Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) borrowers are reminded to apply for forgiveness within 10 months after the last day of the covered period. A borrower can apply for forgiveness once all loan proceeds for which the borrower is requesting forgiveness have been used. More information is available from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Visit the SBA PPP Direct Forgiveness Portal to apply. This portal is made available by the U.S. Small Business Administration to streamline forgiveness processing for PPP Borrowers. The SBA also offers live customer service to borrowers at 877-552-2692.
The Vermont Chamber and other business organizations tirelessly advocated to prevent the Legislature from taxing 2021 PPP loans. Learn more about our advocacy here and find staff contacts here.
This month, we are spotlighting Vermont Chamber member The Vermont Country Store.
In 1946, Vrest and Mildred Orton printed and mailed The Vermont Country Store’s first catalog of 36 items to 1,000 people on their Christmas card list. Inspired by childhood memories of his father’s general store in North Calais, Vermont, Vrest, a frugal Yankee at heart, insisted that what they sold must be useful, work and make sense.
Today the company is owned by Lyman Orton and his sons Cabot, Gardner and Eliot, 7th and 8th generation Vermonters and 4th and 5th generation storekeepers who still hold true to this principle. The Vermont Country Store is known as The Purveyors of the Practical and Hard-to-Find, serving customers online at www.vermontcountrystore.com, through its catalogs, and in their two retail stores in Weston and Rockingham, Vt., that are open daily from 10:00 to 6:00 p.m.
In honor of her work as a business leader and community advocate, Leslie McCrorey-Wells, co-owner of restaurants Pizzeria Verità, Trattoria Delia, and Sotto Enoteca, and a member of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce and the Vermont Independent Restaurant Leadership Council, was presented with the Catherine McAuley Award.
“I want to be a business that’s giving back to its community and helping keep it strong,” McCrorey-Wells said in Nora Peachin’s report for Burlington Free Press.
Learn about Leslie and the award in Burlington Free Press’s article ‘Combatting racism: Burlington restaurant owner recognized for her social justice work’.
Take two minutes to learn about the Economic Recovery Bridge Program and what businesses can be helped through it. Apply for the program here.
Connect with us at govaffairs@vtchamber.com.
The Vermont Chamber of Commerce is pleased to introduce our new website — a culmination of work by our staff, led by Communications Director Maggie Wilson and Business Technology Director Eric Scharnberg, and developer Mary Ward of Chamber Member Brown Dog Communications.
As the largest statewide business organization, the Vermont Chamber represents all industries and sectors, from tourism, manufacturing, and retail to health care, construction, and technology. Tour our new website to learn how we are making Vermont the best place to live, work, and start a business.
There are brand new features to explore, including:
Through our new website and other online work, the Vermont Chamber is moving intentionally to focus on our digital environment and services. Please reach out with questions.
This month, we are spotlighting Vermont Chamber member HEB Manufacturing.
They specialize in custom Fourslide Wireforms, Press Stamping Components, and Services. Incorporated in 1957 and employing 35 people, they are small enough to maintain a personal relationship with their customers but provide the flexibility of a small business, as well as the equipment, experience, and ability of larger corporations in meeting their customers’ individual requirements.
They have a modern plant of 35,000 square feet and have an ISO 9001 quality certification as well as WBENC certification.
Visit HEB Manufacturing’s website to learn more!
Montpelier, VT (July 2, 2021) –
“We are surprised and disappointed by Governor Scott’s veto of S.79. The Administration did not indicate they had a serious problem with the bill, which had a wide range of supporters, at any point during the 2021 legislative session. The sudden change of course is difficult to understand, considering several Administration officials publicly offered support [1] for the legislation over the last few months.
S.79 would have ensured a safe rental environment while also moving Vermont toward greater regulatory equity in the lodging marketplace. As an example, licensed lodging properties were subject to onsite visits from officials throughout the pandemic for compliance checks. Short-term rentals (STR) were exempt from this because they are permitted to operate anonymously; owners could not be contacted and there is no system in place for open lines of communication with the State. With thousands of STR units in Vermont, we believe it is important that these property owners receive communications on how to ensure the health and safety of the traveling public.
Vermont’s lodging businesses have suffered disproportionately throughout the pandemic, yet they have been public health champions. The passage of this bill would have provided a glimmer of hope for licensed lodging properties and would have demonstrated that the Administration understands the need to level the playing field for businesses providing overnight accommodations. The Vermont Chamber will continue advocating for the establishment of an STR registry when the Legislature reconvenes.”
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About the Vermont Chamber of Commerce
The largest statewide, private, not-for-profit business organization, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce represents every sector of the state’s business community. Its mission is to create an economic climate conducive to business growth and the preservation of the Vermont quality of life.
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[1] A review of recorded testimony offered by the Administration shows Department of Housing and Community Development Housing Program Administer Shaun Gilpin explaining the benefits of the bill for BIPOC homeownership and saving costs through the establishment of a rental registry and Department of Health Public Policy Advisor Shayla Livingston explaining the Department had no objections to the bill. These are just two of several examples of Administration officials speaking favorably of the bill.
Take two minutes to learn how Vermont businesses are doing now that pandemic restrictions are lifted, and what they still need to recover.
You can connect with our President Betsy Bishop at bbishop@vtchamber.com.
