Introducing the USS VERMONT (SSN 792) cup sign, sponsored by the Department of Vermont VFW Auxiliary, with special thanks to Sheila Spaulding for making this happen for our Vermont FRG with a donation of up to $1,000. Plastic cups that fit in the gaps of a chain-link fence come with instructions to create the image seen here. It'll make it's first appearance when the USS VERMONT arrives at her new home port in Pearl Harbor later this Spring. Several VSG members will be on hand at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam to help assemble it for the big event. Hooyah VFW Auxiliary!
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That UVM Catamount jersey under plexiglass in the Catamount Tavern on board the USS VERMONT just got even more special with both the UVM Men and Women winning their 2023 conference championships and heading to the NCAA tournament. Go CATS! Go Big Sugar!
The VSG is proud to extend our thanks and appreciation in recognition of an oustanding partner like Wilcox Ice Cream. Working on July 4th with limited staffing, they still found the time to welcome USS VERMONT submariners to their shop in East Arlington for a tour and samples of Vermont's best ice cream. Their donation of 144 ice cream treats were delivered by our namesake sailors to the Veterans at the Vermont Veterans Home in Bennington after the tour. If you haven't enjoyed Wilcox Ice Cream and Specialty Foods, get on board with them by clicking on the button below. Thanks again Howard, Christina, Craig and the team at Wilcox Ice Cream!
Accepting an Honorary Plank Owner Certificate for the Vermont Specialty Foods Association was Operations Manager Taryn Maitland at the VSFA office in Berlin. A brief Zoom session tied in Assistant Director Alexandra Jakab and Executive Director Erin Sigrist to participate in the presentation. Erin shared that Bernie Juskiewicz was sorely missed as it was he who first shared the USS VERMONT story with her after our VCC meetings in the Chamber Office in Berlin. We thank the VSFA for sponsoring our "tastes of Vermont" donation request to their members to help fill the Vermont FRG's Sunshine Bags for incoming sailors, and remain thankful for Bernie's spirit that lives on supporting our mission.
HOOYAH VERMONT! Check out who made the cover of the new VMSMA Newsletter! We're delighted to be partnering with them! Read the article to learn the significance of Maple Syrup to the USS VERMONT SSN 792, our sailors and their families!
Cabot's Erica Burke and Sarah Pastula with some of Cabot's donations stacked so that social distancing was easy!
What a difference a day makes! In less than 24 hours, we had the good fortune through VSG member Robert Burke and wife Erica to add a wide variety of Vermont flavors to our delivery to the FRG ladies for the sailors and families. Erica, General Manager of Retail Operations at Cabot, and Waterbury Store Manager Sarah Pastula just kept asking "could they use these" until my truck was just about at capacity. An amazing contribution that will provide so many more "tastes of Vermont" to our incoming sailors as well as the FRG families. Our deepest appreciation and a hearty Hooyah Cabot goes out to Erica and Sarah, and to all the families that make up the Cabot Co-op as well as Cabot's partners who market their products in Cabot's retail outlets.
First stop on Sunday's trek to the USS VERMONT SSN 792 was to Orange County Sugar Maker Roger Palmer's place in Randolph Center. Roger and grandson Brandan Palmer met us with 50 pints of freshly boiled Vermont Maple Syrup. They put the syrup into glass jugs for the very best flavor, and kicked it up a notch by procuring labels with our our namesake Ship's Crest. It's going to be hard for any of the future year's VMSMA counties to top Orange's combination of taste and packaging. When the USS VERMONT's new XO saw the jug, he loved it and wanted one on the spot. We just made him wait until he receives his Sunshine Bag along with the other incoming sailors that'll include an Orange County Producers maple syrup jug, and so much more!
The Orange County Maple Producers Association pint jugs made exclusively for the USS VERMONT. Wow!
Peg and Lyman Powers of Lyman's Specialties in West Dover were among the first responders to the VSFA's notice of the VSG's request for Vermont products for our FRG. You meet the nicest folks on a project like this one! We told them the sailors just loved hot flavors, so the Powers donated 50 jars of Lyman's Hot Pepper Jelly for the new crew members and their families. Our thanks to Lyman and Vermont's Pickle Queen Peg, for showing how much Vermonters continue to do more than just say "thank you for your service," but go that extra mile to support our namesake boat's sailors and their families.
VSG's Gary Frymire receiving donations from Cecile Branon
In our first exchange with Fairfield Vermont's Cecile Branon, her passion for supporting our military service men and women shined through brightly. The VSG was delighted to add Branon Family Maple Orchard's Maple Kettle Corn and Maple Chipotle Rub to our delivery of Vermont flavors to the Vermont FRG for the sailor's Sunshine Bags. We're proud to be associated with Cecile and Tom Branon and thank them for their support from the whole USS VERMONT family!
The same day a notice went out from our Partners at the VSFA about the VSG's request for donations for the sailors and families of the USS VERMONT SSN 792, we received an email from Andy Mignano, Wholesale Manager at Klingers Bread of South Burlington. Andy offered 50 bags of Vermont Maple Nut Granola which the ladies of our Vermont FRG team were only too pleased to accept. The USS VERMONT Support Group encourages anyone who hasn't yet had the opportunity to enjoy Klinger's Bread products to stop by and take a few home from their bakery on Farrell Street in South Burlington. We're thankful for their generous support with providing another taste of Vermont for our crew and families, and proud to have them on board!
Andy Mignano presents Klingers Vermont Maple Nut Granola to the VSG
Allison Hope with a USS VERMONT Christening Coin based on a maple syrup jug.
What began with Orange County maple syrup producers Hale Mattoon and Roger Palmer's support with providing 50 pints of Vermont maple syrup to the Vermont FRG became a longer term program when an annual donation of syrup to the USS VERMONT SSN 792 incoming sailors was approved by the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association (VMSMA) board in January. Each of the 12 member counties will have an opportunity to donate their syrup in the coming years. Part of the VSG's presentation to the VMSMA was how integral maple syrup has been to the USS VERMONT's sailors since the subs Christening in 2018. It was fitting to present Allison Hope, Executive Director of the VMSMA, with a Christening coin made from a maple syrup jug design with the VMSMA logo on the back. Thanks again Allison, and to the all the VMSMA producers for your ongoing support!
VSG Vice President Rod Brigham accepts the donation of Vermont Nut Free Chocolate maple fudge from President and CEO Mark Elvidge at their Colchester facility.
VSG member Robert Burke told his wife Erica about our plan to reach out to the Vermont Specialty Foods Association (VSFA) to find non-allergenic fudge for the Vermont FRG's Sunshine Bags. Erica connected us with Mark Elvidge, President and CEO of Vermont Nut Free Chocolates. We gave Mark the backstory about the VSG, and the Vermont FRG, and how they're welcoming new crew members beginning a tour of duty on the USS VERMONT SSN 792 with Sunshine Bags. Mark was quick to come on board with the donation of 50 packages of maple fudge, which the ladies of the FRG were hoping for. The VSG salutes Mark and his team for stepping up as the first VSFA member to help welcome our new honorary Vermonters to our namesake submarine, and the growing USS VERMONT family. Notification of this program for donations to our namesake submarine is going out shortly to the full VSFA membership, and we're anxious to see which other patriotic supporters of our military might choose to participate. Hint: we know sailors LOVE hot sauce!
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