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VERMONT SECRETARY OF STATE - Deborah L. Markowitz | |||||||
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May 2009 Press Releases
Students to be Treated
to Rare Viewing of Vermont's Constitution - May 29, 2009 Secretary of
State Deb Markowitz Designates May 18-22 as High School Voter
Registration Week in Vermont - May 18, 2009 Secretary
of State Deb Markowitz Announces New Project to Facilitate Job Creation
- May 14, 2009 May 29, 2009 Contact: Ginny Colbert - 802-828-2148 __________________________________________________________________________________ Students to be Treated to Rare Viewing of Vermont’s Constitution Montpelier. Secretary of State Deb Markowitz will honor the winners of the 2009 Vermont Secretary of State’s Poster and Essay Contest by treating them to a rare viewing of the original Vermont Constitution on Monday, June 1, at the Secretary of State’s Office in the Redstone Building, 26 Terrace Street, in Montpelier beginning at 9:00 a.m. In addition to being granted an up-close look at this historic document, the contest winners and their classes will tour the Vermont State House and the Vermont Historical Society Museum. At 12:15 p.m., in an award ceremony in the State House cafeteria, Secretary Markowitz will present the winners with a certificate and a $100 prize donated to each student's classroom to spend on civics education. The Vermont Secretary of State’s Poster and Essay Contest is an effort to promote awareness of Vermont history, the Vermont Constitution, and the importance of democracy among students in Grades K-12. Over 200 Vermont students participated in the contest by submitting posters or essays. A selection of the winning posters and essays may be viewed on the Secretary of State’s Kids Page at www.sec.state.vt.us This year’s honorees are: Grades K-2, Vermont State Symbol: Individual Winner: Benjamin Carpenter, Homeschooled, age 7, Poultney, “Butterfly in Red Clover”. Individual Honorable Mention: Riley Earle, Bridgewater Village School, Mrs. Fitzpatrick’s grade K, Bridgewater, “Vermont State Seal”. Class Winner: Theresa Jakubowski’s class, Clarendon Elementary School, grade 2, North Clarendon, “Monarch Butterflies”. Class Honorable Mention: Bradley Bender’s class, Rutland City Public School, grade 2, Rutland City, “Hermit Thrushes”.
Grades 3-5, Vermont History: Individual Winner: Emily Ballou, South Royalton School, Ms. Kurash’s grade 4, South Royalton, “Calvin Coolidge”. Individual Honorable Mention: Posy LaBombard, Waitsfield Elementary School, Mrs. Kingsbury’s grade 2/3, “Samuel de Champlain”. Class Winner: Georgeanne Baker’s class, Waitsfield Elementary School, grade 3, “Scenes from Vermont History”.
Grades 6-8, Vermont Constitution Essay: Individual Co-Winners: Will Adkisson, Browns River Middle School, Mrs. Babbitt’s grade 8, “Athens vs. America”. Anna Riley-Sheppard, Lamoille Union Middle School, Mr. Gilbertson’s grade 8, “Discussing Vermont’s Constitution: Should It Be Easier To Amend?” ###
Contact: Ginny
Colbert
For immediate release
May 18-22 is High School Voter Registration Week in Vermont Secretary of State Markowitz calls on Vermont high schools to register 18 year-old students to vote. Montpelier. Secretary of State Deb Markowitz has designated May 18-22 as High School Voter Registration Week in Vermont. High School Voter Registration Week was established to teach students about the importance of voting and to encourage Vermont high schools to register 18 year-old students to vote before they leave school. Markowitz said, “Schools are working to prepare students to become engaged citizens. I applaud the efforts of our teachers and administrators to ensure that every Vermont student understands the importance of participating in the political process. Registering students during High School Voter Registration Week is critical to ensuring that our young people vote.” With support from the Secretary of State’s Office and help from teachers, town clerks, public officials, and organizations like the Vermont League of Women Voters, high schools are encouraged to conduct registration drives across the state between May 18 and May 22. Some high schools will use this week to plan and schedule registration drives during other school events. Several Vermont schools have a tradition of incorporating voter registration into the graduation ceremony. Secretary of Markowitz said, “Students find it difficult to register while away at college, the military, or while working. We know from experience that Vermont’s young people are more likely to vote if they register before they leave high school. We hope many students take advantage of this chance to be registered and ready for the next election.” For more information about this program contact Missy Shea, Voter Outreach and Civics Education Coordinator at 802-828-1296 or visit the Secretary of State’s website at www.sec.state.vt.us. ###
Contact:
Immediate Release ____________________________________________________________________________ New Project to Facilitate Job Creation in Vermont
Secretary of State Deb
Markowitz Joins with SBA and VtSBDC to Announce Randolph. Today, Secretary of State Deb Markowitz, along with the Darcy Carter, director of the Vermont office of the Small Business Administration (SBA), and Linda Rossi, Assistant Director of the Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC) unveiled Community Business Connections, an important project designed to create new jobs by helping Vermonters start and expand businesses. “These are difficult times for Vermont families and we believe that each one of us must do everything we can to jump-start our economy.” Markowitz said. “Whether we are government officials, individual entrepreneurs, local chambers of commerce, or members of civic and service organizations we could be doing more to help Vermonters start and expand businesses.” Carter said, “There are a wealth of resources available to help new and existing businesses and Community Business Connections was developed to get this information to the people who need it most.” Community Business Connections includes three components
Rossi said, “Our goal is to reach people at the most local level . . . people who may not be accustomed to thinking about business, either for themselves or on behalf of others in their community.” “In each of our communities there are people who are losing their jobs and need to figure out what they’re going to do next,” said Markowitz. “Starting a business may not be right for everyone, but if we all took a moment to reach out, I bet we would be surprised by the number of people in our communities who are ready to take the plunge.” For more information about this program, please contact the SBA at 802-828-4422, the VtSBDC at 800-464-7232, or the Vermont Secretary of State's Office at 800-439-8683. Business Fact Sheet According to a survey by FindLaw.com reported in March 2009, 61 percent of Americans have either started or thought about starting a small business. Thirty percent of Americans say they have started at least one small business. An additional 31 percent have thought about starting their own business at some point in their lives. The Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC) has a long history of providing advice and training to Vermonters. To date, they have trained over 20,000 Vermonters in 1,700 separate events, and provided individual, in-person, confidential counseling to over 8,000 business people representing all stages of business. In 2007, 1,868 new jobs were created by client businesses of the VtSBDC, and these businesses contributed over $4.4 million in new tax revenues. The Vermont office of the U.S. Small Business Administration reports:
The Vermont Secretary of State’s Office reports that in 2008 over 8,631 new business entities registered in Vermont.
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Community Business Connections Here’s what people are saying! "As a town clerk, I need to be proactive and prepared to answer a wide variety of questions that get asked on a daily basis. You never know who's going to walk in the door or call, or what they will ask when they do. Having this really helpful website to refer them to will be a valuable resource to give them. It's a really great answer to have waiting for the next person who asks any questions regarding starting a business or what's involved in running one."
Steve
Sgorbati “Vermont’s public libraries have always been responsive to the needs of the local community. As the economic climate worsens, we are seeing a marked increase in the use of our public libraries. This project will have a direct impact on Vermonters who are thinking about starting a business or who need support in growing an existing business. The Vermont SBDC training will provide public librarians with the kind of information and resources they need to better assist local citizens.”
Martha
Reid "The beauty of the Chamber of Commerce is our brand identity as the go-to source for information about local businesses. Yet Chamber folk (and I'm sure my fellow Chamber executives would concur) can't know it all. Because our businesses -- potential or already in town -- deserve as much support as they can get, this Community Business Connection website, ready and set to go, is an invaluable resource for everyone concerned. I applaud heartily the secretary's program!"
Jerry
Goldberg “VtSBDC helped us put the business plan and financial projections together in order to get our loan.”
Shawn
Ricker, Owner ### | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
