Meet the Board Every month "Around the Chamber" will introduce our readers to a member of the Addison County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors In this issue, we introduce you to ACCOC Board Treasurer, Bethany Dever How long have you lived and/or worked in Addison County? I was born and raised in Bristol, but was determined to leave Vermont to go to college out of state. I attended Clark University in Worcester, MA and then took some graduate classes there as well, thinking I might get my MBA. Most of the classes were geared toward finding a career in corporate life and I knew that wasn’t the right avenue for me. However, there was one class that was quite unique in its teachings called Business and Spirituality. We studied businesses that had soul and were off the beaten path in comparison to public corporations. After taking that class, I quit grad school and joined the Peace Corp. Tell us about Dever Accounting Services. My first job in public accounting was auditing municipalities all over Vermont. I visited towns I had never been to and got to see a lot of the state, but it required more travel than I ultimately wanted so after three years I switched jobs and found a firm that focused on tax preparation. I moved to Burlington for this new job and really liked living and working there as a young adult. When I got married I moved into my husband’s house in Lincoln and decided to work on my own. In 2010 I started Dever Accounting Services, located in Bristol. We focus on individual and small business tax planning and preparation, as well as provide accounting services to a limited number of non-profits in our area.
Bethany Dever
How long have you volunteered with the Chamber’s Board? I joined the Board in 2017 when Sue Hoxie reached out and asked if I would consider being the Treasurer of the Chamber. The role has ebbed and flowed in responsibility while we actively searched for a bookkeeper interested in taking on the job. In 2022, what do you see as the most challenging issue(s) facing business in Addison County? The lack of employees available to fill the demand of open jobs is hurting business in Addison County. I hear it all the time from clients and other business owners that they can’t fill open positions. The Chamber of Commerce’s role in supporting business and non-profits in Addison County is always evolving. In your view, what should be the Chamber’s strategic direction in 2022? For me, the Chamber has always been a great way to learn about what other businesses are doing in the area. It’s great to have a source of communication to connect us and promote all that is happening in the area.
