BRENDAN Collins
Brendan Collins
Career Highlights:
Graduating Cum Laude from Connecticut College
Winning Triple Crown Award at Edward Jones
Being hired at Wilk Paving
Hired at Castleton St. College to coach women's hockey
Community Involvement:
Founded GIDE Corporation
Coach 1 sport each season for youths at Rutland Rec Dept.
Involved with youth hockey at RAHA
Direct powerskating clinics in town
Help with several charities including: Epilepsy Foundation, Autism Speaks, Travis Roy Foundation, Rutland Catholic Schools
Favorite part of job? Working 3 jobs and all 3 are different require different skills and responsibilities. At Edward Jones my favorite part of the job is analyzing stocks and market movements. For Wilk Paving my favorite part of the job is corporate strategy and future planning. At Castleton my favorite aspect is going on the road and recruiting student athletes to come play hockey at our school. Overall, my favorite part of working in general is helping people, at Edward Jones I help my clients, at Wilk Paving I help my company and at Castleton I help the players on our team.
Most inspiring mentor? I have been blessed to have several mentors in my life, my parents, my Unlce BJ and Uncle Barry, my cousin Travis Roy and my older brother Patrick. However, the most inspiring mentor was Norm Walker, my english teacher, football coach and advisor at Holderness School. Norm taught me to have pride with humility, a line he used often. He taught me the importance of work ethic, perseverence and the importance of putting the needs of others before my own. He once quoted Gandi in my freshman English class saying "be the change you want to see in the world." I try and live that everyday of my life.
Who is your living hero? Travis Roy. Travis is my hero for a variety of reasons, he had a goal of playing Division One College Hockey and he worked incredibly hard to make that dream a reality and recieved a scholarship to play at Boston University (defending national champions). He was paralyzed 11 seconds into his first college game. He overcame extreme adversity to graduate from BU and has since gone on to form a non-profit organization to raise money for spinal cord injured survivors. He has been faced with life altering challenges and yet he keeps a positive attitude, helps others through his foundation and changes lives through being a motivational speaker. He is certainly my hero.
Favorite downtime activity? I like to coach sports whether its at the college level or at the youth sports level.
Favorite Vermont Escape? Hiking the Long Trail
Favorite social network? Gmail
Favorite website? Seekingalpha.com
Vermont Business Person you would most want to network with? I have tremendous respect for the Casella brothers who have been incredibly successful in business and then used that success as a podium to improve the communities in which they live.
John Boutin, VBM Publisher, Brendan Collins and Pat Moulton Powden, Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Community Development