Business Notes | Nov. 20

A tradition at Bridgeside Books is the book Giving Tree where customers purchase books to donate to the Children's Literacy Foundation. In 2019, the holiday collection received 508 books. This year's goal is 500 again. Courtesy photo.

Donate books under the tree at Bridgeside 

Bridgeside Books continues its holiday tradition of collecting new children’s books to support the Waterbury-based nonprofit Children’s Literacy Foundation. 

Starting Saturday, Nov. 21, the shop will offer a 20% discount on book purchases donated to the foundation which helps provide new books to low-income and at-risk children often in rural communities in New Hampshire and Vermont.

Shoppers can pick out books to donate and leave them under the Bridgeside Giving Tree through Dec. 24. This year’s goal is to collect 500 books to be gifted to children across the region. 

Wrap it Up and Win returns for the holidays 

The Wrap It Up snowman will be on display at retailers, restaurants and other businesses taking part in the holiday promotion. Graphic courtesy Revitalizing Waterbury.

Revitalizing Waterbury is preparing for the holidays with several efforts to promote local shops, restaurants and breweries. Its annual Wrap It Up & Win shopping promotion begins Nov. 27 with nearly 50 local businesses participating. 

The promotion involves four weekly drawings with prizes such as gift cards and merchandise from participating merchants. Shoppers receive a stamp on their card with each purchase. Once a card has five stamps, the holder may drop it off at a designated collection spot to enter the weekly drawing. There is no limit on entries. Cards are available from participating merchants that will display the familiar snowman poster in their windows. 

RW also has assembled a new Very Merry Waterbury Gift Guide, an online list of local sources for holiday gift ideas that will be updated with specials during the holiday shopping season. 

Details on both promotions are online at DiscoverWaterbury.com/holidays and on social media: facebook.com/discoverwaterbury or instagram.com/waterburyvermont.

WDEV switches up morning talk programming 

The 9-11 a.m. time slot on WDEV has seen some changes this month.

The station on Nov. 6 ended the Dave Gram Show featuring the longtime Vermont journalist Dave Gram since 2018. Gram, who spent 30 years of his news career at the Associated Press in Montpelier and later at VtDigger, called the move abrupt. 

Dave Gram's run as morning talk show host on WDEV ended Nov. 6. Courtesy photo.

The changeup came after station management and Gram apparently disagreed on how the host navigated his role as talk show moderator and the degree to which he shared opinions in discussions on the show. The station has deleted the recordings of Gram’s radio shows from its website. 

The popular morning spot has been renamed Vermont Viewpoint and is on the air now with host Ric Cengeri, a veteran Vermont broadcaster. 

“This time slot has such great lineage. I just hope I can uphold that tradition by keeping Vermonters informed. But, also by introducing them to other Vermonters who are doing something interesting or who have accomplished something noteworthy,” Cengeri said in the station’s announcement of the new public affairs call-in program. 

Ric Cengeri hosts the new Vermont Viewpoint morning public affairs call-in talk show on WDEV, 9-11 a.m. weekdays. Courtesy photo.

Cengeri joined WDEV WHEN after previously working as a producer and host at Vermont Public Radio and WNCS radio in Montpelier. 

Listener calls will continue to be an important part of the morning-show dynamic.  “WDEV has always been a place for Vermonters to make their voices heard.  The diversity of topics on Vermont Viewpoint will allow a wide variety of Vermonters to give voice to local concerns and interests,” said station owner Ken Squier. 

In his first two weeks, Cengeri has had a wide range of guests on the air including Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos and Treasurer Beth Pearce, guests from veterans groups around Veterans Day, small business representatives, journalists covering business, education and COVID-19 and more. 

Vermont Viewpoint airs Monday through Friday, 9-11 a.m. on WDEV AM 550 and FM 96.1, 96.5, 98.3 and 101.9; also streaming at wdevradio.com. Past shows are archived on the station’s website as well at wdevradio.com/vtviewpoint/.