Born February 3, 1894, Norman Rockwell was a skinny, quirky looking kid with glasses and corrective shoes...Probably the last to be picked when divvying up teams for the neighborhood kickball game. But Rockwell had an aptitude for art and knew at an early age that he wanted to be an artist. At fourteen, he enrolled in the New York School of Art, formally the Chase Art School. From there, he remained in New York and went to The National Academy of Design and finally to the Art Students League. At 19, he landed a job as art director of Boys Life, The Boy Scouts of America's official publication.... and so began Norman Rockwell's life long career as an illustrator.

A white screen stares back at me as I struggle to find the words for this next story. It's long overdue and I'm stuck, overwhelmed by my own emotion. I remember Kelly, a little girl I used to babysit for. She had the sweetest giggle and was the Queen of Silly. If I let myself, I can still see her, rolling around on the floor with her legs up in the air, laughing uncontrollably. We spent many afternoons together reading stories, eating popcorn and just making each other laugh. I was very close to her and her family. We were a big part of each others' lives. Sadly, however, Kelly was plagued with numerous and very serious medical problems. We lost Kelly when she was only 10. I was a teen in turmoil  trying to make sense of a world that, to me, was already off kilter. Seeing Kelly's  bright smile in a portrait placed  atop her little casket forever changed my life. I learned that life isn't fair and that some very terrible things can happen to some very good people. I learned that sickness and death have no mercy, not even for children. Words like this seem unproductive, but in my world, it's the harsh reality of an unfair truth. That having been said, I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for people afflicted with disease, as well as their families and caretakers whose lives are affected on a daily basis by disease and illness. It takes a lot of courage and strength just to keep on keeping on...to find joy and happiness in life's little wonders and in the smallest of accomplishments. Perhaps this is why I was drawn to Rick Jewell and his daughter, Rylee.

Innovative Vermont agriculture, specialty food, renewable energy, and forestry product companies are a growing part of what gives Vermont its “green” lure. The Green Mountains traverse the length of the state dotted with inns, ski areas, farm to plate restaurants, craftspeople, artisans, hiking, swimming, fishing, camping, and a working landscape that includes everything from dairy farming and local food hubs to solar and biofuel farms.

 It is this working landscape that is getting much attention in recent years as Vermonters continue to come together to build the resiliency of their communities and strengthen the resources of their state. In an age of fluctuating financial markets and challenging lending terms, developing businesses focused on sustainability are not necessarily the most popular in traditional lending. 

 Luckily socially responsible investing is on the rise where a fair return on investment is as equally important as the social and environmental impacts borrowers have in building healthy food systems, relocalizing energy resources, and creating resilient communities. In Vermont’s growing pool of alternative financing options, one fund gaining visibility is the VSJF Flexible Capital Fund which provides flexible risk capital to Vermont food, forestry, renewable energy, waste management, and environmental technology companies. The Flex Fund does not rely on collateral, like banks do, or ask for company ownership, like equity investors do. Instead it can offer flexible loans creatively structured somewhere between equity investments and traditional loans. Growing agricultural, forestry, and clean energy companies cannot typically offer the quick return on investment required by traditional equity investors, or the collateral required of banks and other lending institutions. The Flex Fund was created to address these financing challenges and provides “equity-like” loans which can be repaid over a longer period of time than traditional loans through revenue share payments. Also referred to as royalty financing, these flexibly structured loans are focused on long-term impact rather than a short term return.