Elysabethe James: combining a love of animals and art
Scot Keefe: art from found objects
Scot Keefe was only four years old when his creative streak first emerged. He built a toy boat from found objects and appropriated a windshield wiper motor from a car to make it a motor boat. His conservative family wasn’t overly impressed. “I was always considered eccentric and weird because I did that kind of… Read More »
Marissa Parisi: fighting food insecurity in Vermont
Marissa Parisi was hired as executive director of the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger in 2009 after spending eight years as the director of donor relations at Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. “I was interested in doing more work on the root cause of poverty,” Parisi said. “I always had an interest in… Read More »
Kathryn Blume: creative social justice activist
Kathryn Blume has been a writer, an actor, a personal coach and an ordained minister, but she is best known for her work on social justice issues. These days, Blume has less on her plate as she finishes a year’s worth of recovery from an exploded appendix. “It’s been a very interesting experience not to… Read More »
Todd Haire: Brewing up a good head of foam
Todd Haire has worked in the beer industry for twenty years, including stints at Magic Hat and Switchback, where he was the head brewer. While at Switchback, two of his coworkers suggested opening their own brewery, and Haire jumped at the chance. “I didn’t hesitate for a moment,” he said. Two other partners were brought… Read More »
Elsa Bosma: Providing a safe space for happy children
Armed with a degree in visual arts and psychology, Elsa Bosma was working in a medical office when a friend complained about the difficulty she had in finding child care. Knowing that Bosma had taken care of children through babysitting and nanny jobs since middle school, the friend suggested that Bosma start her own daycare… Read More »
Louisa Schibli: impact investing for Vermonters by Vermonters
Louisa Schibli has always been fascinated by crowdfunding. In 2012, when she learned that fellow Vermonter Janice Shade was using a community-supported enterprise model for her True Body soap, she placed a cold call and the two women spent almost three hours chatting at Muddy Waters, concluding that they would make great business partners one… Read More »
New and improved sports bar at the Shelburne Field House
Shelburne Field House General Manager Nick Mead wants to make sure active Shelburne residents don’t go hungry. The athletic facility has always had a bar, but it was really just a place for a quick glass of beer or wine with a few crackers and some other snacks. Last fall, that changed. The bar was… Read More »
The multi-faceted Bullrock Corporation finds business opportunities
Gregg Beldock launched the Bullrock Corporation in the early 1980s, shortly after graduating from the University of Vermont. The company started in New York City, where Beldock devoted his energies to the conversion of thousands of rental properties to condominiums and cooperatives. From there, the Bullrock Corporation turned to historic rehabilitation of previously blighted neighborhoods… Read More »
Ethan Allen Design Center open in Shelburne
Heather Paradis, Ethan Allen’s design manager for the Boston North District, is happy to clear up any confusion. Those store liquidation signs at the Ethan Allen Design Center on Shelburne Road last summer and early fall did not mean the company was leaving that location. The signs only signified the retirement of Michael Lash, who… Read More »