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June 28, 2011 RCGA Breakfast With The Gazelles Features Brown Shoe SVP & Chief Talent Officer Doug Koch On Wednesday, July 13th: For a unique perspective on talent development in the St. Louis region, please plan to join us on Wednesday morning, July 13th, for RCGA Breakfast with the Gazelles featuring Doug Koch, senior vice president and chief talent officer for Brown Shoe Co., and chair of the RCGA Talent Council, at the RCGA offices, beginning with registration at 7:15 a.m.
Doug will speak on, "Talent And What It Means To St. Louis Area Employers." For more information about the July 13th and other upcoming RCGA Breakfast with the Gazellesprograms, sponsored by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, please contact RCGA Vice President for Membership Services Colin Stahlhut today at 314.444.1145, or e-mail him at cstahlhut@stlrcga.org. June 27, 2011 Two Timely RCGA Energy & Environment Programs To Be Held This Week: What do Boeing, JP Morgan, Google, Dell, Johnson Controls, Procter & Gamble, Bank of America, AON, Baxter, Colgate-Palmoive, UBS, Unilever, Heinz, HP, IBM and some 55 international companies have in common? Each of the above companies is a "supply chain member" of an enterprise called the Carbon Disclosure Project. The common thread is Paul Dickinson, chair of the Carbon Disclosure Project, a data-driven collaborative private sector initiative to deal with climate change in the context of the marketplace and the economy. Dickinson will present on creating a 21st century communications economy and the path forward for lower-carbon economic growth, tomorrow morning,Tuesday, June 28th, from 7:30 to 9 a.m., at the RCGA offices. The Carbon Disclosure Project is an independent not-for-profit organization holding the largest database of primary corporate climate change and water information in the world. As you may recall, the RCGA Board of Directors adopted 4 strategic initiatives in 2009. They are:(1.) Sharpening the Region’s Economic Development Products (2.) Leveraging the Region’s Location Advantages (3.) Attracting, Developing and Retaining Top Talent in the Region, and (4.)Regional Sustainability as Good Economics. Our region's Climate Prosperity Project is an initiative to help fulfill the aforementioned priority by assisting companies to adopt more Sustainable business practices and improve their bottom lines, as well as to fulfill the region’s immense potential in the Green Economy. Economic analyses indicate that there is significant promise for St. Louis in the clean energy economy. In fact, one of the industry clusters of the future identified in the regional economic development plan is Sustainable Technologies --- including Plant Science & Ag Tech, Advanced Energy Solutions, and Sustainable Building Design & Materials. In that context, the RCGA – as part of our continuing refinement of the region’s economic strategies – is about to undertake the so-called Greenprint, which is patterned after similar efforts recently completed by the fellow National Climate Prosperity Pilot communities of Denver, Colorado; Silicon Valley, California; and Portland, Oregon. (Climate Prosperity 2.0) The Greenprint 2011 is an action plan created by business and community leaders that advances innovation, efficiency and conservation in the use and reuse of resources to increase employment, income, productivity and competitiveness in our region. In this regard, we are taking occasions to share “best practices” and present insightful speakers, such as Paul Dickinson, on this subject. This breakfast program tomorrow is presented by the RCGA, AT&T, and the Missouri Botanical Garden.
Discover how your business or organization can improve its performance and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by registering today to attend this timely program. Then, this Wednesday, June 29th, from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the RCGA offices, U.S. Representative John Shimkus (R-Ill.), chair of the House Subcommittee on Environment and Economy and a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, will present his perspective on energy and environment issues facing his Committee. Congressman Shimkus will also respond to questions regarding the latest issues on Capitol Hill.
Both events are no charge for RCGA members. For reservations, please contact Sherri Bailey at the RCGA at sbailey@stlrcga.org. June 22, 2011 St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project Developing "St. Louis Greenprint 2011": The next priority of the St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project is the creation St. Louis Greenprint 2011, a strategic plan to advance innovation, efficiency and conservation in the use and reuse of resources to help increase employment, income, productivity and regional competitiveness, as well as guide the recently-identified Sustainable Technologies Cluster.
The Greenprint will contribute to the RCGA Board's goal of improving the St. Louis region on indicators of regional vitality, economic health and the creation of community wealth through programs and activities that do the following:
In the next few months, Working Teams will be created to address these objectives, develop metrics to measure the success of the Greenprint and establish programs and activities. St. Louis Greenprint 2011 will also contain an inventory of regional climate prosperity businesses and assets and catalog the sustainability initiatives occurring in the region. In preparation for St. Louis Greenprint 2011, the RCGA has launched a new webpage for the St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project. Web page viewers and prospective participants can learn more about the St. Louis Green Business Challenge, read the St. Louis Green Economy Profile, and find resources on green jobs in our community, at StLouisGreenJobs.com. We invite you to join us on one or more of the 4 St. Louis Greenprint 2011 Working Teams to help develop the St. Louis Greenprint and related climate prosperity programs for implementation in 2012. The 4 Working Teams are:
We are planning an initial kick-off meeting of all participants on Friday, July 15th from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. in the Regional Collaboration Center at the RCGA offices, after which we will convene the 4 Working Teams. We anticipate a total of 4 to 5 meetings between now and December 2011. To become part of the effort, please contact Eric Schneider at (314) 444-1148. Or e-mail him at eschneider@stlrcga.org. June 21, 2011 Help Improve Soulard Farmer's Market --- St. Louis City Seeks Public Input On The Soulard Market Master Plan: The City of St. Louis has initiated a master planning study of the historic Soulard Market and Park located at 7th Street and Lafayette Avenue. Soulard Market, the oldest market west of the Mississippi, is a significant part of St. Louis’ history providing food and products to the region since the 1800s. Today, the Market hosts a variety of vendors from food to retail and is open Wednesdays through Saturdays all year. This study is important for several reasons. The Market’s Grand Hall and infrastructure were built in 1929 and have not had a major renovation since opening. The last study of the market was completed more than 10 years ago. Since that time, only minor upgrades have been made to the market. The City would like to maintain Soulard Market as a destination for shoppers across the region, providing a variety of food and retail options for generations to come.
The study will address parking, trash disposal, heating and cooling issues and other potential infrastructure upgrades. It will also look at ways to better use the adjacent park and the upper level of the Grand Hall. The public’s input is needed as part of the planning process and critical to its success. The study team is seeking information on what the public likes most about the market, what they like about other markets in the area and what changes or improvements they would like to see at Soulard Market. The online survey will be available at www.soulardmarketsurvey.com until July 5th. The results of the survey and recommendations for the Market and Park will be compiled in a Master Plan scheduled to be presented to the public in early 2012. For questions, please contact Gary Bess, director of the City’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry at 314.289.5300. June 20, 2011 October Pittsburgh Leadership Trip To Focus On Successes In Economic Development, Intergovernmental And Regional Cooperation, Regional Sustainability, And Others: In what has become a tradition in the St. Louis area since the inaugural Leadership Trip to Cleveland back in 1996, regional leaders are joining forces for a "best practices" examination of Pittsburgh on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, October 2nd, 3rd and 4th for the Annual RCGA Annual Leadership Trip.
Led this year by Ameren Chairman, President & CEO and RCGA Chairman Tom Voss, the Leadership Exchange to Pittsburgh will provide St. Louis CEOs, elected officials, and regional civic leaders a unique and in-depth opportunity to focus on a number of issues important to our own metropolitan area, strengthen existing relationships and forge new ones. Through these annual Leadership Exchanges, we have advanced issues over the years here in St. Louis as diverse as center city revitalization; the proactive pursuit of the St. Louis BioBelt Plant and Life Sciences strategy; the development of the CORTEX (the Center of Research, Technology and Entrepreneurial Exchange); and various St. Louis venture capital initiatives; and many “best practices” examples of bi-state economic development – to name a few. This promises to be an outstanding Trip and we certainly hope you can join us. The Leadership Trip registration fee of $2,999 covers each delegate's participation, air fare, including single occupancy accommodations, and all meals (starting Sunday with lunch and ending Tuesday with lunch), as well as local transportation. During the past 15 years, Pittsburgh has transformed itself from a ‘steel city’ to one that hosted the G-20 Summit in 2009 to international accolades and coverage. Among the issues that we’ll explore are:
For reservations, please call RCGA Vice President for Membership Services Colin Stahlhut today at314.444.1145, or email him at cstahlhut@stlrcga.org. We look forward to your joining us! June 15, 2011 “Creating A 21st Century Communications Economy - A Path Forward To Low-Carbon Economic Growth” Program To Be Held At RCGA Tuesday, June 28th: As we work to make the St. Louis region more competitive economically, the RCGA Board of Directors adopted 4 long-term Regional Priorities back in 2009, one of which is focused on the region’s Sustainability agenda, both from a quality of life and an economic growth perspective. The St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project is an initiative to help fulfill that priority by assisting companies to adopt more Sustainable business practices and improve their bottom lines, as well as to fulfill the region’s immense potential in the Green Economy. Economic analyses indicate that there is significant promise for St. Louis in the clean energy economy. In fact, one of the industry clusters of the future identified in the regional economic development plan is Sustainable Technologies --- including Plant Science & Ag Tech, Advanced Energy Solutions, and Sustainable Building Design & Materials. In that context, the RCGA – as part of our continuing refinement of the region’s economic strategies – is about to undertake the so-called Greenprint, which is patterned after similar efforts recently completed by the fellow National Climate Prosperity Pilot communities of Denver, Colorado; Silicon Valley, California; and Portland, Oregon. The Greenprint 2011 is an action plan created by business and community leaders that advances innovation, efficiency and conservation in the use and reuse of resources to increase employment, income, productivity and competitiveness in our region. In this regard, we are taking occasions to share “best practices” and present insightful speakers on this subject. Paul Dickinson, executive chairman of the London-based Carbon Disclosure Project, an independent not-for-profit organization holding the largest database of primary corporate climate change information in the world, will speak at the RCGA on Tuesday morning, June 28th. This breakfast program, presented by the RCGA, AT&T, and the Missouri Botanical Garden, begins at 7:30 a.m. and concludes at 9 a.m. His topic is, “Creating A 21st Century Communications Economy - A Path Forward To Low-Carbon Economic Growth.”
Discover how your business or organization can improve its performance and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by registering today to attend this timely program. Please contact Sherri Bailey at the RCGA at sbailey@sltrcga.org or 314.444.1134. June 14, 2011 23rd Annual RCGA "Try St. Louis … Buy St. Louis" Golf Tournament On Monday, June 20th: We are just a week away from the 23rd Annual RCGA "Try St. Louis … Buy St. Louis" Golf Tournament, to be held next Monday, June 20th, at the 36-hole Whitmoor Country Club.
This year's overall tournament sponsors are Coventry Health Care/GHP and M&I Bank. KMOX NewsRadio 1120 is media sponsor. Gerry Clark is once again serving as chair of the tournament. 54 companies, organizations and sponsors, and 175 golfers have registered to date. The RCGA's "Try St. Louis … Buy St. Louis" Golf Tournament has a tradition of being more than a great outing of golf; it is one of the region's top business networking events of the year, as well. The tournament will offer hole-in-one, longest drive, closest-to-the-pin, and putting contests, as well as many more competition prizes. All players will receive a tournament gift. If you would like to join us, please call RCGA Vice President for Membership Services Colin Stahlhut today at 314.444.1145. A closest-to-the-pin “shootout” for $750, $500 and $250 gift certificates will highlight the day; the 8 closest-to-the-pin winners throughout the day on the par 3s will hold a shootout at 150 yards from the 18th green. A barbecue lunch and closing dinner at the Whitmoor Country Club will round out the event; KMOX's Tom Ackerman will serve as dinner/program emcee.  Tom Ackerman The 54 hole sponsors and contributors to date are: AT&T; American Airlines; Anheuser-Busch; BKD; Ascension Health; Bommarito Automotive Group; Build-A-Bear Workshop; Centene Corporation; Chase Park Plaza; CIGNA; Commerce Bank; Delta Dental; The Doe Run Company; Edward Jones; Enterprise Bank & Trust; Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis; Fox Associates; Fulcrum Consulting; Genovese Jewelers; Hampton Inn Gateway Arch; Hilton St. Louis Ballpark Hotel; Holland Construction Services; Humana; IMPACT Group; International Mulch Company; Lucas Park Grille; Luxco, Inc.; Meramec Caverns; Mike Shannon’s Steaks & Seafood; Millennium Hotel; Monsanto Company; Pasta House Company; Pepsi Beverages Co.; Plumbers & Pipefitters Local # 562; Quest Diagnostics; Renaissance Grand Hotel; the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis; Schnuck Markets; Scottrade; Southern Illinois Construction Advancement Program; Southwest Airlines; St. Louis Cardinals; St. Louis College of Pharmacy; St. Louis Rams; St. Louis Renaissance Grand Hotel; St. Louis Symphony Orchestra; St. Louis Union Station Marriott; St. Louis Zoo; The Standard; UnitedHealthcare; USI Insurance; Walgreens; The Westin St. Louis; and Whitmoor Country Club. To become a hole sponsor, or to register for the golf tournament, please contact RCGA Vice President for Membership Services Colin Stahlhut today at 314.444.1145, or e-mail him at cstahlhut@stlrcga.org. June 13, 2011 AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust Playing Key Role In St. Louis Center City Revitalization: As recent media reports have noted, there is a mini real estate boom underway in St. Louis’ center city --- what with the Park Pacific, the Central Library, the Chase Park Plaza, and the Peabody Opera House, just to name a few. Having experienced over $4 billion in new investment in the 10 years before the “Great Recession in 2008,” the present uptick in center city investment is most welcome. What is not as widely known is that one of the major investors in St. Louis’ center city renaissance is a very unique lender, namely the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT).
The HIT’s 2010 investments in St. Louis include a $45 million investment in the $175 million mixed use adaptive renovation of the former Dillard’s Department Store as The Laurel and $63 million to support the $98 million renovation of the former Union Pacific classic HQ building next to the Central Library as the Park Pacific residential and retail development. In its several decade history, the HIT has invested over $430 million in 24 St. Louis projects with a total development cost of $743 million, creating more than 3,500 housing units and an estimated 5,500 union construction jobs. Last week, I had the opportunity to have lunch with the man behind the Trust, Housing Investment Trust CEO Steve Coyle. Steve and I were colleagues when we both worked for then-HUD Secretary Patricia Roberts Harris in Washington. Following a very successful career as a national developer, Steve led the renaissance of Boston as Director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority for over a decade for then-Mayor Ray Flynn, before being recruited to be CEO of the Trust in 1992. Coyle and his colleagues have invested literally billions in key real estate developments throughout the United States, and have been and continue to be very bullish on St. Louis. As former Citicorp CEO Walter Wriston aptly used to say, “capital goes where it is welcome, and it stays where it is well treated.” The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust is most welcome in St. Louis, and we appreciate their confidence in our market.
How fitting it is that a major source for the continuing revitalization of St. Louis is the pension funds of the men and women who have and continue to build these new structures and renovate our City’s historic properties. June 8, 2011 RCGA Breakfast With The Gazelles Features Superintendent Dr. Kelvin Adams On Wednesday, June 22nd: For a unique perspective on public education in the City of St. Louis, please plan to join us on Wednesday morning, June 22nd for RCGA Breakfast with the Gazelles featuring Dr. Kelvin Adams, Superintendent of the St. Louis Public Schools, at the RCGA offices, beginning with registration at 7:15 a.m.
Kelvin will speak on, "The St. Louis Public Schools: Creating Great Options." For more information about the June 22nd and other upcoming RCGA Breakfast with the Gazelles programs, sponsored by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, please contact RCGA Vice President for Membership Services Colin Stahlhut today at 314.444.1145, or e-mail him at cstahlhut@stlrcga.org. June 7, 2011 RCGA St. Louis Green Business Challenge Green Products & Services Expo This Wednesday, June 8th: As previously reported in Monday Memo, the 2011 edition of the Green Business Challenge is off to a great start, with the number of participating companies and organizations increasing from last year’s 58 to 78, whose collective employment represents over 20,000 employees. This initiative is one of a number of elements of the St. Louis Climate Prosperity Project, which the RCGA Board of Directors adopted as one of its 4 Regional Priorities in 2009. This particular initiative within the overall Climate Prosperity effort is the RCGA initiative to help companies adopt more sustainable business practices and improve their bottom lines. Join us this Wednesday morning, June 8th, for the St. Louis Green Business Challenge Green Products and Services Expo, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Missouri Botanical Garden – Earthways Center Commerce Bank Center for Science Education, 4651 Shaw Blvd. Lunch will be provided.
Meet and learn about products and services that can assist in your company’s sustainable business practices. Thirty vendors will exhibit products and services related to:
In addition, a Green In the Garden – Walking Tour of the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Sustainable Features will be hosted by EarthWays Center Green Resources Manager Jean Ponzi. From 1:15 to 2 p.m., an indoor/outdoor tour will showcase: water conserving parking lot; Certified Green Sassafras Café; marketing green concepts/goods in Garden Gate Shop; building energy efficiency measures; renovation use of sustainable building materials; extensive composting; and much more. Please contact RCGA Senior Director for Energy & Environment Eric Schneider at the RCGA to register for the Expo and Green in the Garden tour, at eschneider@stlrcga.org or 314.444.1148 today. Please indicate if you plan to attend the Expo, Walking Tour or both in your RSVP. St. Louis Featured In National Best Practices Publication In Dealing With The Clean Energy Economy: Having been selected by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund in 2009 as one of 4 National Pilots for the Climate Prosperity Project --- along with Denver, Portland and Silicon Valley --- St. Louis is featured in a just-released publication by the National Climate Prosperity Project.
The report focuses on best practices in the 4 National Pilots and is the product of a recent 2-day retreat convened by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund with national corporate leaders. In addition to leaders from the 4 Pilot communities, the Rockefeller retreat included business leaders from Applied Materials, CH2M Hill, Cisco Systems, Citibank, NRG Energy, Schneider Electric, KB Homes, McKinstry, and Xcel Energy, as well as representatives from the U.S. Chamber’s Business Civic Leadership Center and the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE). The report is entitled, “Towards A New Prosperity: How Business & Regions Are Creating A Prosperous, Low Carbon Economy Through Energy Savings, Economic Opportunities, And Job Creation.” The above link to the full report includes the case studies on St. Louis, Silicon Valley, Portland and Denver. St. Louis will also be featured in an upcoming report by the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program of an 18-month study measuring the clean energy economy in U.S. metropolitan areas. The Brookings report will be published on July 15th. June 6, 2011 Join Us For RCGA Business After Hours At The Ritz-Carlton Tomorrow Evening: The June RCGA Business After Hours will be held tomorrow evening, June 7th, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, 100 Carondelet Plaza, in Clayton.
Join us for an evening of networking, cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and a hotel tour. RCGA Business After Hours are business networking events, informal gatherings held at member companies. RCGA members also have the opportunity to purchase exhibit tables for a nominal fee to present their products and services firsthand to other members and guests. For more information and exhibit table reservations, please contact Lori Meier at the RCGA at 314.444.1147 or bah@stlrcga.org. June 2, 2011 23rd Annual RCGA "Try St. Louis … Buy St. Louis" Golf Tournament On Monday, June 20th: Sign up today for the 23rd Annual RCGA "Try St. Louis … Buy St. Louis" Golf Tournament, which will be held on Monday, June 20th, at the 36-hole Whitmoor Country Club. This year's overall tournament sponsors are Coventry Health Care/GHP and M&I Bank. KMOX NewsRadio 1120 is media sponsor. Gerry Clark is once again serving as chair of the tournament. To date, 175 golfers have registered. The RCGA's "Try St. Louis … Buy St. Louis" Golf Tournament has a tradition of being more than a great outing of golf; it is one of the region's top business networking events of the year, as well. The tournament will offer hole-in-one, longest drive, closest-to-the-pin, and putting contests, as well as many more competition prizes. All players will receive a tournament gift. A closest-to-the-pin “shootout” for $750, $500 and $250 gift certificates will highlight the day; the 8 closest-to-the-pin winners throughout the day on the par 3s will hold a shootout at 150 yards from the 18th green. A barbecue lunch and closing dinner at the Whitmoor Country Club will round out the event; KMOX's Tom Ackerman will serve as dinner/program emcee. To date, 48 companies and organizations and sponsors, in addition to the major sponsors, have committed as hole sponsors and major donors for this year's tournament: AT&T; American Airlines; Anheuser-Busch; Ascension Health; BKD; Bommarito Automotive Group; Centene Corp.; Chase Park Plaza; CIGMA; Commerce Bank; Delta Dental; The Doe Run Co.; Edward Jones; Enterprise Bank & Trust; Fox Associates; Fulcrum Consulting; Genovese Jewelers; Holland Construction Services; Humana; IMPACT Group; International Mulch Co.; Lucas Park Grille; Meramec Caverns; Mike Shannon’s Steaks & Seafood; Millennium Hotel; Monsanto Co.; Pasta House Co.; Pepsi Beverages Co.; Plumbers & Pipefitters Local # 562; Quest Diagnostics; Renaissance Grand Hotel; Schnuck Markets; Scottrade; Southern Illinois Construction Advancement Program; Southwest Airlines; St. Louis Cardinals; St. Louis College of Pharmacy; St. Louis Rams; St. Louis Renaissance Grand Hotel; St. Louis Union Station Marriott; Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra; St. Louis Zoo; The Standard; UnitedHealthcare; USI Insurance; Walgreens; The Westin St. Louis; and Whitmoor Country Club. To become a hole sponsor, or to register for the golf tournament, please contact RCGA Vice President for Membership Services Colin Stahlhut today at (314) 444-1145, or e-mail him at cstahlhut@stlrcga.org. June 1, 2011 Join Us For RCGA Business After Hours At The Ritz-Carlton On Tuesday, June 7th: The June RCGA Business After Hours will be held on Tuesday, June 7th, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, 100 Carondelet Plaza, in Clayton.
Join us for an evening of networking, cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and a hotel tour. RCGA Business After Hours are business networking events, informal gatherings held at member companies. RCGA members also have the opportunity to purchase exhibit tables for a nominal fee to present their products and services firsthand to other members and guests. For more information and exhibit table reservations, please contact Lori Meier at the RCGA at 314.444.1147 or bah@stlrcga.org. |
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