SMART Holdings USA

Rose Computer Technology Services and David Rose poised as a next generation IT / IS solution provider has the largest IT Sales Force in Vermont.

SMARTvt.org – SMART Holdings USAChairman, Mark Renkert, President, Michael Kipp, Michael Hussey, Gabrielle Meunier drive SMART Holdings USA economic Development Engine Creating US Companies and Jobs . SMARTvt created a task force that provides resources, education, training, financing solutions to business startups for approved plans. About SMARTvt.org. Vermont's largest solution provider featuring teams of subject-matter experts with one voice as one firm; SMARTvt.org, a global consultancy offering sustainable socially responsible applications such as Hands-on Engineering, Accounting, Finance, Marketing, New Product Development, Research, Medical Devices and Technology, Pharmaceuticals, Telephony, E-enterprise, IT / IS implementation - service, Merger & Acquisition, LBO, Business Valuation, Forensic Accounting, SEC Compliance, Petrochemical Extraction, Defense Systems, and global manufacturing enterprises. .

Vermont businesses, non-profits, and organizations using the center as a confluence of ideas, the exchange of creative spark, and the implementation of plans – all aligned with Truth, Quality, Excellence and category leadership: like Vermont Maple Syrup……. #1 in its category; Ice Cream - #1 in its category; Champlain Cable - #1 in its category; Dealer.com - #1 in its category; FAHC - #1 in its category; GMCR - #1 in its category; Tucel - #1 in its category; Shelburne Plastics - #1 in its category; Hubbardton Forge - #1 in its category; Rhino Foods - #1 in their category and the list goes on.

Johnson said that the ideas conceptualized and exchanged at Basin Harbor Club cultivate a richness and success she hasn’t seen anywhere else.

“The retreat center at Basin Harbor has birthed more expansion ideas, creative programs, leadership development programs, and powerful lasting momentum building campaigns than any other business center in Vermont,” says Swisher Hygiene, CFO, Michael J. Kipp (Swisher Hygiene was listed in Forbes Magazine as the most acquisition oriented company in the world.)

Vermont Flight Academy President, Douglas Smith said, “Places like Basin Harbor Club are ideal for pilot lunch-n-learn venues where amphibious aircraft pilots can attend current Water-bourne Aviation Trainings .”

Johnson said these are the types of events she’s developing and that are part of Basin Harbor Club’s every-day operation.

Issue # 6, Economic Development, Jan 2013

SMARTvt MAGAZINE

Bringing People To VermontSMARTvt Matches People With Vermont

Companies

SMARTvt has been adding people to Vermont workforce in record numbers for two years. Businesses are puzzled in how to attract innovators earning great wages from places like Wash., DC. Despite SMARTvt’s efforts, the state’s Labor Force is shrinking; fewer are

Vermont’s Power Center for Business & Job Creation

Your Issue

Contents

Changing Faces

Ward Lumber CEO, Jay Ward meets with SMARTvt Delegation discussing Timber Technologies and Job Creation in the Adirondack Region.

Scott Decker appointed Editor-in-Chief SMARTvt Magazine. Decker assumes command of the New England Economic Development Publication

SMARTvt’s John Mayer takes over Shelburne Plastics as CFO of the multi-state bottle maker for the consumer products market

…..Economic Development Vermont…..

Says, VT State Economist Art Wolfe, Vermont’s population and especially its work force are shrinking. Economic Developers are strategizing on how to attract younger workers. Smartvt.org seems to have figured it out.

Working in Washington, D.C. is a long way from Burlington, VT but that did not stop Daniel Eyers, an IT Engineering Innovator from Virginia who recently decided to move to

IT Innovator from Virginia joins SMARTvt and Rose Computer Technologies.

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Issue # 6, Economic Development, Jan

When Dan Eyer thought about moving to Vermont he was amazed by how many employers told him not to. "First they started with Vermont's high cost of living, then they described the State's taxes, then the few choices that residents have for health care, then how they rated as among the poorest payers, and last," he added, "... they described that on any given day that Vermont and Maine are tied with the nation's oldest populace," and then said, "they said I'd never last a winter."

His wife Carolyn said, "Hmm ...... with all that news -- what's not to love about Vermont?"   The couple in their late 20's see the conundrum that faces Vermont employers in attracting a "farm league" for their work force. 

Nonetheless, Eyer, with his wife Carolyn’s parents living on the Champlain Islands, decided to move his family to Vermont despite what the Human Resources Department employees told him.

Eyers () ( ) was unique.  He features a rare set of complex computer engineering skills that feature both human cooperation and complex problem solving expertise in Information Systems and Technologies.  While his college degree is English from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and University, he continued to self-train earning powerful advanced certifications in IT. Working along the Washington DC belt-line which has had the largest number of jobs during this depression he always found good jobs.  He worked for leading edge companies, while continuously self-training,  gaining valuable expertise that Vermont employers are eager to have.  Four employers actively sought him.

Says, SMART Holdings USA Board President, Michael J. Kipp, CPA, "This is the essence of what SMARTvt.org is about. driving the mantra of taking ownership of your own continual self-development and constantly showing value to potential employers and making the pursuit of innovation relentless."

Kipp adds, "Look at Eyer's .... too few of today's professionals show this kind of progression and personal ownership of their careers...... and he did this all while working full time and raising a family.   "

SMARTvt.org's, Mark Renkert, who from a Washington Belt-line source learned that Eyers was seeking to live in Vermont. He introduced Rose Computer Technology Services of Williston, VT that is working on leading-edge projects and a great diversity of power-clients.  The chemistry between the two was palpable and despite having another offer, Eyers joined RCTS.

Before joining RCTS he was with Jorge Scientific Corporation, a company that specializes in providing mission-critical national security solutions to the U.S. armed forces, intelligence communities and federal civilian agencies. The company provides adaptive support focused on counterinsurgency and intelligence, secure logistics and secure technology, cyber defense, advanced infrastructure, legal analysis and program management.

Vermont’s Fastest Growing Managed IT Services Company.

Dan Eyers Moves From VA to VT

A Technology Innovator

SMART Holdings USA

D

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Issue # 6, Economic Development, Jan SMART Holdings USA

Frontier Family technology pioneers in Today’s Modern World

An Aggregated Story from Several Sources and from Reporter Notes During January’s visit.

Jay, New York, the upper tier of New York State and nestled in the Adirondack Mountains.

Recently a delegation from SMART Holdings USA, SMARTvt.org toured Ward Lumber Corporations Headquarters and Manufacturing Operation.

SMARTvt’s Mark Renkert and Ward CEO, Jay Ward

Jay Ward, CEO and his brother Jeff, SVP of Operations, have mastered the wisdom of the mountains and integrated into today’s technological generation integrating some of the most advanced computer and sawyer applications in the market.

To be sure, it is still dangerous work but the Ward’s are proud of their Record Setting Days-Without-An-Injury Ratio to some of the best data in the US.

The plant can have over 150 workers during peak demand periods and the training involved is intensive.

Said Jay, “It can take years to train product quality inspectors who rate and grade product faster than most people can run.”Jay remembers his father, an economic development leader, who passed away years ago. The Timber business was so large that.. “This

whole valley was stripped at one time,” he remembers his father saying, “part of it by fire and the rest for farmland and timber harvesting.” He pauses. “Now, of course, it’s all forest. That parcel back there,” he says, pointing over his shoulder, “is some of our own timberland.”

Looking around the valley from the central vantage point of the Ward Lumber log yard, the mountains today look almost pristine—untouched save for the widespread damage recently inflicted by nature herself in the devastating “Ice Storm of ‘98.”

Indeed, it would not be unreasonable for tourists to think they were looking at virgin forestland, following the Ausable River as it winds through the valley down from Lake Placid, a short drive to the southwest. That’s because both Placid and the town of Jay are located within New York’s Adirondack Park—a six million-acre “forest preserve” in which timber harvesting is prohibited on the roughly 2.5 million acres of stateowned land and restricted to some extent on the remaining 3.5 million privatelyowned acres.

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Issue # 6, Economic Development, Jan

Failure Analysis Engineer appointed SMARTvt Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief with the primary mission to expand readership on Linked In, Facebook, SMARTvtnotes Blog– the information source for business professionals seeking to grow their business base, enroll in on-going professional development programs, access resources to grow their businesses and to connect people, resources, opportunities, and capital.Says SMARTvt President, Michael J. Kipp, CPA, “Decker’s an engineer and he has an uncanny ability to perfectly describe and translate complex matters for the every day person and this is great resource for employers seeking training platforms.”Dr. Michael Olson, SMARTvt’s Director of On-Line Learning says, “Readers will have marvelous opportunities to learn about the Subject Matter Expertise of our organization and Scott will be able to print and apply training modules.”Chairman, Mark Renkert, said, “When I met Scott I was struck by his passion of syntax, grammar, and his unique ability to write about the impossible. We hold that today’s workers are personally responsible for their own professional development and he’ll be able to make that happen for others.”

, SMARTvt’s Manufacturing Finance Guru is joins Shelburne Plastics. Mayer will lead operations in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York and Maryland as SP’s Chief Financial Officer.The Vermont based company produces custom engineered molds using (CNC) equipment and (CAD) systems. CAD systems enable SB to quickly modify designs and custom design bottles. 

Shelburne Plastics with expertise in high quality HDPE and Polypropylene bottles and containers to the dairy, water, juice, chemical and food markets throughout the Eastern United States and Eastern Canada. Each of our plants is IMS rated for the highest sanitary standards.

Shelburne Plastics operates a fleet of tractor trailers to provide timely deliveries on a 7 day/3 shift operation.

Shelburne Plastics has grown significantly since its inception in 1978. The company has established a reputation for competitive pricing, quality workmanship, on-time delivery and service and has expanded heavily into applying green-friendly plastic products that decompose quickly in landfills and never enter the groundwater.

SMARTvt’s Gabrielle Meunier appointed Financial Controller for Leading National Engineering Solution Provider Moscow Mills, Inc, in Stowe, Vermont. Meunier was selected following a international search and her subject matter expertise with Tax, Currency Conversions, Financial Modeling, Investor Dialogue, Federal and State Investment Vehicles, Contracts, and multi-national business were key factors in her selection. Gabrielle had been a Senior Financial Advisor with Pomerleau in Burlington. She also is a leading advisor for SMARTvt where she, with a team from SMARTvt, built one of Nantucket’s largest employers, Nantucket Property Works. Said Anderson LeVille, President of Moscow Mills in extending invitations for SMARTvt Bench Members: “ Mark, Thank your for the recommendation for Gabrielle. She is very sharp... started this coming MondayOur team is very pleased to have her on board... We have all sorts of fantastic things going on here...  looking forward to her high level support to take us to the next level... Again thank you .. Very Best -- Anderson Leveille, Moscow Mills Inc. Vibration Solutions North P.O. Box 1076 Stowe, VT  05672 tel: 802-253 2036, ext.108 Direct:802-760-6470 fax: 802-253-4208 “

SMART Holdings USA

Vis i tors—most of whom are aware tha t they a re in a “ forever wi ld” preserve but may not know tha t fores t management i s a l lowed on the pr iva te land in the Park—often confuse   the two. To the unt ra ined eye , in fac t , some of the land managed for t imber product ion i s more inv i t ing than the “ forever wi ld” parce ls .

Observers wi th a l i t t l e more fores t ry savvy, by cont ras t , see an obvious d i s t inc t ion . S ta te -owned land i s domina ted in many cases by over -aged t imber , which , s ince the  es tab l i shment of the Adi rondack Park Fores t Preserve more than a century ago , has been a l lowed to fa l l over and decay . Many wi ld l i fe spec ies prefe r managed fores t s  because they conta in more d ivers i ty and thus , more oppor tuni t ies for food and she l te r .

“ I th ink i t ’ s a shame New York S ta te doesn’ t manage i t s l and in the Park ,” Jay remembers h i s fa ther say ing .

On one leve l—as a fami ly-owned whi te p ine sawmil l—Ward Lumber Co. i s a fa i r ly typ ica l en te rpr i se in the nor thern P ine Bel t . Hundreds of companies f i t t ing th i s nar row descr ip t ion a re sca t te red across the reg ion s t re tch ing f rom the Adi rondacks to the At lan t ic coas t .

They range in s izes and condi t ions— from 120 mi l l ion board   foot per -year behemoths , to opera t ions sawing a <1M sqf t . Some are successfu l , whi le o thers jus t bare ly hang in there . Many have become   technologica l marve ls , whi le a few s t i l l look more l ike someth ing out of the n ine teenth century . S ize has l i t t l e to do wi th success or fa i lure in the modern p ine bus iness .

But beyond the superficial similarities with other operations, Ward Lumber Co. is not a typical white pine sawmill. Over the generations, the company has joined an elite group of mills in the region, combining creative utilization of the forest resource—white pine logs in this case—with aggressive and imaginative marketing of the resulting lumber and all other byproducts.

In fact, the company is involved in every aspect of converting white pine into useful consumer products—from growing the trees to selling what they yield to the end user. As such, retail sales represent a big part of the company’s recent growth.

The Ward Lumber Co. hardware store and building center, located adjacent to the sawmill complex, has long provided a retail outlet for some of the mill’s finished products. The company expanded retail operations when it acquired a store from the defunct Grossman’s chain in Plattsburgh, a small city and major population center about 35 miles to the north on the Canadian border but then after years of operation tactically closed that store after Lowes opened 700 yards away.

Gordini CFO Matt Wilcox Pioneers Future