float
registration forms are posted below, or you can call (802) 626-9696 to
have them sent to you.
When you receive a fundraising letter from the Stars and Stripes committee, please support this great
community event. We are looking to “grow” the seed money from last October’s coin drop in order to
put on the best event possible.
Stars and Stripes celebrates our community with music, a parade, vendors and crafters, and lots of fun! Bandstand Park will have crafters, vendors and food all afternoon. For information: 802-626-9696. Sponsored by the Lyndon Area Chamber of Commerce.
Download the following Stars and Stripes forms:
2009 Float Registration
2009 Vendor Registration
2009 Frequently Asked Questions for Vendors
Help us spread the word about Stars and Stripes 2009 - post this flyer of scheduled events at your place of business and community boards we may have missed!
2009 Stars and Stripes Flyer - pdf
The Lyndon Area Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that the Annual Lyndonville/Burke Snowflake has been chosen by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce as a Top Ten Winter Event for Vermont State. Ten Events
are chosen by the Vermont Chamber each year to be featured in the Vermont Winter Guidebook as suggestions for great winter fun. Over 100,000 copies of the Vermont Winter Guidebook are distributed each year - it is the primary
information brochure sent out to tourists requesting information on visting Vermont, and it is available in all the VT welcome centers.
Special thanks go out to Cheryl McMahon, Lyndon Area Chamber of Commerce Secretary, who nominated the Snowflake Festival (and filed all the necessary paperwork!) Great job!
2009-2010 Top Ten Winter Events winners (chronologically) are:
CRAFT VERMONT - Fine Craft, Art, and Design - presented by Vermont Hand
Crafters
South Burlington, November 19-22, 2009, Thurs. & Fri. 12-8 pm, Sat. 10-6
pm, Sun. 10-5 pm
Thanksgiving Weekend at Billings Farm & Museum
Woodstock, November 27-29, 2009, 10-3 pm
The Lights of Christmas
South Royalton, November 27, 2009-January 5, 2010
First Night Burlington
Burlington, December 31, 2009, Noon to midnight.
Winter Dew Tour
Mount Snow (West Dover), January 21-24, 2010, 9-6 pm.
Snowflake Festival 2010
Lyndon and East Burke area events, February 12-28, 2010
Montshire Museum Igloo Build
Norwich, February 15, 2010, 10:30 am - 3 pm
Middlebury Winter Carnival & Chili Contest
Middlebury, February 27, 2010, 2-5 pm
Burton U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships
Stratton Mountain, March 15-21, 2010
13th Green Mountain Film Festival
Montpelier, March 19-28, 2010
JULY MEETING AND NEWSLETTER DEADLINES
Deadline for submissions for the July Newsletter: Monday, July 6th.
The July Chamber meeting will be on Tuesday, July 21 at 1 pm at Juniper's Restaurant at the Wildflower Inn. Mark your calendars and join us for lunch in this beautiful setting.
REMINDER: There is no chamber meeting or newsletter in the month of August. After July's meeting, we'll see you again in September.
BASICS OF SELLING WORKSHOP TO BE HELD IN NEWPORT
Newport- Incubator without Walls (iWOW) is offering a 1 ½ hour workshop on basic selling techniques. The course will be offered on Wednesday, July 15th from 8 am – 9:30 am at the Hebard Building in Newport. The workshop will be taught by John Mandeville, Director of the Incubator Without Walls program.
Sales and selling is the life blood of any business but how many small business owners and managers and even sales people really understand the sales process? This workshop will cover the basics behind successful selling techniques whether your business is selling widgets or services. The seminar is designed for Northeast Kingdom businesses that are interested in improving their financial positions by securing more business more consistently.
Registration is necessary as space is limited. The registration fee is $25 for each workshop in the series. Register for the workshop online at www.vtsbdc.org or e-mail Heather Gonyaw at hgonyaw@vtsbdc.org. For more information, contact iWOW Director, John Mandeville at (802) 626-4867 or john.mandeville@lyndonstate.edu.
IWoW is a project funded by a USDA Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) awarded to Lyndon State College that will help the Newport-Derby area grow new businesses and respond to the changing economic climate. The RGEG project will help businesses identify the most effective ways to respond to the addition of big box stores in the area and other challenges. The total cost of the project is $322,059. Lyndon State, Vermont Small Business Development Center and collaborative partners will contribute a total of $59,695 towards the project, in addition to the grant.
WHAT BUSINESS OWNERS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CATAMOUNT HEALTH
Catamount Health is Vermont’s health care program for uninsured Vermonters with premiums based on the
ability to pay. Most uninsured Vermonters are eligible, even those that are already employed. If an employee
chooses to enroll in Catamount Health, there is no cost to the employer. Employers can choose to reimburse
employees for both premium and out of pocket costs incurred by employees on Catamount Health. Employers
can also make employees aware of the benefits of Catamount Health:
• During the hiring process
• Through employee newsletters and the employee handbook
• By having enrollment forms and information for employees
• When employment is terminated
For business owners, employees and family members, Catamount Health may be the best option for health insurance
if they:
• Are ineligible to join the company plan (for example, temp employees or part-timers, or if there is a waiting
period for eligibility)
• Lose coverage through a spouse due to death, divorce, loss of employment or any other reason.
• Are children or employees who lose access to the company plan upon leaving college.
• Are employees who are terminating employment and don’t have immediate access to another plan.
• Are former employees who are paying COBRA costs.
• Are employees, their spouses and their children who are uninsured or enrolled in a plan with a deductible
of $10,000 or higher.
There is much more detailed information about the Catamount Health program on their website at
www.catamounthealth.org. Health care costs are a huge expense for employers and employees. See if Catamount
Health might provide an option for your business or employees. It you would like more information
about Catamount Health and your business, please contact Jennifer Ruddy at m2tcr@aol.com or phone her at
802-922-3358. Ms. Ruddy works with the Vermont Campaign for Health Care Security Education Fund, a
non profit organization working to educate Vermonters about, and help them enroll in, Vermont’s public
health care programs so that all Vermonters have access to affordable, comprehensive health care.
REDUCED RATE FOR HEATING OIL AND PROPANE
The Lyndon Area Chamber is investigating a reduced
rate for bulk purchase on heating oil and propane. In
order to determine rates, we need some idea of what
participation might be if we can offer this program and
how much oil or propane your business would use
annually.
You can email info@lyndonvermont.com to express
interest in this program, or call 626-9696.
1. Would you be interested in participating in a
reduced rate fuel program if offered by the
Chamber?
2. What is your annual fuel usage in gallons?
THANK YOU FOR RESPONDING!
NEWS FROM NEKTTA
Gloria Bruce, NEKTTA Executive Director would like everyone to know that the Interactive Map is now up
and running on the NEKTTA website. She tells us they still have a few items to work out, but, for the most
part, the map is complete.
Please take some time to explore the map at http://www.travelthekingdom.com/nekmap.html.
In the near future, the NEKTTA Board will be discussing the cost of advertising on the map. The board will
also be looking at what services are available to a Marketing Partner as part of their basic partnership fee and
what services will have additional fees. For example, both Burke Mt. and Jay Peak have a listing that includes a
video; however, this feature will likely only be available for an additional fee. Please look at the map with an eye
toward these future discussions.
On another note, the Northeast Kingdom was featured in a USA Today Travel article called “10 Great Places to
Leave the Beauty Unspoiled.” The 10 locales on the list were chosen with an eye to “picking a place to visit
without trashing the planet”, a basic tenet of successful, sustainable geotourism. Jon Tourtellot, director of the
National Geographic Society’s Center for Sustainable Destinations, shared his list of favorites.
Tourtellot said of the Northeast Kingdom: “The three counties of the Northeast Kingdom are—in the opinion
of residents and tourists alike—the real Vermont. This is rural America at its most nostalgic, enlivened by a vibrant
cultural arts community and the wonderful Vermont scenery. There are scenic back roads to drive, quaint
little towns to explore, wonderful hiking in the summer and great skiing in the winter.” The article included a
link to travelthekingdom.com.
In addition to the Northeast Kingdom, Tourtellot noted: Grenada; Guanajuato, Mexico; Ashland, Oregon; the
Isle of Skye, Scotland; Mackinac Island, Michigan; Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia; Wachau Valley, Austria;
Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico; and the Coastal Fjords of Norway. Not bad company to
find ourselves in at all! See the article here.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
The Lyndon Area Chamber of Commerce holds monthly meetings at the Cobleigh Library and at other locations around town. Meeting times and locations are
posted in our monthly newsletter, which is mailed and emailed to members the week prior to the monthly meeting. We encourage members
to join us for our meetings, and to keep us posted on events so we can add them to this website. Businesses and individuals who are interested in
becoming members of the Lyndon Area Chamber of Commerce should call the Chamber at 802-626-9696 to request a membership registration form, or
email us at info@lyndonvermont.com and we will mail one out to you.
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