St. Louis Regional Chamber’s Many Passions, One Spirit

The St. Louis Regional Chamber hosted its 177th Annual Event, an informative and entertaining program at the Peabody Opera House, Thursday, July 24, 2014. The Chamber reflected on successes since launching its One Plan, a clear and comprehensive strategy to inspire a greater St. Louis and establish a foundation for continuing to champion economic growth throughout the 15-county, bi-state St. Louis region.

The program opened with a video depicting a spirit of St. Louis that originated with the Lewis and Clark expedition. The spirit went missing, causing St. Louis to go into an uproar as various people searched for it. The video demonstrated our many passions, but the underlying strength of the community lies in our spirit. Ultimately, the chamber only borrowed it for the show. You can see the video online at www.stlregionalchamber.com.

Since the debut of its One Plan at last year’s 176th Annual Event, the Regional Chamber has focused its efforts on bringing together community leadership to create a prosperous future for the St. Louis region. Accomplishments include collaboration with:

• BioSTL, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, and Bio-Research and Development Growth (BRDG) Park to attract KWS, one of the world’s largest agriculture companies, to select St. Louis as its North American research headquarters.
• Partnership for Downtown St. Louis, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, and the City of St. Louis to move T-REX, downtown St. Louis’ startup incubator, to a new location at 911 Washington Avenue, fostering St. Louis’ entrepreneurial activities.
• St. Louis County and the City of St. Louis partnership to launch the Mosaic Project, a non-profit aimed at positioning St. Louis into the fastest growing metropolitan area for immigration by 2020.

“Economic prosperity for our region, now and in the future, requires the collective spirit and commitment of our community,” observed Joe Reagan, St. Louis Regional Chamber President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our region is stronger as a unified team with a shared focus. Together, we can impact economic growth and make our region a more attractive place to live, work and invest.”

The 177th event focused on how together, the St. Louis region can champion a better tomorrow through community leadership on three priorities: Education Attainment; Inclusion and Talent Attraction; and Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

As part of the organization’s overall education initiatives, the Regional Chamber introduced a program called “Degrees That Work.” This innovative new program offers solutions, best practices and information sharing for regional businesses, which are included in the Degrees That Work Education Toolkit, a new resource to help businesses assist their employees in their quest for degree completion. The Toolkit was unveiled during the proceedings.

Celebrating the importance of education, the Regional Chamber saluted 100 working adults working to advance their education. The individuals recognized came from nominations by regional businesses and the overall community.

“The St. Louis region is home to outstanding educational institutions,” declared Mark Trudeau, President and CEO of Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals and Presenting Sponsor for the Regional Chamber’s Annual Event. “The talent graduating from our colleges and universities will be the leaders of our organizations tomorrow and help keep our economy strong.”

Inspired by Tuesday’s launch of Prosper, the two-fold initiative for women entrepreneurs in the St. Louis region, the Regional Chamber announced its support for Prosper Capital and presented them with a $150,000 commitment over a three-year period in support of women entrepreneurs.

The Regional Chamber announced as part of its commitment to Accelerate St. Louis a $1 million capital allocation for equity funding through funds like SixThirty and Prosper. It committed $700,000 toward the creation of a new sidecar fund under the banner of Accelerate St. Louis. The sidecar fund will provide an additional source of private early-stage capital to fuel St. Louis startups.

Regional Chamber Chairman Danny Ludeman, former president and CEO of Wells Fargo Advisors, continues to play a central role in guiding the Regional Chamber’s strategic direction. Suzanne Sitherwood, president and CEO of The Laclede Group, has been elected to succeed Danny as chair of the Regional Chamber in January 2015, the first woman ever to chair the organization.

“Both Danny and Suzanne are passionate about the success of our region and making a difference in our community,” Reagan asserted. “I am honored and privileged to have the opportunity to work with them. Their experience and wisdom has, and will continue to, help guide our strategic focus to elevate our region’s prosperity.”

During the event, the Regional Chamber also presented the Honorable Frankie Muse Freeman with the esteemed 2014 Right Arm of St. Louis Award. The Right Arm of St. Louis comprises the Regional Chamber’s most prestigious annual award, honoring leaders who have made outstanding contributions to the St. Louis region. Ms. Freeman was recognized for a lifetime of fighting for equality and for such efforts as helping St. Louis become a better place through desegregation and implementing policies to improve public education.

The 1,200 guests also rocked to a musical rendition of “St. Louis Blues”, performed by Shirley King, the daughter of Blues legend B.B. King, and artists Peter Martin, Kim Fuller, Nick Moss and Theo Peoples. “St. Louis Blues”, originally composed by the “Father of the Blues” William Christopher Handy, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.