January 2012
Mark Pendergrast, Vermont author and occasional writer for Business People-Vermont, announced the publishing of his most recent book, Japan’s Tipping Point: Crucial Choices in the Post-Fukushima World (in paperback from Amazon.com, or e-book through Smashwords, Nook, and Kindle). Pendergrast, who arrived in Japan two months after the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear meltdown, argues in the short book that Japan is the “canary in the coal mine” for the rest of the world, facing the need for a dramatic shift away from nuclear power and fossil fuels.
The Champlain Housing Trust board of directors won one of three Honorable Mentions in the Prudential Leadership Awards for Outstanding Nonprofit Boards for its efforts to position the organization for success.
The Vermont chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects announced the winners of its annual award program. Awards of Excellence were given to H. Keith Wagner Partnership for the design of Marsh Hall residence at Salem State University, Salem, Mass., and Heritage Landscapes LLC for its work on the National Mall and Union Square in Washington, D.C.
Antoine T. Williams, AAMS, of Antoine Williams and Associates Financial Services was awarded Equity Service Inc.’s Bronze Producer Award, ranking third in the nation. He also received the 2010 Circle of Excellence. Williams is a 2011 Qualifying Member of the Million Dollar Roundtable.
Howard Center elected to its board of trustees Gillian Eaton, Business Energy Services; Stacey A. Miller, University of Vermont; Duane Peterson, Vermont Public Interest Research Group; David Sobczak, IBM; Debra Stenner, Four Winds Consulting; and Karen Ward, IBM.
Attorney S. Crocker Bennett II, president of Paul Frank + Collins, was named chair of the Vermont state committee of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Edward Mahoney, professor of religious studies at St. Michael’s College, and Bret Findley, associate professor, received the Norbert A. Kuntz Service Award for 2011 at the annual SMC Academic Convocation. Joanna Ellis-Monaghan, professor of mathematics, received the 2011 St. Michael’s Scholarship and Artistic Achievement Award.
The Vermont Woodworking Design Competition awarded prizes to the following professional woodworkers: Brent Karner of ClearLakeFurniture, production furniture category; Johns Congdon, custom or studio furniture; Ted Fink of TJF Turnings LLC, awards in the custom woodenware, and carvings and sculpture categories.
The Vermont Chamber of Commerce announced the Top Ten Summer and Fall Events for 2012: the 46th annual Vermont Maple Festival, St. Albans; Strolling of the Heifers, Brattleboro; Burlington Discover Jazz Festival; Vermont History Expo, Tunbridge; Vermont Summer Festival Horse Show, East Dorset; Stoweflake Annual Hot Air Balloon Festival; Vermont Festival of the Arts, Mad River Valley; Lake Champlain Maritime Festival, Burlington; Summer Art in the Park Festival, Rutland; Champlain Valley Fair, Essex Junction; Plymouth Folk & Blues Concerts; New World Festival at Chandler, Randolph; 17th annual Southern Vermont Garlic & Herb Festival, Bennington; 20th annual South End Art Hop, Burlington; Killington Hay Festival; The World’s Fair, Tunbridge; Stowe Rotary’s Oktoberfest; ninth annual Vermont Fine Furniture & Woodworking Festival, Woodstock; Northern Decadence Vermont, Burlington; and Dummerston Congregational Church Famous Apple Pie Festival.
Champlain College named Bruce M. Lisman 2011 Champlain College Distinguished Citizen for his “longtime devotion to education and service to Vermont.” The Burlington native was chair of JP Morgan Chase’s global equities division when he retired in 2009 after a long career on Wall Street.
Megan Humphrey, director of Helping and Nurturing Diverse Seniors (HANDS), announced the following officers and directors: Gail Moreau, Heineberg Senior Center, president; Carla Bond, secretary/treasurer; Susan Luce; and Laurie O’Hanlon.
Attorney James W. Murdoch was named Family Law Lawyer of the Year for 2012 by Best Lawyers. •