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For over 50 years, the Vermont Economic Development Authority has helped businesses grow, created jobs, and strengthened communities. Like in our Vermont hometowns, VITA knows the power of dreams and works with entrepreneurs and farmers to bring those dreams to life. It first started as a way to develop industrial parks and attract manufacturing businesses with the intent on creating new sustainable jobs to support and grow the Vermont workforce and economy. In the 1940s, the state lost most of its textile industry.

So the state had a pretty concerted effort to go outside of Vermont and attract manufacturing into Vermont. We had no steady source of new companies to come in to offer jobs or to raise the standard of hay or whatever. We had to build physical industrial parks and VITA was created really to be the financing partner for the state. You have to buy the land to develop a park, you've got to improve it, and then you've got to go out and find companies to buy land.

And so the money is borrowed by the development corp. There's interest on it, and so VITA has to kind of sit and wait and have confidence that there'll be enough lots sold eventually. They would be very patient and they would wait until we sold a piece of land. And they would take part of the proceeds back to pay the interest and to pay the principal.

We could issue taxes and bonds and banks could buy them for quite a wide variety of bigger projects. Those would help those companies finance their projects more cheaply. And the fees that we made on issuing those taxes and revenue bonds helped fund the small business loan program. It was a very methodical process of developing the parks, but it also took a pretty good sales endeavor.

It became clear that the reputation that VITA created could prove to support other areas of the Vermont economy. In the 1980s, VITA responded to the needs of local farmers during a time of highly volatile milk prices. Today, VITA support continues to keep Vermont's agricultural traditions strong and vibrant. The agriculture economy is cyclical.

It can go up, it can go down. It's a national, international market. Right, agriculture has always been very key to Vermont's economy and very well supported by the legislature. VITA was asked to step up and help small and medium sized dairy farmers who had a lot of debt.

Uncertainty in the agricultural business itself propelled the legislature to want to afford to agriculture the same types of beneficial lending that the industrial side of the economy was getting. We see cheese really as a powerful force for good, a way that we can leverage different markets to deliver livable wages for the farmers that we work with and to concentrate wealth back in our community in a way that commodity markets have failed to do. When somebody walks through your barn and starts looking at your cows to buy the whole herd and you have that feeling in your stomach, you know that you're not ready to get out. I thought we were selling the farm, I didn't really think there was any other option.

We had no idea that there were so many options out there. We really thrive on looking at what the opportunities are and the ways that we can really be helpful. In order to succeed here, we need to operate at just a higher frequency and deliver something that is just heads above the rest. Then through the years, we really diversified what we did.

We went beyond the debt stabilization program to really providing financing for all types of agriculture and now forestry as well. VITA has been at the table to work with those farmers, work with those businesses to help them grow and evolve. VITA plays a role in that changing landscape where they can come and get that financing to kickstart that idea and their dream. As it became evident that Vermont was becoming more and more of a tourist destination, VITA expanded in the 1990s to support ski resorts, hotels and attractions welcoming tourists from around the world.

It was incredibly helpful for the tourism community on both sides of the mountain, in particular the resorts to expand their operations and investments. The ski industry by definition is capital intensive business. We've been as frugal as we could possibly be as I think anyone could be, but you couldn't turn it around without capital. We weren't in a position to be bankable at all.

And so really our only banking partner out of the gate was VITA. Traditionally it's not thought of as generating huge jobs, numbers of jobs the way manufacturing is. So it's a slightly different policy goal for the state. It's bringing outside dollars in and that's tax revenue.

So that's important. In 2013, VITA launched a renewable energy program to create a greener future. From solar power to energy efficiency, VITA is building a cleaner tomorrow. VITA was working as an instrumentality of the state of Vermont to form what was really among the first programs of its kind in the nation.

Most of our lending in that space has been in the form of solar energy, either for businesses to install solar at their facility or stand alone solar farms. The role we play is to help get businesses or sectors or lenders over a gap. And that was a big growth area for us. And now we are seeing that other lenders are stepping in and filling that gap.

Across the nation, interconnection of renewable energy projects to the grid is one of the most pressing issues facing not only our industry, but all of us. I think we have seen scientists clearly demonstrate the effects of climate change. When tough times hit, like floods or global pandemics, VITA steps in with emergency loans to keep businesses strong and communities resilient. When the pandemic struck, Sam and VITA in general just really jumped in and understood the struggles that we were going through at the time and really the uncertainty that everyone was going through at the time and really just held out their hand to help us.

And it was really helpful to have Sam and everyone at VITA. They had our backs at that time. Well, there was a definite need. I mean, it was a disaster, natural disaster, that a lot of the businesses were affected.

I mean, you have to think about repayment rates when you're lending money. And the repayment rate was astonishingly high for businesses that had really been hit very hard. So we underwrote the loans quickly and we closed them quickly. VITA is more than a leader.

It's a partner. By working with banks and credit unions, VITA creates a powerful foundation for growth. Ensuring Vermont businesses compete not just locally, but nationally. You've got the legislature.

We have to have good relationships with the legislature. The business community generally are borrowers, state government, the local development corporations. So there's lots of banks. And then the capital markets now that VITA borrows from have to be had.

So there's really quite a few different constituencies to deal with. And what was always interesting and encouraging about VITA was the recognition that they were not the primary lender, if you will, in making these projects happen or making these deals happen, that they were focusing on working with community institutions in Vermont, financial institutions. And that partnership really was embedded in state statute decades ago. And again, as VITA has evolved over the years and the decades, they've stayed true to that recognition, even with the new programs that they've been given by the legislature.

We were able to work with the banks, and that made a real difference because the bank could take a first position, and we can take the second position and get the loan done. That was very important because many of these companies we lent to were very good companies, but they were weak. They didn't have a long performance record. VITA provided that comfort that the banks needed so the loan could be made.

At VITA, creating jobs means building a future for Vermont families, supporting innovation, fueling economic growth, and focusing on wage growth. VITA ensures Vermont remains a place where businesses thrive and workers prosper. With VITA, Vermont's been able to grow in a way that is absolutely perfectly fit for Vermont's character and quality. The emphasis on growing quality businesses and creating high-value-only jobs.

So the growth has been pretty significant, and our business has grown. You know, our top line has more than doubled since we've been here. Approaching our 10-year anniversary here at this place, and where we were able to borrow... A big loan.

A big loan to build a new barn. We went from just the four of us. We're operating at 80 to 90 percent, and we have a team of 82, 83, full-time year-round. We have 400 people on the payroll, but when you multiply that by the families involved, the businesses involved, the amount of money that we put back into the local economy, we're talking about thousands of people that are positively affected.

But you can't tell by looking at a solar array the impact that it had on the community. So with Green Lantern alone, the benefit to the state of Vermont is over a million dollars a year, every year from our arrays. As we look to the future, VITA's mission remains as strong as ever. Helping Vermont businesses grow, innovate, and thrive.

With a legacy of supporting hundreds of world-renowned companies and local entrepreneurs, VITA ensures that Vermont's economy stays competitive and vibrant. VITA is also a respected partner, working with the government and its partners to provide support in times of crisis and shape the industries that keep our state resilient. By adapting the changes in industries and embracing technologies and programs that align with its mission, VITA will continue to build a bright, sustainable future where dreams take root and flourish for generations to come.

I'll never forget it. I'll never forget the feeling of getting out of my father's Plymouth Duster and walking across the campus and seeing where I was going to live. It was a little adorable red farmhouse and I walked where we were going to eat and there's two picnic tables and then it just got better from there. How many miles can I run during GMR?

Trying to explain that to someone else is like probably gives some really confused looks but it's the combination of pushing yourself really hard but then doing it with people that you love and that you respect, it brings that fun factor to the hard work and that's a really successful combination. One of my favorite things about Burke were the ski races. Students would often help out and that was great and parents and community and just the amount of effort that it took to put on a ski race and Burke Mountain Academy always did it with such pride and such professionalism and those were just some of my favorite days when I just felt the most proud. I came to BMA as a student athlete that was already on the US ski team as a 15-year-old starting to travel and my mom is a school teacher in the school district where I was at really wholeheartedly said we can't support Diane and her endeavors.

So I came here a sophomore in high school. It took me five years to graduate because I was traveling and a full-time member on the US ski team. I won my world championship gold while I was here as a student at Burke at the age of 17 and I hold the record for the youngest world champion ever in the history of the sport and so it creates a unique environment, something that only this school can really support. Well, one of the reasons why I decided to come here was my parents both actually came to Burke Mountain Academy.

That's where they met. So when I was growing up, it kind of always seemed like a natural path to come and be a part of Burke and join the community. It is pretty, it's interesting being growing up in an athletic family, especially with my dad. He was super into sports.

So from like the moment I can remember, we were always throwing around a ball or going to baseball games or watching basketball, whatever it may be, developing athletes kind of always got ingrained into me. We'd always be talking about it. That's still now what we talk about. I mean, I was here when Warren Witherill was the headmaster.

You know, he was a really pretty amazing person. Just his ideas and how he expressed himself and really his influence. I think the school wouldn't be what it is without the foundational value system that he put in place. Amazingly optimistic about people and human nature.

I think that's why he really gave so much trust to the students. We gather in the front room in the Fraser House, the entire school, and Warren, he'd tell stories. He'd love to tell stories. But they always had, you know, some meaning.

Ski racing is a small community. You can travel almost literally anywhere in the globe and find someone who knows a Berkey. Whether that's on a mountain in South America that like, hey, you're from Burke? Oh, I know a Berkey.

So it's really cool community to be a part of. And then just the gnarliness of the sport alone, ski racing, I mean, you win 10% of, no, you don't win 10%. You sometimes you never win. There's people that never won or they, but they've done their best and they feel good about that.

And some of my best races were 12th place that I felt better on the 12th place than maybe the one I won. The good thing is that everybody else is going through it too. And they know what you're doing, going through. So that's nice.

Like we've always kind of wanted to have gritty kids. So we'll be outside, you know, doing field circuits in the morning in the fall or it's 30 degrees and or if it's pouring rain. Wherever you're at, if you have a self-awareness of what you're good at and what you struggle with, you will do really well here. The learning doesn't stop when class ends.

We don't have bells that kind of signal the end of, end of the class day and the end of the learning. It's meant to continue and that involves eating meals with your teachers, doing workouts with your teachers. Where people can come here and find out who they are as an individual and come out of their shell and Burke prides themselves on that. So then it's, you know, just moving over and being proud of who you are.

So who they think they are and by this process of sort of pushing on their comfort zone, I think we get closer to who they can be. Just an amazingly supportive place. Kids are not afraid to fail. They're getting out of their comfort zone.

And I think that's a great lesson for them. And I think it serves them well for throughout their lives. You know, when you're standing in that start gate and you know that you've climbed that mountain with your buddy on your back and the freezing cold in October when you really didn't want to and it's about to snow and you're leaving for ski camp in two days, it goes a long ways to know that you you push yourself to that level.

I can remember sitting in Mrs. Blanchard's kindergarten class. They were asking us, "What are we going to be when we grow up?" And I said, "I'm going to be a dairy farmer."

I knew that then, and I know that now. Across the Northeast, generations of farmers rise before dawn, caring for the land, their animals, and the communities that depend on them. For 20 years, Phoenix Feeds and Nutrition has stood by their side, sharing in their challenges and helping to build a legacy that nourishes the future. The farms of the Northeast are more than businesses.

They're living legacies. Built by hands that have endured every season, these farms are monuments to the strength of the families and communities they sustain, passed down through generations. Farming is a very unique industry where you have multiple generations working alongside each other. So I wake up every morning with a certain level of anxiety and a certain level of excitement.

I love what I do. Want to do it as long as I can. I think my interest lays in the excitement of passing the farm on to the next generation, and whatever it takes to do that. Family businesses can be extremely challenging, but when I can sit in my office on a Monday morning and have my father sitting beside me, my brother beside me, my niece, and my son, that's pretty awesome.

And not a lot of people get to experience that. I think that Ag provides people of any age, any background, the opportunity to really feel that they are impactful and that they are doing good work and what they do is meaningful. I wish people to understand the sacrifice that they give. It's not financial sacrifice, it's not just personal sacrifice.

They are literally giving their all to the health of these animals, to the quality of the product going out, and making sure that we all have this healthy, nutritious product available to all of us at an appropriate cost. When you can show folks how food is grown, what it takes to grow it, the amount of work that goes into it, and they close their mind, they have no idea. Today's farmers face a delicate balancing act, juggling rising production costs, fluctuating market prices, and the unyielding demands of the land. From navigating inflation to enduring shifts in milk prices, they continue to adapt and persevere, not just for themselves, but for all of us.

I really think farmers are the face of resilience and perseverance because they always have to adapt and pivot based on the circumstances that they're not able to control. And us as farmers, we're price takers, we're not price makers, so things like milk prices are federally regulated. Farming at the end of the day is a business, you want it to be profitable. You know, you're up all hours of the night when you're drying grain to get this product perfect, but people don't see that.

With input costs continually rising, and feed bills generally being one of the higher bills that a farm receives, it's important that we keep those costs controlled as much as we can and pass those savings on to farms. They know that the feed that we're providing them ultimately improves their bottom line. Without this feed spec'd to exactly their needs, they wouldn't be producing as much milk to the quality that their customers are asking for. You know, we're under a lot more regulation than we were, you know, 10 years ago and certainly 20 years ago.

And all those things kind of have a cost to them and it can be pretty significant. We need to be looking at what is the break even cost to produce 100 pounds of milk that you need to get at, because that includes other sources of income not directly related to your milk check. You know, yes the cows produce milk that makes the milk check, but they've been looking for other sources, maybe that's selling beef, maybe that's selling, you know, food through a market stand, etc. Maybe that's implementing an agritourism business.

That's another way that farmers can rely on income that's not related to the milk check. And so we need to be looking at the break even a cost of producing 100 pounds of milk. The farmer is not getting that $3.65 that you see at the store.

They're getting a very small portion of that. Sustainability isn't just a goal, it's the key to survival. Farmers are redefining care for the land with renewable energy, rotational cropping, and diversification. By blending tradition with progress, they are creating a more resilient and sustainable future.

I would like to see us be able to have an industry that is increasingly easy on the environment. Environmental sustainability is something that dairy farmers and other farmers have always been doing without, you know, being at the front and center. And so it's funny that we talk about sustainability today. The cool thing about farming is that ecological sustainability and financial sustainability go hand in hand.

You know, an extra 20 gallons of diesel fuel to do something that doesn't make sense ecologically also doesn't make sense financially. You know, we're looking at dairy performance on a weekly basis. What's milk production like? What's all the, you know, the increase of running a dairy?

What's going on in that weekly basis? A penny here, a penny there, adds up. It's our duty that we are the stewards of the land and you can say that all you want, but you have to put that into practice every day to really make that a truthful state. We want to work with them on a common solution to the problem.

Being open to knowing that one side doesn't fit all is really important to us. And I think we're really personalized as well with our customer service and specifically our collections on the accounts receivable side. We want to make it work for the farmer. Farming's future isn't just about land.

It's about passing down resilience, innovation and hope. By nurturing these values, today's farmers ensure that the next generation inherits not only a farm, but a way of life grounded in strength and community. There's been four generations behind me that put everything they had in to keep everything rolling. And so my parents are definitely in that stage of their life where they're semi-retired.

So they're trying to move out and out of day-to-day operations and letting my brother and I, you know, move in. It's hard for an older guy like me to let go of the reins, but you know, we work really hard at it here every day and an operation this size, no one person can manage it all anyway. This business is going to be poised to be very successful into the future. 40 to 50 percent of the American agricultural equity, buildings, equipment, farmland, will change hands in the next 15 years.

So as a feed dealer to those farms, I think it's important for us and our sustainability as a business to figure out how we are going to change. As we all know, we're all family businesses at farm and as we all know, there's times when we wish everybody didn't know everything. And it takes a real effort when you work together and live together to make sure that you give everybody space. He was there with a gentle guiding hand, certainly saying, "When we had a new idea that he was nervous about, here's why I might do it the other way, but never said absolutely not."

We've definitely taken the farm to a different place than where my grandparents had it, and they definitely took it to a different place than where they're, where my grandfather had his grandfather had it. I see my niece, I see my nephew, I see my other nieces, I see my son, I see my daughter finding their way in pieces and parts of agriculture and dairy community and the dairy industry. And it just fills me with joy. They were born and raised on the farm, and really as a farmer, that's all I wanted was to give them the opportunity to choose.

Do you want to be a part of this? Great, let's make it happen. Do you want to find another space for you? Great, let's make it happen.

And working hard and having advantages and privilege made sure that we could give them those choices. We've all, pretty much every generation has fundamentally changed how we farm here and embraced the newest innovations and newest practices to keep improving the lives of our animals and the lives of the people that we sell milk to. Although some days it seems like that's, they're always here, you know, unfortunately someday they won't be. So how, you know, how do we set ourselves up for the future challenges with what they learned from yesterday?

For two decades Phoenix Feeds and Nutrition has been proud to support the farmers of the Northeast. To every farmer who rises early and never gives up, thank you. Together we look forward to the next 20 years of growth, innovation, and shared success. Farmers feed the world and we help them do it.

In the tranquil turning of the seasons in Vermont, the coolness of winter approaches, like most communities around the nation, Vermonters face many challenges, from economic instability to natural disasters. However, through collaboration with its citizens, industries, and government, an idea was born. Wheels for Warps, for more than 17 years, has been a beacon of hope with lasting impacts on the community it serves. It's a big barn raising.

People are coming together, doing what's needed to get people what they need to get prepared for the winter, get tires on their cars, and get tires recycled in the places they need to go. We've been through a lot over the last number of years. We had the Irene 10 years ago. We just had the flooding in July.

We had a pandemic. So we've seen time and time again how Vermonters want to help, and they help their neighbors when they're in need. From the very beginning, each year as temperatures drop, the community comes together, uniting for a cause. Garages, barns, and warehouses are emptied of unneeded tires and brought to drop-off locations across the state.

Next, the tires that pass inspection by the DMV are sold back to those who need them most at reasonable prices. With inflation and everything else going on, the fact that you can come here and get a set of winter tires, no more than $120, I mean that's huge. I mean, when somebody has to choose between whether or not they're going to fill their oil tank over getting winter tires to safely get themselves to and from, that's sad. So the fact that we can provide that is just unbelievable.

To go out and get a brand new set of tires at the store, paying $400 or $500, versus coming here and spending $100 to $130 or so, it's a big difference. Maybe you bought a new vehicle and you didn't use the tires that much, those tires are actually getting another life and then all the money that's raised is going to heating assistance. So it's really a win-win. Well, I thought I was going to beat the crowd by showing up at $630, but I was rudely awakened when I saw 30 cars parked.

So some folks want some tires, it's a big deal. Today I'm on the grill the last two days. I've been helping setting up and it's a lot of fun. Money goes to a great organization trying to help Vermonters in need and that's what we need.

Wheels for Warms allows the community to discard their unwanted tires affordably, enables others to purchase state-inspected tires for less, and the program keeps unwanted tires out of Vermont's rivers and along roadways. Last year on Green Up Day we had 23,500 volunteers pick up nearly 400 tons of trash and 15,000 tires out of our public spaces. So events like these can help with keeping those tires out of our natural environment. It's just really, really cool as a part of the Norwich community to be able to bring the girls back here to get dirty, lug some tires around and help the community.

It feels really good every year. There's all kinds of tires here. Sometimes they've been well used and sometimes they're almost new and it's an unbelievable resource because we know tires are very expensive. Heat is very expensive and there's a lot of Vermonters, our neighbors, who really can't afford either a new tire or to keep their home warm.

We have an unbelievable need across Vermont for heating assistance especially and for those people that are less fortunate that on... Get back to work. 18 years. Hold on 18 years we've been here.

Well I've been 17. We fell on some hard times this year. We are in like emergency housing and my partner's in school and so it's one income and this really helps. We're getting winter tires, yep.

Vermont is a community. It's not just a state and we worry about each other. Actively caring for people. It's a big theme across all of us.

From the serenity of snowy mornings to the warmth of hearths at dusk, Vermont's spirit remains undeterred. At Casilla, we celebrate each milestone achieved by Wheels for Warmth as a testament to community resilience and unity. And as more wheels roll forward, they bring more and more Vermonters the warmth of community and care.

We stand at a crossroads in time, the year 1914, a world where men believe they could tame the wild. This is a story about a ringmaster, Theodore Lemure, who thought he had buried his secrets. But on a cold Vermont night, his train was sabotaged, his animals set free, and he was found dead. The town believes it was a rival.

But was it? Or was it something more primal? In this twisted circus, the animals are the suspects, and the truth lies somewhere between the wild beast and the man who tried to control it. The whistle of the train was an illusion of control.

With a single crash, all of that order shattered. The beast was free. For in the quiet town of St. Albans, creatures from a world far away were let loose.

These outsiders, these wild things, were met by a town consumed by fear of the unfamiliar. The townspeople, so proud of their law and order, became a mob. They didn't see a lion. They saw a monster.

They didn't see a giraffe. They saw a wild thing that was not from here. And in a world where we fear what we don't understand, we all become a little less human. And so, the circus left St.

Albans a changed town, its animals contained. The town's truth is not the whole truth. The cloaked figure was a ghost from a world Theodore Lemieux had abandoned. It was the physical embodiment of the wildness he tried to deny.

This figure wasn't just a murderer. It was a righteous, primal force, killing not out of hatred, but out of defiance. It was a final roar against the slow, inevitable taming of the natural world, a chilling reminder that you can never truly escape the past. It will always come back to find you.

Jinjae. Sorry, sir. It's just that, well, I'm-- It is. Well, it's Christmas, sir.

Yeah, Humbug. Oh, dear. Sir? What, Jinjae?

Well, since it's Christmas, do you suppose I could have a taste of a cool, gingery Venetian? I so have longed to try one. You're just fallen deaf ears, tin man. Robots don't need ginger ale.

They need oil, and they need gears. Sometimes I wonder if my great-great-grandfather didn't get your wires crossed. Ah, well, this nonsense has made me late. Now I must hasten through this cold and dreary night to the Black Flannel Brewing Company with my new recipe before they close on this blithering holiday.

I want every last one of these bottles packed before tomorrow. And no more talk of this drinking of the profits, boy. Till do you no good. Yes, sir.

Christmas. Aw. Hey, Schmuck. Yeah, you with the hat.

Who calls my name? Puts. You don't recognize your great-uncle Frank? I used to run this soda plant back in the day.

Right after the old man croaked, I must have sold nearly a million cases myself. What do you want with me, spirit? Ah, tall glass of ginger ale, a nice cigar, maybe a couple of dames and a hot steak dinner. Maybe I could help you with that?

Don't be an idiot, kid. Listen, I ain't here on no vacation, OK? I didn't come down here to shoot craps with you. I'm here to maintain my ghost union card.

Ghosts have unions. You bet. Check this out. Ghost union local 138, see?

Yes, it appears to be authentic. What's this got to do with me? I'm in a bit of a rush. Look, I'm here to make sure that my kinfolk are staying abreast to keep it on the good side of things.

You get me? No. See that bucket of bolts in there? My father built that stammer in Doohickey with his own two hands.

He loved that mechanical puppet. He treated him like he was his own son. Used to bring him to baseball games and take him for rides in the countryside. I mean, it was a real cockeyed fairy tale.

Ginger even used to come around to the house for the holidays, every Christmas. He had his own stocking hung up on the chimney with his name on it. And then one day, the old man has a heart attack. Boom, dead.

And Gingy, well, he just stopped working. Seized up like a-- like an old busted bottling machine. What happened? Damned if I know.

Some people say it was a rusty gearbox. Others, broken heart. Weird thing was, nobody could get him working again. I mean, we must have had half a dozen guys come and take a look at him.

Nothing doing. Eventually, we just brought him down to the basement where he sat until-- Till I found him. Till you found him. That's right.

So why don't you show him a little respect, huh? Stop clowning around. Give him a day off once in a while. Maybe you'll feel ginger ale.

Take your blame for me, Spirit. I did not know his fate was so closely tied to mine. Well, now you do. And I get another stamp on my union card.

So thanks, kid. Remember, once a Venetian, always a Venetian. Always a Venetian. Always a Venetian.

Always a Venetian. Oh, my gosh. Did you forget your glasses, sir? You know, Ginger, I've been thinking, why don't you take the rest of the night off?

Tomorrow we can come back and finish off. Oh, sir. This is the most wonderful Christmas ever. One last thing.

Uh-oh. Let's have a drink. Two ounces of black flannel Dutch sauce. One half ounce of lime juice.

Top it off with a Venetian ginger ale. Icy cool, of course. To my most cherished employee and my dear friend. Cheers, Ginger.

My cup runneth over, sir. Cheers. Ooh. Spicy.

God bless us, everyone. Ooh.