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December 23, 2010 Save The Date: “St. Louis Green Economy Confluence” To Be Presented January 26th and 27th At Saint Louis University: Connecting St. Louis area employers, educators and public policy makers and citizens for the future of the region’s green economy is the focus of the “St. Louis Green Confluence” on Wednesday and Thursday, January 26th and 27th, at the Saint Louis University Center for Sustainability.
Presented by the RCGA; the Missouri Career Center; Southwestern Illinois workNet; Saint Louis University Center for Sustainability; St. Louis Public Radio 90.7 KWMU; and nineNetwork Channel 9; registration -- complete with a list of all speakers and breakout sessions -- will be available online the first week in January. Highlights of the 2-day program will include:
For more information about the RCGA’s green economy initiatives, please contact RCGA Senior Director for Energy & Environment Eric Schneider at 314.444.1148, or e-mail him at eschneider@stlrcga.org. Happy Holidays, December 22, 2010 20th Anniversary St. Louis Arts Awards To Be Held On Monday, January 24th: The RCGA and St. Louis Commerce magazine are pleased to once again serve as sponsor and print media sponsor, respectively, of the 2011 St. Louis Arts Awards Dinner on Monday evening, January 24th, at the Chase Park Plaza. Presented by the Arts and Education Council since 1992, this 20th annual celebration salutes individuals and organizations who achieve a legacy of artistic excellence, and businesses that enrich the St. Louis region's arts and cultural community. The St. Louis Arts Awards Dinner is co-chaired by Ameren Corp. Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer Tom Voss, incoming RCGA Chairman, and his wife, Carol. My wife, Sarah Smith, and I are pleased to once again serve as co-Chairs of this year's gala event.
Here are the 2011 St. Louis Arts Award recipients:
For reservations and more information about the 2011 St. Louis Arts Awards, please contact the Arts and Education Council at 314.289.4003 or visit www.keeparthappening.org. December 21, 2010 RCGA Rolling Out New “Helping Business Work” Business Education Program In 2011: The RCGA is introducing a new business education program in the New Year. This program, RCGA – Helping Business Work, is designed to provide RCGA members and guests with useful ideas and information about running their businesses. The inaugural Helping Business Work program, “The Good, The Bad & The Ugly – How to Protect Your Brand with a Social Media Policy”, will be presented on Tuesday, January 11th, from 7:15 a.m. to 9 a.m., in the Regional Collaboration Center at the RCGA. Our presenters will be Craig Moore, Jeffrey Schultz and Melissa Glauber, attorneys with Armstrong Teasdale LLP. Our speakers will focus on how Social Media can help businesses market themselves and do business, while showing how companies can protect themselves from potential legal issues, as well. There is no charge to attend, but we urge you to reserve your seat today by contacting RCGA Vice President for Membership Services Colin Stahlhut, at 314.444.1145, or e-mail him at cstahlhut@stlrcga.org. December 20, 2010 “RCGA Working To Unite The Region”: This was a theme in Sunday's installment of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch series, "Can We Compete?" The issue of regional fragmentation is covered in- depth, chronicling our region's legendary multiplicity of 1,027 units of government. One regional collaboration and cooperation bright spot highlighted on yesterday's front page stories was the Regional Economic Development Network, established in 1995 by the RCGA as a centerpiece of our initial multi-year Economic Development Campaign, chaired by then-CEO of Boatman's Bancshares Andy Craig. The headline aptly described what was then, and continues today, to be a core mission of the RCGA; namely, "RCGA Works to Unify a Divided Region.” In David Nicklaus’ column, RCGA Board Chair for Economic Development Danny Ludeman shares his “customer experience” from Wells Fargo Advisors’ 750 employees and headquarters relocation from Richmond to St. Louis, in which he cites a united and organized regional economic development effort by the City, RCGA and the State. Please click on this link to read the Post article in its entirety.
Also quoted in the article is Ned Hill, national economic development expert and Dean of the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University, who describes the St. Louis Regional Economic Development Campaign and the Network as “national best practice examples” of regional collaboration in economic development. The RCGA Campaign and the Regional Network were established back in 1995, vividly demonstrating that regional collaboration is also productive economic development. RCGA leaders set a very ambitious goal of generating 100,000 new jobs, as the St. Louis region sought to get its share of job and investment growth in the then-robust national economy. Thanks in great measure to the Regional Economic Development Network's approach --- vs. the previous "Balkan states approach" --- that initial Campaign generated 112,000 jobs. As the Post-Dispatch article further notes, armed with a well-thought out and updated Regional Cluster Strategy, under Danny’s leadership, the new 2011-2015 RCGA Campaign will continue to build on the foundation of regional collaboration through the Network, and will apply the positive lessons of the Network to the new Plan’s emphasis on Leadership Councils for each of the industry cluster targets. December 17, 2010 Saluting Jill McGuire For 25 Years At RAC Helm: Speaking of outstanding St. Louis performers, congratulations to Regional Arts Commission Executive Director Jill McGuire, the first and only executive director since the RAC was created by then-St. Louis Mayor Vince Schoemehl in 1985.
Jill was saluted at a special Silver Anniversary event this past Monday evening at the St. Louis Club by a host of area leaders, including Vince, who now heads Grand Center, Tom and Carol Voss, Arts and Education Council President Cindy Prost, and a host of others. Jill leads all functions of the organization and serves as a liaison to the broader community, advocating for the advancement of the arts in the region and beyond. Over the past 25 years she has helped drive consistent growth in tax revenues, resulting in a larger grant pool that has allowed more opportunities for cultural institutions in the region. In Fall 2003, Jill, her staff, and the board of the Regional Arts Commission marked a major milestone for the organization by opening its new home and site of the area's first Cultural Resource Center, which was developed to meet the everyday needs of the region's arts groups, both emerging and established. Her leadership in the arts extends beyond the St. Louis region and the State of Missouri. A founding board member for Arts for America, a national political action committee for the arts, Jill has been a long-time advocate for greater public support for the arts. December 16, 2010 Olin Business School At Washington University EMBA Ranked #2 In The World: I was pleased to present the commencement address for the joint graduation of the St. Louis Olin Executive MBA class and the companion Fudan class from Shanghai this past Friday afternoon at Graham Chapel. Olin hosted nearly 250 guests and celebrated more than 60 EMBA graduates across both programs.
The domestic Executive MBA program was recently ranked #2 worldwide by The Wall Street Journal, second only to the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. The Olin School’s China partner, the Executive MBA at Fudan University Shanghai program is ranked #1 in mainland China by the Financial Times. The Wall Street Journal cited Olin’s very high scores in the areas of career services and alumni satisfaction with the program as strengths that helped vault Olin high into the rankings. Olin’s Shanghai-based EMBA program is ranked #8 by the Financial Times and #1 in China. Students in the U.S. and Chinese programs spend two weeks in Shanghai and St. Louis as part of the international component of each program. Olin’s EMBA program in Kansas City was launched in April 2010. “Who’d A Thought?”: Rams Planning To Host Playoff Games At Edward Jones Dome: Who would have thought back at the beginning of the current NFL season that the Rams would be working on plans to serve as host to playoff games at the Edward Jones Dome?
The season began with very high expectations, with the likes of #1 draft pick quarterback Sam Bradford, running back Steven Jackson, linebacker James Laurinaitis and the other Rams players, and the rebuilding of the football team by Coach Steve Spagnuolo, Executive Vice President for Football Operations Kevin Demoff, a member of the RCGA Board, and General Manager Billy DeVaney. It’s gratifying to see how far the team has come both on the field and how strongly the Rams are connecting with our community. This past August, Coach Spagnuolo, Kevin, and Billy welcomed RCGA Board and Leadership Circle members to Rams Park for an outstanding reception. Recruited to St. Louis back in 1995, the Rams surprised the football world by rising to the top faster than anyone expected, on the arm of Kurt Warner and running back Marshall Faulk. Hopefully, history will repeat itself this year! Meanwhile, it’s nice to be receiving ticket order forms from the Rams once again just before the Holidays for potential Playoff Games. Go Rams! December 15, 2010 Right Arm Of St. Louis Award To Be Presented At RCGA’s 174th Annual Dinner And Meeting On Thursday, January 20th: Speaking of Walter, we are pleased to present him with the Right Arm of St. Louis Award, the RCGA’s most prestigious honor, at the RCGA Annual Meeting and Dinner on Thursday evening, January 20th, at the Chase Park Plaza.
Our speaker at the Annual Dinner will be Charles Osgood of CBS News. “The Osgood File” is broadcast on KMOX radio and nationwide on the CBS Radio Network each weekday morning during drive time. His daily news commentaries draw one of the largest audiences of any network radio program in the country. In addition, he has become a Sunday morning institution as anchor, since 1994, of the CBS News television broadcast, "Sunday Morning,” for which he has won a George Foster Peabody Award and 3 EMMY Awards. The evening program will include a state of the region, as well as a salute to outgoing RCGA Chairman Bob Reynolds, welcoming incoming Chairman Tom Voss, highlights of the new regional economic development campaign by RCGA Board Chair for Economic Development Danny Ludeman, as well as a salute to the RCGA Board of Directors and inauguration of 2011 officers, and other RCGA volunteers. We invite you and your company or organization to share in this unique regional celebration by participating as a sponsor of this special evening. Sponsorships are $2,900 and entitle sponsors to preferential seating for a table of 10, recognition in the audio/visual presentation and print program, recognition on the RCGA's website and in St. Louis Commerce Magazine, special table signage, and a special VIP sponsor reception afterwards with RCGA leaders and Walter. Formal invitations to the January 20th RCGA Annual Meeting and Dinner will be mailed this week to the entire RCGA membership. To become a Dinner Table Sponsor, please call Mary Barbeau at the RCGA at (314) 444-1103, or email her at mbarbeau@stlrcga.org. December 14, 2010 Obama Cabinet Secretaries Re-Affirm Federal Commitment To Arch Project During Trip To St. Louis: Just over a year ago, the The City + The Arch + The River 2015 international design competition was launched. Walter Metcalfe, Jr. and his civic colleagues are providing outstanding leadership for this effort, which resulted in the Michael Van Valkenburgh design team having been selected by a jury in September. The team is now hard at work refining its design concept with the many stakeholders. This past Friday, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood visited the site and held a news conference at the Malcolm Martin Park on the east bank -- the 3rd visit for Secretary Salazar -- to evaluate our region’s progress and re-affirm the effort to complete this legacy project by the 50th anniversary of the Arch’s completion, October 28th, 2015. U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, Walter, Mayor Francis Slay, and a host of other leaders also participated in Friday’s event.
Secretaries Salazar and LaHood have expressed their full support to make this project happen. U.S. Sen. McCaskill led the tour on Friday, also affirming her enthusiastic support, as well as the support of U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk and U.S. Sen.-elect Roy Blunt. December 13, 2010 St. Louis Region Is “High Performer” In Brookings Global Economic Study: St. Louis sharply out-performed many regions around the world according to a just-released study by the renowned Brookings Institution. In announcing the results of the study, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch carried the headline, “St. Louis Soars In Global Economic Study.” The study, part of Brookings’ “Global MetroMonitor” series, compares job and income growth in 150 regions around the world. St. Louis leapfrogged 80 places in the ranking during the past year economic recovery, moving all the way up to #53, which puts us just slightly below Tokyo and Charlotte in the rate at which we’re bouncing back from the recession.
Also, Brookings places St. Louis among a group of regions worldwide — including the likes of Minneapolis, San Diego, Istanbul and Moscow — that it considers “on the road to full recovery.” On a related note, a recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece by economic development strategist, urban historian, journalist and best-selling author, Joel Kotkin, had more good news for St. Louis. His article, entitled, “The Rise Of The Efficient City,” presents the case that smaller, more nimble urban regions promise a better life than the congested megalopolis. You might say regions that are perfectly centered and remarkably connected. Kotkin writes: “Most of the world's population now lives in cities. To many academics, planners and developers, that means that the future will be dominated by what urban theorist Saskia Sassen calls "new geographies of centrality." According to this view, dense, urban centers with populations in excess of 20 million—such as metropolitan Tokyo, New Delhi, Sao Paolo and New York—are best suited to control the commanding heights of global economics and culture in the coming epoch.” “In fact, the era of bigger-is-better is passing as smaller, more nimble urban regions are emerging. These efficient cities, as I call them, provide the amenities of megacities—airports, mass communication, reservoirs of talent—without their grinding congestion, severe social conflicts and other diseconomies of scale.” To read Kotkin’s article in its entirety, please click on this link: http://www.joelkotkin.com/content/00327-rise-efficient-city. December 9, 2010 “Setting The Record Straight”: The Wall Street Journal Pans CQ Press’s Bogus “Crime Rankings”: In what is the latest national news organization to debunk and refute the logic of CQ Press’s infamous ranking of crime and cities, The Wall Street Journal published two articles over the weekend featuring criminologists who sharply criticize the annual ranking. WSJ “Numbers Guy” Carl Bialik penned both columns, published this past Friday and Saturday, respectively. Bialik holds a degree in mathematics and physics from Yale University.
The first is his print column, “In Crime Lists, Nuance Is a Victim.” The second, “Criminologists Assign City Crime Rankings Low Score,” is his accompanying on-line column: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703989004575652773618020254.html http://blogs.wsj.com/numbersguy/criminologists-assign-city-crime-rankings-low-score-1016/ Bialik writes in his print column, “The CQ Press ranking takes into account a city's per-capita incidence of six serious crimes: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor-vehicle theft. For each crime, the editors calculate how each city's rate differs from the national average. These six percentage differences are averaged to produce an overall score, and then cities are ranked by that score, which, roughly speaking, represents the difference between a city's rate of serious crime and the national rate. This method produces some quirks. A city with below-average levels in five of the categories but a very high level of, say, car theft could score poorly. Also, if crime is down nationally, a city whose crime rate falls more slowly could see its crime ranking rise. And there is very little difference near the middle of the rankings, meaning differences of 20 or 30 ranking positions might not be statistically significant.” Bialik extensively quotes nationally-regarded criminologist University of Missouri at St. Louis professor Dr. Richard Rosenfeld, who is President of the American Society of Criminology. December 8, 2010 RCGA & St. Louis Commerce Magazine Sponsoring International Conference On Information Systems In St. Louis, December 12th Through 15th: RCGA and St. Louis Commerce Magazine are pleased to co-sponsor the 31st Annual International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), beginning this Sunday, December 12th through Wednesday, December 15th, at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch downtown. ICIS is the premier professional meeting in the Information Systems field and provides access to the highest caliber scholarship in the IS discipline, which addresses IT leadership, systems development, enterprise resource planning, cross-cultural issues, and social and economic impacts of information technology. Scottrade President & CEO Rodger Riney, a 2010 Greater St. Louis Top 50 Award recipient, and Scottrade CIO Ian Patterson are the luncheon keynote speakers on Monday.
In addition to more than 60 overall presentations, the 4-day ICIS conference includes CIO panels, research panels, and professional networking opportunities. ICIS is the major annual meeting of the Association of Information Systems (AIS), which has over 4,000 members representing universities in over 95 countries worldwide. Each year, ICIS brings together 1,200 to 1,400 leaders in the Information Systems academic profession from across the U.S. and around the world. For more information and a complete schedule of events, please visit http://icis2010.aisnet.org. December 7, 2010 Charles Osgood Is Keynote Speaker At RCGA’s 174th Annual Dinner And Meeting On Thursday, January 20th: The venerable CBS News “Poet in Residence” Charles Osgood will speak at the RCGA’s 174th Annual Meeting and Dinner on Thursday evening, January 20th, at the Chase Park Plaza. “The Osgood File” is broadcast on KMOX radio and nationwide on the CBS Radio Network each weekday morning during drive time. His daily news commentaries draw one of the largest audiences of any network radio program. Each 3 minute Osgood File focuses on a single story ranging from a breaking development of national importance to a whimsical human-interest vignette. Some of these he does in rhyme, which is why he is known as CBS's "Poet in Residence." In addition, he has become a Sunday morning institution as anchor of the CBS News television broadcast "Sunday Morning,” for which he has won a George Foster Peabody Award and 3 EMMY Awards.
Osgood's thought provoking broadcasts attract one of the largest audiences of any network radio feature and have won him numerous awards over the last 25 years, among them two Peabody Awards from the University of Georgia, the Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), a Marconi Award and a Radio-Mercury Award. The Washington Journalism Review named him Best Radio Reporter in its annual Best In The Business issue 5 years in a row. Osgood has been inducted into 3 industry Halls of Fame: The National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame; the Radio Hall of Fame at the Radio Museum in Chicago; and the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame. The 174th RCGA Annual Meeting and Dinner will honor lawyer and long-time regional civic leader Walter Metcalfe, Jr., of Bryan Cave, with the Right Arm of St. Louis Award, the RCGA's most prestigious honor. Walter represented the St. Louis NFL group in the establishment of legislation and financing for the construction of the Edward Jones Dome expansion of the St. Louis Convention Center. He helped to organize Grand Center, Inc., the developer of the arts and entertainment district in St. Louis, and represented the Missouri Botanical Garden, Monsanto Company, the University of Missouri and Washington University in the organization, funding and construction of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in Creve Coeur. Walter and his civic colleagues continue to provide great leadership to The City + The Arch + The River 2015 Foundation, presenting to the RCGA Board twice this year on the Arch Grounds International Design Competition. The evening program will include a state of the region, as well as a salute to outgoing RCGA Chairman Bob Reynolds, welcoming incoming Chairman Tom Voss, highlights of the new regional economic development campaign by RCGA Board Chair for Economic Development Danny Ludeman, as well as a salute to the RCGA Board of Directors and inauguration of 2011 officers, and other RCGA volunteers. We invite you and your company or organization to share in this unique regional celebration by participating as a sponsor of this special evening. Sponsorships are $2,900 and entitle sponsors to preferential seating for a table of 10, recognition in the audio/visual presentation and print program, recognition on the RCGA's website and in St. Louis Commerce Magazine, special table signage, and a special VIP sponsor reception afterwards with RCGA leaders and Walter. Formal invitations to the January 20th RCGA Annual Meeting and Dinner will be mailed very soon to the entire RCGA membership. To become a Dinner Table Sponsor, please call Mary Barbeau at the RCGA at (314) 444-1103, or email her at mbarbeau@stlrcga.org. December 6, 2010 RCGA To Salute 58 St. Louis Area Companies Tomorrow Morning For Successfully Completing “St. Louis Green Business Challenge”: RCGA will present awards tomorrow morning to area businesses, institutions and organizations for successfully completing the first year of the RCGA’s St. Louis Green Business Challenge. The awards will be presented at the Point of View Ballroom in the Laclede Building at 720 Olive St. downtown, beginning at 8 a.m. to 58 companies from throughout the bi-state region. These 58 participants compiled a scorecard of requirements to form “green” teams, reduce waste, conserve water and energy, improve indoor air quality, and provide clean transportation options. The Challenge is a program of the RCGA’s Climate Prosperity Project, the mission of which is to create and sustain regional prosperity by cultivating green savings, green opportunities, and green talent. RCGA member companies aggressively took up the Challenge and proved that these business strategies can provide “green savings,” by helping grow their bottom lines through sustainable practices. This effort is one of our key initiatives to advance a green economy for our region.
RCGA engaged the Missouri Botanical Garden’s EarthWays Center to serve as Resource Advisor to Challenge participants. The EarthWays staff organized informative seminars and performed site visits to help company Green Teams implement measures defined by the Challenge scorecard. Participating companies hosted Green Business Tours to showcase their accomplishments in sustainable-workplace programs ranging from recycling to building energy improvements to customer & employee education. “This program generated extraordinary excitement in the business community, as the Challenge scorecard guided strategic implementation of internal green practices,” noted EarthWays Center Director Glenda Abney. “Through involvement in the Challenge, a significant number of our region’s businesses have expanded their ‘sustainability literacy’ and adopted policies to inform their ongoing work with these options.” “These businesses have found that embracing sustainability can be efficiently integrated into daily business practices,” she added. “The work accomplished by RCGA and the 2010 Challenge companies proves how ‘green thinking’ can help achieve company mission, budgetary, marketing and community impact goals. The Missouri Botanical Garden is proud to be part of this Challenge!” Case Studies illustrating the wide range of achievements during this year’s Challenge can be reviewed at www.stlouisgreenchallenge.com. Enrollment for the second year of the St. Louis Green Business Challenge will begin next month. The Challenge is open to RCGA member companies and organizations. For more information, please contact RCGA Senior Director for Energy & Environment Eric Schneider at eschneider@stlrcga.org or visit www.stlouisgreenchallenge.com
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