Terrigenous Landscaping honored; family center staff awarded; SMCS dental center to expand

Terrigenous Landscape Architecture of Chester has been awarded “Best of Houzz” 2013 by Houzz, an online source for ideas on residential remodeling and design. The stone outbuilding by Terrigenous owner Scott Wunderle was chosen in the Design category by the more than 11 million monthly Houzz users.

Terrigenous’ stone coop. /Photo provided

The “stone coop” was inspired by Chester’s “Stone Village” and was a nod to the “follies” found in English landscape design. It was also an exercise in using historic lime mortar, found objects, and the skills of other local craftspeople such as Nick Kekic of Tsuga Studios.

“The fact that people from around the world have enjoyed this piece is an interesting twist. The ‘stone coop’ made from local stone and extruded glass rods was conceived as a very private piece, and yet now has taken on a public presence through Houzz,” says Wunderle. “I work at many different scales and materials and I view this project as an extension of the unique Vermont landscape.”

Liza Hausman, of Houzz adds, “We’re delighted to recognize Terrigenous among our “Best Of” professionals for design as judged by our community of homeowners and design enthusiasts who are actively remodeling and decorating their homes.”

Chester-Andover Family Center honored by small business center

Sandy Vincent and Sherry Willumitis of the Chester-Andover Family Center were honored by the Vermont Small Business Development Center for their work in the Nonprofit Sustainability category at a recent awards ceremony in Randolph Center.

The VtSBDC was also celebrating its 20^th anniversary at event, held on April 25 at Vermont Technical College.

The following local businesses in Windham and Southern Windsor counties were cited for excellence in the several categories:

• e-Commerce Strategy: Megan Baehr of Nonesuch Garden (Brattleboro)
• Family Owned: Kelt and Kristina Naylor of Side Hill Farm (Brattleboro)
• Irene Survival Success: Laura and Stanley Lynde of Lynde Motorsports (Brattleboro)
• Nonprofit Sustainability: Sandy Vincent and Sherry Willumits of the Chester Andover Family Center (Chester)
• Start-up Success: Jesse and Peter Friedman of Student Cultural Exchange (Brattleboro)
• Strategic Growth: Leslie Stuart of Wine and Cheese Depot (Ludlow)
• Sustainable Business: Tesha Buss of Good Commons/Good Bus/ Good Farm (Plymouth)
• Sustainable Retailer: Loretta Palazzo and Matt Maranian of Boomerang (Brattleboro)
• Value Added Agriculture: Kate and Charles Dodge of Putney Mountain Winery (Putney)
• Young Entrepreneur: Alli Wright of OWL Energy Bar (Brattleboro)

In total 60 businesses were honored in 16 categories. Lenae Quillen-Blume, who will be retiring as the state director of VtSBDC in June of this year, was also honored at the event.

Vermont Small Business Development Center is a nonprofit partnership of government, education and business, organized to help Vermont small businesses succeed. No-cost, confidential advice is provided to existing business owners and new entrepreneurs throughout the state.  For more information visit www.vtsbdc.org or contact Debra Boudrieau at (802) 257-7731 or dboudrieau@vtsbdc.org.

Springfield Medical awarded grant for dental center expansion

Springfield Medical Care Systems has received a $5,000 grant from the Northeast Delta Dental Foundation to expand the Ludlow Dental Center at 8 Main St. in Ludlow. Services provided by the center include routine hygiene and basic and major restorative care, including fillings, crowns, bridges, root canals, dentures, extractions, and emergency dental services.

As Windsor County’s sole safety-net medical and dental care provider, SMCS’s mission is to ensure everyone has access to high quality, affordable medical and dental care. In July 2011, SMCS opened its first dental center in Ludlow, with funding assistance from the Northeast Delta Dental Foundation. In its first year of operation, the center served more than 1,000 patients, with appointment numbers continuing to steadily rise.

The center plans is to increase capacity by adding a third treatment room. The recent grant will help improve access for acute and urgent dental care needs, and improve appointment availability. The Ludlow Dental Center can be reached at 228-4446. For more information on SMCS go to www.springfieldmed.org.

 — Susan Lampe-Wilson