Pat McDonald and Ben Kinsley, co-hosts of “Vote for Vermont”, were joined by Dean George, Chair of the Vermont Parole Board on a recent show. If you are like Ben and Pat, you know very little about the Vt. Parole Board.  First its Chair -   Dean George is a retired Captain from the Vermont State Police, former State Representative from Middlebury, and former member of the Middlebury Select board. Dean was appointed by Governor Jim Douglas as a member of the Board and named chair the following year.

TOPIC:  ASSISTING VERMONT’S 7,000 FARMS

Meet Vermont’s newly appointed State Director of the Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA) – Wendy Wilton!  You might know her as Rutland City’s Treasurer and as a former candidate for State Treasurer. Wendy spent the last 10 years serving Rutland as the Treasurer, Tax Collector and Pension Administrator.  She accomplished a great deal while in Rutland.  She put the City’s financial house in order, recovered from a $5M deficit and achieved a “clean” audit for the City after 31 years of adverse audits.

VOTE FOR VERMONT
GUEST:  DAN BARLOW, POLITICAL JOURNALIST, PUBLIC POLICY MANAGER OF VBSR AND CO-FOUNDER OF GREEN MOUNTAIN GRAVEYARDS
TITLE: POLITICS AND GRAVEYARDS

Politics and Graveyards…. An interesting topic for a show, don’t you think?  Pat McDonald and Ben Kinsley, co-produce and co-host a TV show called Vote for Vermont.  On a recent show they interviewed Dan Barlow, public policy manager for Vermont Business for Social Responsibility (VBSR).  He represents VBSR at the statehouse lobbying on such topics as health care reform, clean energy, and employment issues.  He was also an award-winning journalist.  But in his off hours he is the co-founder of Green Mountain Graveyards, a photographer and researcher devoted to telling stories about Vermont cemeteries.  This year Dan was among the 40 most accomplished young leaders in Vermont who were recognized by Vermont Business Magazine as a Rising Star for their commitment to business growth, professional excellence and their communities.