September 2016

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to survey retail small business owners to ... weaken the appeal of owning a business. • Nearly seven-in-ten (69%) say
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gauge their views on the business environment, the health of their businesses and whether public policies that affect their operations support or hinder prospects for growth.

Welch Honors VRGA President with Congressional Statement Vermont Congressman Peter Welch honored VRGA’s Jim Harrison recently by reading a statement into the Congressional Record about his career at the association and work on behalf of retailers. Welch highlighted Harrison’s passion for representing the retail perspective at the State House when Peter served as Senate President Pro-Tem and in Washington as the state’s representative in the US House. Jim Harrison, upon receiving the statement, said, “I am both humbled and honored to receive this recognition. Peter Welch has been a long-time friend of the retail community and is a well-respected leader in Vermont politics.” The framed statement was presented to Harrison by Leslie Sarasin, president of the Food Marketing Institute, at the recent state association meeting in Middleburg, VA. Jim is stepping down as VRGA president later this year. Survey Finds Seven in 10 Small Retailers ‘Overwhelmed’ By Government Regulations, Mandates New Study Provides Roadmap for Lawmakers NRF worked with market research firm GfK to survey retail small business owners to

The survey revealed that while small retailers are generally optimistic about the future, they are increasingly concerned about the growing volume and cost of government regulations. Among the findings:  The vast majority (81%) say regulations weaken the appeal of owning a business.  Nearly seven-in-ten (69%) say they are “overwhelmed by regulations, rules, and mandates,” including labor regulations, health care mandates, tax codes and safety guidelines.  Less than half (44%) believe government regulations achieve their objectives. (full article available at vtrga.org/news) Webinars on Vermont’s new Sick Pay Law and Federal Overtime Rules VRGA is in the process of lining up webinars or workshops this fall to help members understand and comply with Vermont’s new sick pay law that begins January 1. Vermont new sick time law:  Allows employees meeting the requirements of this bill to earn up to three days of sick time per year in the first two years and up to five days per year in the following years. An employer may require a waiting period up to 1 year for all employees from the date this law would go into effect (January 1, 2017) and for every new employee thereafter.  Does not cover an employee under the age of 18.

 Exempts employers with 5 or fewer full time employees (30 hours) from meeting paid sick time requirements until January 1, 2018.  Exempts temporary and seasonal workers (defined as 20 weeks) as well as part-time workers who work fewer than 18 hours per week.  Includes a one-year grace period, in order to recognize the difficulties of starting a new business. The grace period starts from the date of the first hire. More info on Paid Sick Leave at vtrga.org/MembersOnlyResources Updated AG’s Memo on GMO Labeling Non-Enforcement With the enactment of federal legislation (S.764) on July 29, 2016, which establishes a “National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard,” the Vermont Attorney General will no longer be enforcing Act 120, Vermont’s law requiring the labeling of food produced with genetic engineering. VRGA will continue to monitor the changes at the national level and inform members as new developments arise.

NEWS

BRIEFS

Universal Recycling Law, Wastewater, Hazardous Material - Environmental Compliance Roundtable Workshops These workshops will go in-depth on environmental compliance challenges

common to the food & beverage processing and manufacturing industry. Participants will be able to meet and hear from a panel consisting of Dept. of Environmental Compliance assistance and regulatory staff as well as industry peers. Topics addressed will include the Universal Recycling Law (Act 148), wastewater, hazardous waste and resources for how to get environmental compliance assistance at your facility. These workshops are offered at NO COST to the participants. Tuesday 9/13 in Rutland or Thursday 9/15 in St. Albans. Register: dec.vermont.gov/environmentalassistance/food-thought-workshop-reg Shumlin says Pharmacies can now sell Naloxone without a Prescription The Vermont Department of Health has issued a standing order for the opioid overdose rescue drug naloxone (brand name Narcan®) for all of Vermont. This allows any pharmacy to dispense the life-saving drug to anyone – without a prescription. Walgreens and Kinney Drugs will offer the drug without a prescription. Service Animals in Your Stores: Your Rights and Responsibilities The Americans with Disabilities Act requires State and local government agencies, businesses, and non-profit organizations (covered entities) that provide goods or services to the public to make "reasonable modifications" in their policies, practices, or procedures when necessary to accommodate people with disabilities. Example of question recently asked on next page.

Q31: Are stores required to allow service animals to be placed in a shopping cart? A: Generally, the dog must stay on the floor, or the person must carry the dog. For example, if a person with diabetes has a glucose alert dog, he may carry the dog in a chest pack so it can be close to his face to allow the dog to smell his breath to alert him of a change in glucose level. For more FAQ’s visit www.ada.gov/regs2010/ service_animal_qa.html. VRGA was very appreciative to receive a donation to the scholarship fund from alumni of the “Knights of the Grip” in memory of Larry Wisner. Larry was well known in Vermont as a long serving representative of Proctor and Gamble. The “Knights” were an informal group of sales representatives that periodically met for meetings and networking functions.

Hunger Mountain Co-op is now accepting grant applications in support of local businesses and organizations whose work enriches our central Vermont community and furthers the Co-op’s mission of building a dynamic community of healthy individuals, sustainable local food systems, and thriving cooperative commerce. Woodstock Farmers’ Market and King Arthur Flour Bakery and Café have received the “Gold Barn Honoree 2016” by the Vermont Fresh Network. The award recognizes chefs, food preparers and merchants who have significantly invested in their Vermont farmer partners. The Gold Barn Honor recognizes the top 25% of the VFN culinary membership in terms of the number of Vermont farmers they partner with, the diversity of Vermont ingredients they use and the volume of Vermont products they purchase.

Dowling’s Division Sold to Pine State Convenience Effective August 12, Pine State Convenience, a division of Core-Mark, acquired the assets and many staff members of Dowling’s Wholesale. Dowling’s has been owned by the Mitiguy family since 1988. Burlington Drug will continue to be owned and operated by the Mitiguy family.

City Market announce that they are issuing a Request for Qualifications from artists and craft persons for three public mural projects at our second store at 207 Flynn Avenue, Burlington (at the corner of Flynn Avenue and Briggs Street). For more information on this project, please visit the expansion page of their website at http://www.citymarket.coop/southend

Walmart has announced it is buying the start-up e-commerce company, Jet, for $3.3 billion. Jet was launched just a year ago and positioned itself as an alternative to Amazon. Jet has said that it is adding 400,000 shoppers per month and in its first year reached a run-rate of selling $1 billion worth of merchandise through its website.

Congratulations to the following VRGA/ VSFA members who were named 2016 Vermont Business Growth Award winners by Vermont Business Magazine: Employee owned - King Arthur Flour Company +54.6%, Wholesale - Black River Produce +82.3%, Manufacturing Against The Grain Gourmet +677.8% and Vermont Smoke & Cure, +404.3%

The Vermont Supreme Court rejected an appeal on state permits, giving Costco the green light to add gasoline pumps to its Colchester store, subject to the permit conditions being met. Michael Violette, president and CEO of Associated Grocers of New England Inc., has named Ed Rawson SVP of sales and retail development. Rawson spent nearly 35 years with Supervalu. He started his career in Keene, New Hampshire, with Wetterau, which later was acquired by Supervalu. Rates for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont will be increasing by 7.3 percent next year and rates for MVP will increase by 3.7 percent. The Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) recently announced rate increases for health insurance plans offered on Vermont Health Connect (VHC), Vermont’s online health benefit exchange. Richmond Market & Beverage owner Mike Comeau has launched the fifth location of his popular grocery store group this month. Jericho Market at 364 Route 15 will blend conventional, organic and Vermont-sourced items — a combination,

Comeau notes, that "we pride ourselves on doing." The spot will have a wellcurated inventory of beer and wine, typical of beverage manager Craig Colburn, with beers ranging from Bud and Coors to coveted local and national microbrews. Comeau's list of stores also includes Johnson's Sterling Market, Village Market of Waterbury and Shelburne Supermarket. Farm-Way Inc. has expanded its operations to the former Twin State Fertilizer Property. Twin State Fertilizer and its predecessors manufactured and repackaged seeds, fertilizer and pesticides for 50 years or more on the site where Farm-Way’s expanded facility is now located. Tops Markets LLC will debut six new stores under its banner. Five of the stores are in New York and one is in Gardner, Mass. Tops acquired the former Stop & Shop and Hannaford Supermarkets stores in July, when Ahold and Delhaize divested a total of 86 locations ahead of their merger.

MONTHLY TIP BY:

Payment Card Industry’s Data Security Standards, are you in compliance? Navigating the PCI DSS can be taxing for the average merchant. The PCI DSS itself is over 100 pages and is filled with acronyms and terminology that can be confusing. To help protect customers, it’s critical that any organization that accepts payment cards understands the payment card industry’s (PCI) Data Security Standards (DSS). The PCI DSS requirements are designed to ensure that all entities that process, store or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. The PCI DSS establishes a minimum set of requirements for protecting the account information of cardholders. MONTHLY TIP BY:

The Best Way to Spend Less on Commercial Refrigeration Refrigeration can represent up to 50% of monthly energy expenses for grocery and convenience stores. Spend less on commercial refrigeration by combining basic maintenance with energy-efficient upgrades. Six maintenance tips:  Clean cooling coils several times a year  Shade outdoor coils from the sun and allow air to circulate around them  Make sure doors on freezers, refrigerators, and display cases seal tightly  Check door gaskets and auto-closers, and repair or replace if they are damaged or in poor condition  Have units serviced regularly to clean condensers and evaporators, and to check operation of fans and defrost systems

If a merchant experiences a data breach and is found to be non-compliant with PCI DSS, it may be subject to hefty fines. A merchant may be required to pay anywhere from $5,000 to $100,000 a month until it addresses all compliance issues. If non-compliance persists, a merchant may lose its ability to process payment cards. Other potential fallout from failed PCI DSS compliance could include loss of brand loyalty, damaged client relations, legal action, mandatory audits and remediation costs. The Richards Group can help keep you in compliance with our PCI DSS Compliance guide. The guide provides a comprehensive look at the new requirements and what you as a merchant are responsible for. For a copy of the guide please contact Shannon Prescott at [email protected].

In refrigerated cases, replace T12 fluorescent lighting with LEDs—they generate less heat, easing the cooling demands on refrigerated equipment Six Refrigeration Upgrades:  If you have door heaters, add humidity -based heater controls so they don’t run continuously  Install night curtains to reduce the energy needed to cool open cases overnight  Use an outside air economizer to ease the demand on your compressor  If you’re replacing your evaporator fans, consider high-efficiency motors and controls  When buying a new compressor, look for energy-efficient discus or scrolling models—both use less energy than standard compressors and can last up to 33% longer Choose ENERGY STAR® certified commercial reach-in units with solid or glass doors—and talk to us about financing options. For more details www.efficiencyvermont.com or contact them directly at (802) 860-4095, ext. 7427

FAQ on SNAP Benefits Q. Can fountain drinks or products sold in stores such as Slurpee’s can be purchased with SNAP benefits? A. Yes, convenience store fountain sodas or slushy drinks are eligible for purchase with SNAP benefits so long as they are not intended for on-premises consumption. The Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (the Act) and SNAP regulations at 7 CFR §271.2 define as eligible for purchase with SNAP benefits; any food or food products intended for home preparation and human consumption. The following types of items are ineligible for purchase using SNAP benefits: alcohol, tobacco, hot food, food sold for on-premises consumption, and nonfood items (such as soap, paper, medicine, etc.). Fountain drinks are considered eligible so long as they are not intended to be consumed on the premises. If, however, such items are sold for consumption on the premises, at a table or a counter, they are ineligible. A fountain drink may be sipped while the customer is standing in line, but items such as this are not considered as being intended for consumption on the premises. EPA Notes Risk of Corrosion in Tanks Storing Diesel Fuel Observations from EPA’s 2016 research, which examined 42 operational UST systems storing diesel fuel across the country, show a significant prevalence of corrosion of metal components inside those tanks. The preliminary results categorized 35 of 42 – or 83 percent – of the examined diesel fuel tanks exhibiting

moderate or severe corrosion. Less than 25 percent of USTs involved in the research reported corrosion prior to the internal inspection. Corrosion in the upper vapor spaces inside USTs is a relatively new phenomenon and can cause equipment failure by preventing proper operation of release detection and prevention equipment. In steel tanks, corrosion can cause direct tank failure and releases to the environment. Recommendation EPA recommends UST owners check for corrosion in their tank systems storing diesel fuel; this applies to both systems with steel tanks and systems with fiberglass tanks. Owners reporting corrosion sometimes find sludge or particles, which may look like coffee grounds, clogging their fuel filters. EPA recommends all owners of UST systems storing diesel fuel conduct a visual inspection by checking in their filters and inside UST system access points even if they have not seen symptoms in the filter; severe corrosion may already be established before symptoms appear in the fuel filter and an owner becomes aware of a severe corrosion issue. Remember that this initial diagnostic observation of UST equipment visible from the surface may not show corrosion even if it exists in the UST system. Remove Your Location from Pokémon Go If your facility has a current Pokémon Go Stop/Gym, and you would like to remove your facility from the application, please contact the following: [email protected]

UPCOMING EVENTS Environmental Compliance Workshop dec.vermont.gov/environmentalassistance/food-thought-workshop-reg Rutland Free Library September 13, 2016 St. Albans City Hall September 15, 2016 USDA Webinar: Retail Grinding Log September 15, 2016 @ 10:00 AM VRGA Fall Golf Classic – SOLD OUT! September 26, 2016 Vermont National Country Club

Innovative Payment Solutions Bad Check Recovery Program with Innovative Payment Solutions This program is provided to you at no cost. Upon recovery you receive 100% of the face value PLUS $12.00 of the fee charged to the check writer. From July 2015 to July 2016 , VRGA members saved a total of $319,858 Additionally, on those hard to get checks, as a licensed and bonded debt collector, IPS pursues with letters and phone calls; again at no cost to you. The program eliminates the headaches, hassles, negative time and energy utilized administering traditional recovery efforts. This service allows you to re-allocate human resources to more positive

National Retail Federation Webinar: DOL New Overtime Rule September 29, 2016 @ 2:00 PM Vermont Best Bagger Competition October 8, 2016 University Mall in South Burlington, VT Election Day November 8, 2016 VRGA Convention & Expo Thursday, April 27 & Friday, April 28 Hilton Burlington in Burlington, VT

aspects of your business. Most importantly, you maintain control. In the past three+ years, IPS has recovered $3.1+ million of bad checks for our clients. What separates IPS from others in this business is unparalleled customer service. Our Customer Service Representatives have a combined 26 years experience in the banking/credit union industry. With that experience comes an attitude you and the bad check writer will be extremely pleased with. As you are well aware, Customer Service is what differentiates any vendors providing similar services. Where Good Things Happen to Bad Checks P.O. Box 150, Sanford, Maine 04073 Jim’s Cell: 207-712-0320 Toll Free Phone: 1-866-477-2432 Fax: 1-207-324-1326

LET’S GO PAPERLESS TOGETHER! Want to receive the newsletter via email instead of mail? Let us know, email [email protected] or call 802.839.1928

It began as a teenager's hobby. Rick Sanborn wanted to buy archery equipment, but there was no one around to purchase it from in Bradford, Vermont. So, he wrote to Indian Archery and became a dealer, selling to his local hardware store. This relationship continued through college, a wedding, and his first job as a civil engineer. In 1976, Rick & Leslie moved to Barre, where they began R&L Archery, setting up a retail shop in the dining room of their apartment. They made arrows at night after work to sell on the weekends. Then, they had a son, and bought a house, and the business moved to a second floor bedroom on Tremont Street. The family grew to three sons, and customers followed when they built a home in Barre Town and set up shop first in the basement, then in an addition. Then, the decision was made to take the next step. Rick left his job, rented space downtown, and R&L hired its first employees and expanded its inventory to include firearms. But it wasn't long before customers' requests pointed the way toward another expansion. In 2001, the Sanborn's purchased property and built the store that now operates at 70 Smith Street. One step at a time, R&L has come a long way from that archery enthusiast to a seven-day-a-week archery pro shop, and so much more. Sons Chris and Jon now manage the day-to-day activities of the store, which includes an extensive firearms inventory. They buy, sell, and trade new and used guns, process transfers of out-of-state purchases, and provide secure firearms storage facilities. The store includes an indoor archery range, so that consumers may try bows before they buy, with experienced sales staff alongside to make sure they get the proper fit for successful shooting. Arrows are cut-to-length to fit every customer. Fishing equipment, kayaks, gold panning and sluicing equipment, and trapping supplies are other departments that are staffed by outdoor enthusiasts who use the products they sell.

But their business is about more than products. It is about getting people into the great outdoors and giving them the information they need to have wonderful, memorable adventures. To do so, R&L is deeply involved in educating themselves and their customers. Staff include instructors for Vermont’s bowhunter education and advanced trapper classes, as well as nationally certified archery and firearms instructors. R&L annually sponsors a series of classes and events free and open to the public. They include basic handgun safety classes taught by R&L’s NRA-certified staff; both predator and turkey hunting seminars with nationally recognized guest presenters; ice fishing seminars; and Range Day at the Barre Fish and Game Club, where staff and manufacturers come together to answer consumer questions and let them shoot their choice of firearms. A similar event for crossbows is held at Whistling Arrow Archery Club. R&L supports and sponsors the activities of these clubs & summer camp programs including the Boy Scouts of America and Green Mountain Conservation Camps, and the Vermont Outdoors Woman program, just to name a few.

Visit R&L Archery in Barre, VT at 70 Smith Street or at RandLarchery.com, facebook.com/rlarchery, [email protected], 1-800-269-9151

R & L Archery Owners Rick, Chris and Jon Sanborn.

QM Power Inc Stephan Constant Kansas City, MO QMpower.com

Mount Mansfield Maple Products Jackson Dowd Winooski, VT Vermontpuremaple.com

A special thank you goes out to the following members who added a contribution to VRGA’s legislative efforts to their 2016 dues payment in their recent membership renewals (as of 8/26): Wayside Country Store, Jimmy Kwik Store, River Road Beverage, Inc., The Morgan Country Store and Hannaford Supermarkets Legislative donations assist VRGA in ensuring decision makers in Montpelier hear your voice consistently throughout the legislative session. The option to support our legislative efforts is included on your annual membership renewal invoice. However, you are welcome to make a donation anytime throughout the year. Upcoming DLC Training Classes for Second Class Licensees To register for any of the DLC seminars, visit: September 7 September 20 September 21 September 22 September 23

10:00 am – 1:00 pm 10:00 am – 1:00 pm 9:00 am – 12:00 pm 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm 10:00 am – 1:00 pm

Shelburne Town Office 1st floor (2nd level), 5420 Shelburne Road Department of Liquor Control, 13 Green Mountain Drive, Montpelier

Melanie Gaiotti Jennifer Fisher

VFW, 280 Depot Street, Manchester

Jason Elmer

VFW, 353 Lake Street, St. Albans

Melanie Gaiotti

Emory Hebard State Office Building, 100 Main St., 2nd floor State Conference room

Jennifer Fisher

https://secure.vermont.gov/DLC/eventreg or call 828-2339. Link to We Card 2016 Calendars and Training Materials: wecard.org

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The winner will qualify to compete at a national competition.

Come down and cheer on Vermont's best baggers!

Saturday, October 8th Starting at 10:00AM University Mall in South Burlington, VT NEW Junior Bagging Contest (ages 6 & 8) Emceed by Brittney Hibbs of Fox 44!

VERMONT BEST BAGGER COMPETITION

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