Celebrating CVEDC’s 48th Annual Meeting
10/25/24
Montpelier, Vermont
Photo credit: Shannon Alexander, Linda Nelson of Nelson’s Ace Hardware joins Alicia Browning Calcagni and Reuben Stone of Stone & Browning Property Management (Reuben also serves on the CVEDC Board of Directors as Treasurer) and Tracie Lewis of The Barre Partnership. A fun table of friends!
Central Vermont Economic Development Corporation (CVEDC) announces today its 2024 Central Vermont Business of the Year and 2024 Innovator of the Year awards, given last night at the nonprofit’s 48th Annual Meeting.
Photo credit: Shannon Alexander, Brett Long, Deputy Commissioner of The Agency of Commerce and Community Development.
The Annual Meeting was well-attended, with over 100 guests filling every seat at the Capitol Plaza Hotel’s Governor’s Ballroom. Senator Peter Welch delivered the keynote address, thanking the business owners of Central Vermont for their dedication to their local economy, and to each other. The Senator credited businesses like Union Mutual for remaining in place and keeping employees here, and small businesses like Bear Pond Books, Minikin, Bent Nails Bistro, and Namaste Indian-Nepali Kitchen for their dedication during difficult times.
Photo credit: Shannon Alexander, CVEDC Board Chair Jim Tringe (Cabot/Agrimark) delivered remarks.
Attendees received gift bags of local products from Vermont Salumi, Chooseco, Vermont Artisan Coffee & Tea Company, Hender’s Bake Shop, Butterfly Bakery, Cabot/Agrimark and others. Four raffle winners received a gift certificate to Three Penny Taproom, Chooseco’s Choose Your Own Adventure Tarot Deck, and a cheese board from Cabot.
Photo credit: Shannon Alexander, Executive Director Christian Meyer of the Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission.
A slideshow of work captured during the last year by Shannon Alexander was shown during the event, highlighting CVEDC’s work throughout the region and its statewide efforts to support business flood recovery. Stillwater Graphics of Williamstown printed for the event, including CVEDC’s annual report and a special report on success stories from the organization’s Small Business Technical Assistance Exchange program, which funded 209 projects for small businesses statewide last year.
Photo credit: Shannon Alexander
Wilkins Harley-Davidson of Barre was honored with the prestigious Business of the Year award, nominated and elected by professional peers who serve on CVEDC’s all volunteer Board of Directors. John Lyon and his staff attended to present the award, presented by Melissa Bounty, Executive Director of CVEDC. Melissa explained that Wilkins’ community impact was a major factor in the award, as well as their dedication to helping Vermonters achieve a singular goal: owning a motorcycle to enjoy the beautiful landscapes of Vermont, and beyond.
Photo credit: Shannon Alexander, Jim Tringe, John Lyon, Melissa Bounty
John Lyon shared in his acceptance speech the history that informs his third-generation business. His grandfather founded the company after World War II, joined by John’s grandmother, who at just 18 years old, married and helped her husband create the company. Work in the granite industry supplemented finances during the company’s early days, but eventually it became one of our nation’s leading dealerships. John credited the many community contributions that help his business thrive, from community banking to municipal support.
“We are deeply honored to be recognized as Company of the Year by the Central Vermont Economic Development Corporation. This award is a testament to the incredible support we’ve received from our local community, without which we would not be where we are today. The trust and loyalty of our riders, along with the dedication of our team, has helped Wilkins Harley-Davidson grow into one of the top dealerships in New England. We are proud to serve this community and look forward to continuing to build strong relationships and deliver exceptional experiences to Harley-Davidson enthusiasts across the region,” said John W. Lyon.
Innovator of the Year is a new award, founded two years ago by CVEDC to recognize an individual or nonprofit who made exceptional contributions to CVEDC’s missions to support economic development in Central Vermont. This year’s award went to Brian Lewis of Restaurant Evolution Consulting. Owner of several restaurants statewide, Brian used his knowledge to help other restaurant owners after the July 2023 and 2024 flooding. He did everything from high level consulting to “ladders and lightbulbs,” according to Melissa Bounty, who presented him with the award.
Photo credit: Shannon Alexander, Jim Tringe, Brian Lewis, Melissa Bounty
2023 recipients of these awards were Kingsbury Companies for Business of the Year and Sister Sankofa for Innovator of the Year.
Thank you to all who attended to honor the achievements of Central Vermont businesses and their supporters this year.