2025 Vermont Employee Ownership Conference
What does Employee Ownership mean to you?
This is the question Jesse Tyler of Hypertherm posed to our 250 attendees during the keynote panel at our 23rd Annual conference. In the photo here, Mellisa Cain of Iceberg Consulting records highlights of the morning discussion, pulling the common themes up above the surface and illustrating why Employee Ownership matters, not just at the scale of the economy, but at the level of the individual.
Belonging.
Mission.
Community.
Empowerment.
These themes and others needled a thread from the plenary through the day’s 25 breakout sessions, encouraging and energizing the amazing community that accomplishes so much for Vermont through their dedication to shared ownership.
Here’s what some attendees have said about the event:
“This is a super valuable conference for our organization, and we plan to send more people next year!”
“The conference was well organized and is specifically a great resource for those just starting out.”
“I came away feeling like our decision to become and ESOP was the right one, and that VEOC is a great resource.”
“There was something very special about the gathering, the way that people moved through the day, the conversations and the personal, professional interest expressed.”
Keynote Panel
Thanks to Jesse Tyler for leading our Panel discussion! And to panelists: Sara Hale of Hypertherm, Stephanie Petrarca of New School of Montpelier, and Dawn Robin of TimberHomes Vermont!
“Personal stories of employee ownership are extremely powerful; I loved hearing from the three worker owners during Jesse's keynote.”
“I loved the panel hosted by Jesse Tyler. He set the tone for a conference focused on relationship and sharing expertise with passion and compassion. He was outstanding!”
Interactive sessions
Business conferences don’t exactly have a reputation for being energetic and fun, so we’ve worked hard to make VEOC enjoyable as well as useful. And it’s a bonus that having a good time actually helps you understand and remember what you’re learning!
Featured: Mellisa Cain’s HoneyBee Cards in action during the “How NOT to be Boring” session.
(Help Mellisa launch these cards by reserving a deck on Kickstarter! Deadline June 28)
While our small VEOC staff works hard to put together this exceptional day of connection and learning, we are tremendously grateful to rely on a talented and brilliant community of experts in the field. This year’s conference featured 44 presenters and panelists, many of them traveling from out of state to bring their wisdom and guidance to the Vermont business community. If you’re interested, you can still view the full list of speakers.
Thank you to our presenters, panelists, sponsors, vendors, and participants for bringing their skills, resources, humor, and questions to make this event a powerful moment for the employee ownership. We hope to see you all again around the same time next year!
Many thanks again to our 2025 Platinum Sponsors: Devine Millimet and PC Construction.
See all of our 2025 VEOC Sponsors
This event was artfully captured through photographs by digital storyteller Dylan Kelley.
