Contacts:
David Carle, 202-224-3693
Kelly Loftus, Agency of Agriculture, (802) 828-3829

Friday, February 25, 2011

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced today that he will bring the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to Vermont for a hearing on Monday, March 7, to look at ways to protect and promote Vermont’s unique brand.

Leahy is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and he has set the hearing, titled “Strategies to Protect and Promote Vermont Brands,” for 10:00 a.m. on Monday, March 7, in the Ross Gymnasium at St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vt.

“Vermont’s name has come to define the high quality of the products made in our state,” said Leahy. “Efforts to strengthen and protect our state’s brand have always been the product of a partnership between the private and public sectors. This hearing will give us an opportunity to find ways to build on that partnership and discover ways to protect and improve the quality brands that have come to define Vermont’s foods and products.”

The Vermont brand promotes connections between foods and products built on the state’s strong reputation for quality. The hearing will focus on efforts underway in Vermont to improve brands, and how approaches for celebrating and promoting Vermont’s unique products must also include strategies to protect them.

Vermont Secretary of Commerce Lawrence Miller and Vermont Secretary of Agriculture Chuck Ross will testify at the hearing. Also testifying will be Dr. Amy Trubeck of the University of Vermont; Mike Rainville, the President of Vermont Wood Manufacturers Association and President of Maple Landmark Woodcraft; and Roberta MacDonald, the Senior Vice President for Marketing at Cabot Creamery and member of Vermont Specialty Foods Association.

Only the panelists will offer testimony during the hearing but others are encouraged to attend and to submit written testimony for the record. This can be done at the hearing, or electronically before or for one week after the hearing by sending to:

Vermont_Brands@judiciary-dem.senate.gov