On June 3rd, InventVermont hosted a panel on Intellectual Property that featured Senator Patrick Leahy and the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, David Kappos.  The event was held at the Main St. Landing Building in downtown Burlington, VT and was sponsored by local law firm Merritt, Merritt & Moulton.  Sen. Leahy is currently the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and earlier this year announced that he is working on a bill to address patent reform for the first time since 1952.

Quirky's recently designed product, the Cloak, is estimated to launch in mid-July.  Cloak is a sleek, sturdy case for the Apple iPad with a modern design resembling that of an office folder, providing protection and versatility for viewing the iPad screen.

FreshTracks held its 5th annual Peak Pitch event at Bolton Valley on March 3^rd.  The event was our best attended yet, with over 80 skiers out on the slopes. 

Mastering the Art of Sustainable Cooking has been released! The cooking guide is the result of a contest held by BrighterPlanet during the fall of 2009.

Watch this upbeat, informative EatingWell video on Seven Days "Stuck in Vermont" program. Nicci Micco and Jessie Price of EatingWell Media Group discuss the benefits of eating well and EatingWell's newest cookbook "500 Calorie Dinners".

Check out this new online Climate Interactive Scoreboard tool and track progress in the negotiations for an international climate treaty.

FreshTracks & Bolton Valley hosted another successful Peak Pitch Vermont event on 3/6/09.  Over 50 people gathered on the mountain to share lift rides and exchange business ideas between ski runs at Bolton's Timberline base area.  Below is a video summary of the event which gives a good feel for the day.

Hosted by FreshTracks Capital, the Vermont Peak Pitch '09 event will take place at the Bolton Valley ski resort on Friday, March 6th. Save the date, and sign up now at www.peakpitch.com

Lee Bouyea, Managing Director of FreshTracks Capital, and Craig DeLuca of The ARNO Group will lead a Seminar aimed at non-traditional businesses looking to secure startup or expansion capital.

Here is a promotional video from ISIS which gives a good overview of their product mix and the company's approach to the market, which can be summed up as: "ISIS fits women.  Women who hibernate in winter and conquer it - sometimes on the same day."

Jeff Bernicke, who joined NativeEnergy in 2008 as VP of Supply and Origination, was recently promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer of the company. 

Franklin Woods Community Hospital has selected GetWell Network to provide its bedside interactive care system to the first "green" hospital in Tennessee.  In additon to education content, the system will integrate with the hospital's Siemens Soarian electronic medical records system to promote efficient workflow. 

Draker Labs has been selected by Photovoltaic Systems Manufacturing (PSM) to monitor PV systems that will be installed at 14 Arizona-based schools. Phoenix-based Salt River Project (SRP), one of the nation's largest public power providers, is funding the installation and maintenance of the rooftop-mounted PV systems.

Vermont Teddy Bear is one of three Vermont companies and 20 U.S. companies to be awarded the Made in the USA Foundation's Hall of Fame Award.  The awards are presented to companies committed to manufacturing goods in the United States, creating local jobs, and upholding fair trade standards throughout the world.

GetWell Network reports that its "GetWell Town" platform designed for children and their families enhances patient safety and education at Children's Hospitals across the U.S., including its most recent installation, Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, TX.

Draker Labs' Sentalis 1000 monitoring system has been selected by Conergy, a global leader in the development and deployment of photovoltaic solar power systems. Draker's monitoring system was installed at Aqua America's water treatment plant in West Chester, PA.

Vermont Teddy Bear is planning an expanded marketing and distribution of their hit product PajamaJeans.  The company has paired up with Hampton Direct of Williston, Vermont to offer the product both in retail locations and on TV.

EatingWell won the IACP Bert Greene Award for the story "or Not to Bee", by Rowan Jacobsen.  The story, in the April/May 2009 issue of EatingWell, stresses the importance of bees to our food supply.  The story was also awarded the James Beard 2010 Journalism Award in the categoy of Healthy Focus.

Draker Labs announded the intorduction of its new Sentalis 200PV monitoring system, used for solar PV systems with an energy capacity of 50-250 KwH.  The turnkey system includes all monitoring hardware and web interface for data management and reporting.  The data is transmittd from the base station directly to Draker's secure, offsite data servers for processing. 

NativeEnergy's Joel Boucher attended the dedication ceremony of the Greensburg Wind Farm in April, three years after a tornado leveled the town.  Help from NativeEnergy and its buyers made it possible for Greensburg, Kansas to be powered 100% by renewable energy.

*Jeff Bernicke Named President of NativeEnergy

*Draker Selected to Monitor 14 Arizona Schools

*Draker Founder Rossman Participates in Renewable Energy World Roundtable

*GWN Wins New Contract & CEO O'Neil Interviewed on "Daytime Tri Cities"

*VT Teddy Bear Among 2010 "Made in USA Hall of Fame" Inductees

*EatingWell Releases Newest Cookbook

*Draker Launches 200PV Product Line and is Selected by Concergy for New Installation

*Vermont Teddy Bear PajamaJeans Going Global

*VTB Completes Another Busy Mothers Day

*Solais Celebrates Earth Day with Incandescent Bulb Burial

*GetWell Boosts Patient Safety at Cook Children's Medical Center

*SolarOne Surpasses 500 Customer Installations

*Quirky Raises $6 Million for Social Product Development

*Quirky's iPad case "Cloak" Hits Stores

*Get Well Network Covered in The Washington Post

*GetWell Network Adds New Hospita

*NativeEnergy Attends Greensburg Dedication in Kansas

*Ben & Jerry's and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Invest in Greensburg Wind Farm

*Brighter Planet Expands in San Francisco & Voted "Best of Green" by TreeHugger

*EatingWell Story Wins Bert Green and James Beard Awards

*Draker Labs' Monitoring System Installed at Arizona Western College

*NativeEnergy Nominated for TreeHugger.com Best of Green Awards

*SolarOne Provides Emergency Security Lighting in Haiti

*BrighterPlanet Wins 2010 Financial Times Social Innovation Award

*EatingWell.com Partners with iVillage

*GetWell Voted 2009 VC Awards Runner Up

*5th Annual Peak Pitch Vermont Another Great Success

*Solais Series A Transaction Covered by VentureWire

*ISIS Acquired by Kellwood

*EatingWell Video on 7Days

*PajamaGram Featured on Rachel Ray, Leno and in NY Daily News

*SolarOne Lands Coverage in Solar Daily

*Multiple GetWell Press Releases Hit Last Month 

*Join FreshTracks at Peak Pitch on 3/3/2010 at Bolton Valley

*FreshTracks Announces New Investment in Solais Lighting

*Draker Labs on Vermont Public Radio

*Vermont Teddy Bear to Exhibit at American International Toy Fair

*NativeEnergy's Adam Scherr Joins IATE in Antarctica

*GetWell Network at Southeast Venture Conference and on DC Tech Source

*Brighter Planet Releases Sustainable Cooking Guide

*NEHP Hires New President & Company Named Top Innovation Winner

*EatingWell on ABCNews.com

*SolarOne Develops Lighting Project in Masdar, United Arab Emirates

*Vermedx in Vermont Business Magazine

*Quirky Featured on CNBC's PowerLunch

*VTB Goes Green & PajamaGram Goes Glee

*Vermont Teddy Bear Ramps up for the Holidays

*Vermedx Completes 21st Century Health Piece, Airs on CNBC

*XConomy Article Includes Coverage of FreshTracks & Brighter Planet

*EatingWell Recipes Featured in USA Today & on ABC News

*Draker Labs names Chach Curtis CEO

*Vermedx Lands New Customer FirstCare Texas, CEO Littenberg to Speak at NAMCG

*EatingWell Lands Coverage on USA Today and MSN.com

*SolarOne Project Covered in the River Reporter

*Vermont Teddy Bear Story Runs in the Boston Globe

*Quirky Featured in NY Times Article Titled "Groupthink Inc."

*Vermedx Featured in Burlington Free Press

*Brighter Planet Launches its Sustainable Cooking Contest