We did it again!

Vermont was recently ranked the “greenest” state in the  country in terms of our likelihood to act “green” more than any other state.  According to, Pitney Bowes Business Insight and Earthsense, Vermonters put our actions where our hearts are more than any other state in the nation.

While we can be proud to be known as the greenest thinkers and doers, we shouldn’t be lulled into thinking that because we “act” green; Vermont’s environment is, therefore, fully protected. Little progress has been made in          reducing phosphorus levels in Lake Champlain despite millions of    dollars committed to the problem.  In fact, Lake Champlain recently received negative press in the form of Peter Greenberg’s book, "Don't Go There: The Travel Detective's  Essential Guide to the Must-Miss Places of the World."

There is no question that Vermont is a rare and beautiful place and all of us want to protect our way of life and our environment, but positive polls don’t make blue-green algae blooms go away.  Our actions and policies do. 

While we in Lamoille County may feel somewhat removed from the issue, Lake Champlain pumps billions of dollars into our economy and it is important to all of us that we not be complacent about her health - or any of our lakes’ and rivers’ health for that matter.

Be green. Be not blue-green algae ignorant.             

P.S.  Green Up Day is Saturday, May 2nd.  While it was Governor Deane C. Davis who provided the support for the idea, Green Up Day was the brainchild of Burlington reporter Robert S. Babcock, Jr. !

Over seventy thousand Vermonters turned out for that first Green Up Day in 1970.  Today, over fifteen thousand    people participate and more than forty thousand bags of trash are collected.

A list of Lamoille County Town Coordinators is available. If you, your business, or civic group would like to participate, that’s who to call.  Keep Vermont Green!  

  Mary L. Collins

I receive a lot of press releases.  I DO try to at least glance at them, if not read the more persuasive releases each week. There is a tremendous amount of business information in press releases that I find  helpful to my education and to  providing our clients and readers with useful news.

This week, I received a  press release from the American Institute For Economic Research, a think tank created during the Great Depression at MIT. The release discussed the auto industry’s recovery (or not) and which of the major auto manufacturers would survive. Without naming names, there was one statement that I found undeniably convincing. 

It was this,  “Furthermore, the company is led by an engineer, not a finance man, which might explain why it’s better at actually getting things done.”

What is most compelling to me about that statement, is the fact that most of our local small businesses are run by the “engineers”, not the financial managers. The “engineers” in this case are the small business proprietors who run their businesses in a very hands-on way. These are the business owners and  managers who are in the trenches with their  employees making “it” happen, whatever “it” is, every day. 

Certainly financial restraint and analysis is essential to running a successful business, but, if the person pulling all the strings has no visceral understanding of how to build the product or provide hands-on service to their       customers, it’s all just  numbers on a spreadsheet.  You can’t bring a business to life on paper alone, and you certainly can’t tack as deftly when the wind blows your business in one direction or another. 

Here’s to the person at the wheel - “gitt’n her done” and keeping our economy moving in his/her individual way for all of us.!                                                    

Mary L. Collins

While this is generally a sales-oriented column, I felt this week was a good time to talk about all the ways mothers manage multiple tasks that are essential to a family’s well-being. Without mom, oftentimes things just don’t happen as efficiently or fluently as they can.  Mothers are good managers.  (At least in my experience).  Mom manages systems, schedules, emotions and more and she does so with time constraints that sometimes boggle the imagination.

Working mothers are much more savvy than she has often been credited with being.  For example, in a study conducted by Catalyst, the Families and Work Institute, and Boston College, results showed that women closer to CEO reporting levels were actually more likely to have children than women of a similar age at the same or at lower levels. Also, 70% of Fortune´s list of America´s Most Powerful Women in Business is comprised of mothers.  Mothers DO rise to the highest levels in government, business & industry. And  mothers are often preferred managers because we have learned how to manage crisis well.

My mother raised five children and was the Director of the Vermont Poison Center for nearly 25 years.  She also did all the bookkeeping for my father’s trucking business and kept a very tidy house. This, all back in the late 50’s and early 60’s when most mothers were not working outside of the home.  When I think of my mother’s accomplishments, I’m quite amazed! Both of my grandmother’s were also working women, in a generation when women rarely stepped outside the role of wife, mother and homemaker.  My grandmother Collins ran a boarding house and my grandmother Compagna worked in a mill.  My GREAT grandmothers also worked – one as a boarding house operator, the other as a seamstress. 

Now, more than 75% of  mothers with school-aged children are in the workforce.  Unlike an earlier generation of working women who often felt like they had to be “Super Mom”, this generation of women seems to have found a better balance.  A lot of that balance comes from more enlightened working environments that are family and mom “friendly” and allow employees the option of flex time, tele-commuting and on-site child care facilities.  It also comes from women knowing our limitations and being able to set our defined   balance.

I, like 99.9 percent of the women of my generation have always been a working mother. Perhaps out of necessity, but in my close circle of women friends, most of us prefer to work because we have skills we want to use and feel it is a value to our children to be fully engaged in life and in work that is fulfilling to us.

To all the mothers who read this column - and you are ALL working mothers...

Happy Mother’s Day!         

Mary L. Collins

If I said the word “Barbie” an image would probably flash into your mind.  Whether or not Barbie was part of your personal world as a child, if you’ve been around for any of the past fifty years, you most likely have some idea of who she is and what kind of lasting impact she’s had in the world of little girls.  You might even recall who’s product she is -  That would be Mattel.  Both names have tremendous brand identity and power.

But you don’t have to be a  colossal toy company with a gold star product to have a need for brand  identity.  Think about the people you do business with - your auto mechanic, hairdresser, favorite restaurant, bank, etc.  Each has a “brand” identity and each is important to you and the way you live.

Too many businesses, new or established, spend inordinate amounts of time trying to figure out how to increase profits and very little time examining, critiquing and honing their “brand” identity in order to help those profits grow. What many  businesses fail to remember is that branding can be shaped but must be continuously supported to have lasting effect.  Your brand lives in the minds and experiences of your customers and clients.  So think about who you want to be, be realistic about who you are, and hone your brand with all the tools at your disposal - be it visual, visceral, or other.

Here are a few tips when thinking about branding:

Brand Equity: Quality is its hallmark. Higher quality products and services receive more market share and profitability than their more inferior competitors.

Positioning: Where your  product or service sits on the “ladder” in the minds of consumers -  It is a combination of name, image, standards, guarantees, packaging and delivery.

Repositioning:  Shifting your position to reflect changes in consumer behavior can help your business achieve longevity that some businesses fail to recognize before it’s too late.

Communication:  Developing a communication plan is not just for launching your business or when you have a seasonal sale.  It’s about developing and sustaining customer perceptions - to build, reinforce and retain your customer base through thoughtful, planned communication.

First On the Block: Those businesses that launch a new concept, approach or product are often the winners because their business becomes synonymous with their brand:  Think Xerox or Kleenex - brand names that are synonymous with the products they produce.  And even if you’re not “first”, be first in innovations or distinctions that help your version of what you do stand out in your market.

Internal Marketing: It is equally important to train your staff to understand your brand on multiple levels.  Successful internal marketing, sustains businesses through customer and employee loyalty.

What is your brand identity? 

 Mary L. Collins

Despite our best laid plans, we are not in control of everything. Sometimes life just happens. It’s something I was reminded of all too vividly and sadly this past holiday weekend.               

While driving home from a Memorial Day gathering with my family; my son, friend, and I happened upon the scene of a motorcycle accident.  Being the first car to arrive we jumped into action as best we could. My son alerted  on-coming traffic, my friend confirmed that an ambulance was on the way, and I grabbed a blanket from the back of our car and ran to where the man lay at the side of the road. 

I sat next to him, covered him with the blanket and talked to him as gently and reassuringly as I could. His breathing was deep and labored and he was otherwise unresponsive. I felt quite helpless and inept. Not knowing emergency care procedures, all I could do was comfort him, not move him, and keep him warm until experienced help arrived.

Those few minutes seemed like an eternity.  Luckily an EMT who was on his way to work heard the call and arrived within minutes. He immediately sprang into action, checking the man’s vital signs and cutting away his clothing to insert an IV.  He asked me to cut away the remainder of the man’s shirt so he could assess his injuries better.  I did what I was asked and stayed right there until the ambulance and other, experienced help arrived.

Having survived a very bad car accident some years ago, I remember well the moment of  confusion, pain, and panic before the ambulance arrived to take me to the hospital. I was in and out of consciousness and couldn’t communicate at all. I remember vividly hearing people speaking to me when I was injured. And while I couldn’t respond to them, I knew I was “still here” and I was comforted to know that I wasn’t alone.  I guess that was good experience to have because I knew that even though this injured man couldn’t respond to me, I could talk to him and let him know he wasn’t alone.

The following morning I learned that the young man did not survive.  I don’t know if he heard my words as I sat there with him, but I like to think that somehow he knew that there was a community of neighbors, passers-by, police officers and emergency medical technicians, who were there within minutes to assist him in the very best way they could.

There is great joy in life but there is unforeseen tragedy too. We can’t prepare for every unfortunate event, but we can take steps to be safer and more involved.  Becoming an EMT, or at least knowing the basics of how to respond to an emergency is a good place to start.

Vermont’s Emergency Medical Services System (EMS) is composed of approximately 180 licensed First Response and Ambulance services staffed by 3,000 certified EMS providers. These pre-hospital emergency care providers include First Responders/Emergency Care Attendants, EMT Basics, EMT Intermediates and Paramedics. The majority of our EMS providers are volunteers.

The Vermont Office of EMS and Injury Prevention is the state office responsible for EMS regulation and system development. The EMS Office licenses EMS organizations, provides  ambulance inspections, administers certification exams for EMS providers and is active in system development and injury prevention programs.

Becoming an EMT takes time, commitment, and a willingness to support people in sometimes the most dire circumstances.  To find out more, contact Vermont EMS at 1-800-244-0911. Dan Manz is the Director. Mike O’Keefe is the Training Coordinator. 

Any time we are called upon to  support someone in need, our best is to be as well-prepared and sober-minded as we can possibly be. My deepest condolences to this young man’s family and a sincere measure of gratitude to those emergency medical staff and good neighbors who were on the scene and ready to provide help when needed.  We’re all part of the same community - whether we are ever tasked to prove it, or not. 

 Mary L. Collins