Winners have been named in Vital Communities’ first-ever Upper Valley High Communications Competition: Forrest Mattern for Print PSA, Ashley Fogg won for Television PSA, and Nate Guarino won for Radio PSA. All hail from Hartford and are seniors in the Hartford Area Career and Technology Center’s Media Arts program taught by Felicia Allard. Their public service announcements support Local First Alliance, a program of Vital Communities, answering the question: Why is it cool to shop at locally owned businesses?

“We are thrilled to have been a part of this process and were overwhelmed by the submissions,” said Mundy Wilson Piper, owner of Chippers, which will help promote the winning print PSA.… Read More

It was raining when we touched down in Shannon, County Clare, Ireland after the overnight flight from Boston. A quick trip through customs and we were on our way to the rental car.

“Just remember to go left at the roundabout,” said my wife Jo as I reprogrammed my brain for driving on the left side of the road for the 30-minute trip to our first stop in Ennis, County Clare.
Ennis, with its charming streets and busy shops, seemed like the perfect place to begin our seven-day Irish golfing adventure in early May.

After breakfast and a short nap at the Old Ground Hotel (140 Euro/$190 per night with breakfast), we drove over winding country roads to East Clare Golf Club for our first round.… Read More

“If you want to find me on Wednesdays, you can come to the hospital [Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center] between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. I’ll be there, playing piano,” says Quechee’s Bill Emerson. “When I retired I had two goals, to play golf and to play piano.”

Emerson learned to play the piano by ear. His first venture into playing music was in college with a ukulele. He then began to experiment with the piano, and was a quick study. “There was always a piano inside of the frat houses. And when I was in the Navy, there were two pianos on the ship.… Read More

In August 1995, Debbie Marcus and her husband Chet Marcus, both Massachusetts natives, were taking their two children to camp in Rutland, Vermont when they passed through Quechee.

“Wow, isn’t this beautiful?” the Marcus’s had said to each other as they took in the mountainous scenery and the stretches of golf courses—Chet is an avid golfer.

By November 1995, the Marcus’s decided to purchase a condo in Quechee. Since the two still own and run their business, Marcus Financial Advisors, in Gloucester, Massachusetts, they have been splitting their time between Quechee and Gloucester for 19 years. The Marcus’ son, Jonathan, will be taking over the family business so that the pair can retire to Vermont full time in a couple of years.… Read More

John Ferney will miss the challenges of the past several years as president of the Quechee Lakes Landowner’s Association (QLLA) Board of Trustees. His term ended in July 2014 and for the first time in many years, Ferney does not hold a formal position in QLLA governance.

Over the years, Ferney has been a member of the Nominating Committee, the Greens Committee, the Finance & Audit Committee and chairman of the Golf Committee. He was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2008, served as treasurer for two years, and another two years as president. Ferney spoke with the Quechee Times about his experiences.… Read More