St. Louis Regional Chamber’s The Arcus Awards 2014

The St. Louis Regional Chamber celebrated the achievements and honored the leaders who are making the St. Louis region a more attractive place to live, work and invest at the rescheduled 2014 Arcus Awards, presented by RubinBrown LLP, Thursday, February 26, 2015. This special evening showcased all of the impressive award finalists, comprised of companies and organizations of all sizes from throughout the bi-state region. Designated leaders introduced each category and announced the winners. Nearly 800 people attended the dinner program at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch.

RubinBrown Chairman Jim Castellano, commented, “We continue to be delighted with the direction of the St. Louis Regional Chamber as an organization, and we were pleased to once again be the presenting sponsor of this dynamic and exciting event.”

“The Arcus Awards built on our successful inaugural launch in 2013,” observed St. Louis Regional Chamber President & Chief Executive Officer Joe Reagan. “Working with our partners, we have once again presented an exciting event to elevate the stories of businesses and organizations – ultimately, the people – that are inspiring a greater St. Louis.”

Latin for “arch”, the Arcus Awards symbolize the Gateway Arch, the unifying symbol of our region. This year, the Arcus Awards highlighted the Reinvest North County Fund, launched by the Regional Business Council, and other regional collaborative efforts to support the people and businesses directly affected by the tragedy in Ferguson and surrounding communities.

The St. Louis Regional Chamber made a donation to the Reinvest North County Fund for each of the first 100 nominations submitted for the Arcus Awards.

The outstanding Arcus Awards finalists were recognized for their achievements, with 10 award winners selected by a panel of distinguished business scholars and business executives.
Arcus Awards were conferred in nine distinct categories representing the region’s authentic strengths and future strategies, as outlined in the Chamber’s One Plan, a focused strategy to grow St. Louis into a Top 10 region for economic prosperity. Winners received an hand-crafted art piece designed by artists from the Third Degree Glass Factory.

The Arcus Awards winners are:

The Ameren Corporate Citizenship Award, for demonstrating exceptional corporate leadership in the St. Louis region, went to Centene Corporation. In 2014, Centene announced that it would expand into Ferguson with a new claims processing center, creating 150 to 200 jobs with a multitude of benefits including health care, dental and vision insurance. The facility will process claims from Centene’s Home State Health Plan in Missouri and Centene’s other health plans from across the country.

The BMO Harris Bank St. Louis Spirit Award, for advancing St. Louis’ rich history and global reputation as a hub of innovation and forward-looking vision, was presented to LaunchCode. Founded by Jim McKelvey, this organization creates pathways to economic opportunity and upward mobility through apprenticeships and job placement in technology and computer programming. Over one year, the pioneering workforce training program operated by LaunchCode has placed nearly 100 individuals into technology apprenticeships at more than 65 companies. Almost 90% have transitioned into full-time employees. LaunchCode is expected to help expand the pipeline of regional talent for highly needed computer programmers.

The Arcus Award for Achievement in Biosciences, sponsored by Bryan Cave LLP, was presented to Missouri Botanical Garden for advancing St. Louis’ reputation as a global hub for bioscience for their worldwide leadership in research focused on discovering, documenting and conserving the diversity of the world’s plants.

Thompson Coburn LLP, the sponsor of The Arcus Award for Achievement in Financial Services, bestowed the honor to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis for their new Inside the Economy Museum, an interactive experience that teaches financial literacy and is expected to inspire the next generation of talent to grow St. Louis’ world-class financial services sector.

The Arcus Award for Achievement in Health, sponsored by Centene Corporation, recognized Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital for their unique “Care Beyond the Beside” model to improve health care delivery for children.

Lacede Group, the sponsor of The Arcus Award for Achievement in Multimodal Logistics, honored The Boeing Company for their investment to create up to 700 jobs building parts for the 777X, Boeing’s next-generation commercial aircraft. This project marks the first time that The Boeing Company has brought commercial aircraft production to St. Louis.

The Arcus Award for Achievement in Educational Attainment, sponsored by Edward Jones, was conferred to the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Nursing for their One CLIC Accelerated RN/BS Program to meet the growing demand for bachelor degree-educated nurses in our region’s workforce through innovative teaching models focused on working adults.

The Arcus Award for Achievement in Entrepreneurship & Innovation, sponsored by Monsanto Company, went to Cultivation Capital and ITEN. The judges selected two winners in this category to reflect the vital pairing of capital and mentorship. This successful relationship has made St. Louis one of the most closely-watched, rising innovation hubs around the world. The judges said neither could exist or succeed alone. Cultivation Capital was acknowledged for launching and significantly increasing local venture capital funding for early-stage technology and life sciences companies and for helping to launch two start-up accelerators. ITEN was recognized for their portfolio of mentorship and acceleration programs which are helping strengthen the rapidly expanding entrepreneurial hub in the St. Louis region.

STL Communications, Inc., the sponsor of The Arcus Award for Achievement in Inclusion & Talent Attraction, congratulated St. Louis Mosaic Project for creating the Professional Connector Program and the Global Talent Hiring Program that promote a more international workforce in St. Louis, with the goal of making St. Louis the fastest-growing region in the U.S. for immigration.

“The St. Louis Regional Chamber comprises a broad community of leaders united for economic prosperity throughout the bi-state St. Louis region. We exist to inspire a greater St. Louis. And that’s what we wanted to celebrate tonight – the companies and organizations who are inspiring others and innovating the way for the region,” Reagan asserted. “We were inspired by the hundreds of nominations we received. By showcasing these finalists and winners tonight, we hope to continue the great momentum they’ve begun in our community.”

Thank you to all our sponsors for making the Arcus Awards such a memorable occasion!