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WESTIN ST. LOUIS RANKED
NO. 1 WESTIN IN THE WORLD
The Westin St. Louis is currently ranked as the “No. 1 Westin in the World” according to a survey of 800,000 Westin Hotel guests across the world. Results were compiled based on a 12-month
e-mail survey conducted by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., Westin’s parent company. Located in the historic Cupples Station warehouse complex, the four-year-old Westin St. Louis is an AAA Four Diamond Award-winning hotel.
MONSANTO TO BUY SEMINIS
Monsanto Company has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Seminis Inc., a global supplier of vegetable and fruit seeds based in Oxnard, Calif. Monsanto will pay $1.4 billion in cash and assumed debt, plus a performance-based payment of up to $125 million payable by the end of fiscal year 2007.
“The addition of Seminis will be an excellent fit for our company as global production of vegetables and fruits, and the trend toward healthier diets, has been growing steadily over the past several years,” states Hugh Grant, Monsanto’s chairman, president and CEO, in a news release.
Seminis is expected to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Monsanto upon completion of the deal.
JANET McAFEE NAMED EXCLUSIVE LISTING
COMPANY FOR MARYLAND PLACE
 (Left to right): Agents Rita Brumm, Maryann Skae and Vicki Kirk. |
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Janet McAfee Inc. has been named the exclusive listing agent for Maryland Place, a luxury condominium development on the north side of Maryland Plaza between Kingshighway and Euclid. Seven mansions built between 1904 and 1906 are being converted into twenty luxury condominiums. While the exteriors are being restored to original standards, the interiors are being modernized to meet contemporary expectations. The homes will range in size from 1600 to 2400 square feet with custom layouts and finishes available. Prices begin at $425,000.
| Seven mansions built between 1904 and 1906 are being converted into twenty luxury condominiums. |
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JACOBSEN RECEIVES SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARD
James Jacobsen
vice chairman,
Kellwood Company |
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South Side Day Nursery (SSDN), a family and community organization, has honored James Jacobsen with the 2005 Social Entrepreneurship Award. Jacobsen, vice chairman of Kellwood Company and co-owner of South Side Outlet, received the award for his “pioneering spirit and passion,” according to an SSDN news release. His South Side Outlet is a social entrepreneurial corporation dedicated to providing quality apparel at a good value. The award celebrates and honors
people who strengthen St. Louis by creating sustainable businesses and organizational solutions that change society for the better.
SOUTHWEST ADDS MAJOR
DESTINATIONS THROUGH
ATA AIRLINES
In early Feb., Southwest Airlines started offering more flights from St. Louis to major destinations through its codeshare service with ATA Airlines. Through the codeshare agreement, Southwest Airlines will be able to connect through Chicago Midway Airport to the following destinations:
• Boston Logan Airport
• Honolulu International Airport
• Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport
• New York’s LaGuardia Airport
• Newark Liberty International Airport
• Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
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Southwest and ATA will exchange passengers and their checked baggage at Chicago Midway Airport, with a single ticketing option through either airline.
LAMBERT AIRPORT ISSUES MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
ON PROGRESS
Lambert Airport is producing a new monthly newsletter designed to provide up-to-date information on the runway expansion and overall progress at the airport. The Lambert Airport expansion program continues to run ahead of schedule, and the runway is slated to open by June 2006.
The current newsletter includes an update on Lambert’s travel volume during 2004. In November 2004, Lambert’s total enplanements were up 12.5 percent over November 2003, and the origination and destination passenger volume was up 16.1 percent. That trend continued in December 2004 with increases of 10.6 percent in enplanements and 11.8 percent in passenger volume.
The airport’s routes are being served increasingly by regional jets in lieu of larger, mainline craft (such as Boeing 737s and 757s) in an effort to preserve routes that would otherwise not be viable. The use of regional jets is a national trend and will play a critical role in the airlines’ return to profitability, according to the newsletter.
For the latest news about Lambert, check out http://www.lambert-stlouis.com/new/index.htm.
FIRST BUSINESS OPENS IN
NEW TOWN AT ST. CHARLES
The first business is now open in New Town at St. Charles, a $1 billion neighborhood development by Whittaker Homes located off of Highway 370 at New Town Boulevard. The Coffee Cottage opened its doors in late December 2004 and serves specialty coffee drinks, baked goods and cold beverages
to residents and visitors. The coffee shop is one of many proposed businesses within New Town at St. Charles. An amphitheatre, YMCA, church and additional restaurants are already planned for the first neighborhood center. Ultimately, the development will consist of more than 4,000 residences, a large town center and four neighborhood centers built over the next 10 to 15 years.
KOHLER PRINT GROUP RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF BEST WORKPLACES
For the fifth consecutive year, Kohler Print Group has been named one of the “Best Workplaces in America” by Printing Industries of America Inc. Kohler also received a Best of the Best award for the fourth time, which is the highest honor given by the Printing Industries of America. The awards recognize companies in the graphics arts industry that provide a superior work environment through their culture, philosophies and human relations practices.
2005 JA GLOBAL BUSINESS HALL OF FAME IN ST. LOUIS
Junior Achievement (JA Worldwide) will induct five “legends of business” into its Global Business Hall of Fame during a black-tie gala on April 21 here in St. Louis. The prestigious event will attract some 1,000 attendees including many Fortune 1,000 executives to St. Louis. The honorees were selected by a panel of business leaders comprised of JA Worldwide board members and Business Hall of Fame laureates from previous years. Criteria for selection include business excellence, courageous thinking and actions, vision and innovation, inspiring leadership, and community mindedness.
The 2005 Global Business Hall of Fame
laureates are:
• Gertrude Boyle, chairwoman of the board
of the Columbia Sportswear Company®
• August A. Busch Jr. (1899-1989), former
chairman, Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc.
• August A. Busch III, chairman of the board,
Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc.
• Charles M. Cawley, founder and former
chairman, MBNA
• Raymond G. Chambers, chairman,
Amelior Foundation
The 2005 Junior Achievement Global Business Hall of Fame will be held at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis; the event includes a luncheon with keynote speaker John C. Danforth, former U.S. Senator and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Corporate event sponsors include Emerson, SBC Foundation, Anheuser-Busch Companies, Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation, MasterCard International, and Accenture.
Since 1975, the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame event has honored the nation’s most distinguished businessmen and women for outstanding contributions to free enterprise, and the inductees are presented as role models for the world’s youth. The 2005 laureates will be added to an exhibit of more than 200 laureates on display at The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
LEE HECHT HARRISON RELEASES NEW STUDY ON EMPLOYMENT RETENTION
| Lee Hecht Harrison released a study on employment retention. |
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Global career services company Lee Hecht Harrison has released a new study that provides a statistical snapshot of how organizations worldwide are managing phases of the staffing cycle. The study, called “Release, Retain, Recruit: Optimizing the Cycle of Workforce Regeneration,” is based on a survey of senior human resources executives at 300 medium- and large-sized organizations throughout the world.
In addition to boosting retention efforts to keep employees, companies should also improve the way that they let go of less vital employees and recruit new ones, according to Nancy Murnin, senior vice president and general manager of Lee Hecht Harrison’s St. Louis office.
Among other findings, the study revealed the following:
- In the wake of a downsizing, many companies don’t do enough to rebuild remaining employees’ trust in management, confidence in the future of the organization, productivity and morale.
- Just 27 percent of U.S. and 36 percent of non-U.S. respondents believe their organizations always inspire the loyalty of employees through strong respected leaders.
- The values of prospective employees are shifting away from monetary rewards and toward benefits and programs that contribute to professional development and work/life balance.
- Beyond compensation and benefits, providing opportunities for advancement is the most commonly emphasized feature U.S. respondents currently underscore in their recruitment efforts.
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PILOT PROGRAM TURNED BOOMER BENEFIT
After three years, The Caring Workplace Program has completed its pilot phase and is now self-sustaining. This award-winning and nationally recognized initiative is now offered to area employers to assist them in coping with the demands of serving as full-time caregivers in addition to managing full-time careers.
Ann Bannes, vice president of St. Andrews, states, “It’s clear that this is a tremendous program that benefits everyone involved. The fact remains that there is a significant emotional and economic impact related to this escalating issue that cannot be ignored. The Caring Workplace program has proven to be an affordable and positive way for employers and employees to address it.”
Companies currently offering the Caring Workplace program include Monsanto, Emerson Motors, UniGroup, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, SSM St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood and St. Andrew’s Resources for Seniors.
ROSE INTERNATIONAL EXPANDS HEADQUARTERS
Chesterfield-based Rose International has expanded its headquarters by taking over the remaining space on its floor at the company’s Swingley Ridge Road location, increasing its office space to 20,000 square feet. The expansion has generated approximately $1 million in capital spending for the St. Louis economy, according to a company news release. Rose International provides information technology and business services nationwide and has been recognized as one of the country’s fastest-growing companies.
HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION DONATES $10,000 TO NEW LIFE EVANGELISTIC CENTER
| Home Builders Charitable Foundation President Harold Burkemper (second from right), HBA President John Eilermann (right) and Tim Sweeney representing the Carpenter’s District Council (left), presented a $10,000 donation to Rev. Larry Rice, director of New Life Evangelistic Center, on behalf of the Home Builders Charitable Foundation. |
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The Home Builders Charitable Foundation has donated $10,000 to the New Life Evangelistic Center that will help the organization install a unified centrally monitored fire/smoke alarm system throughout its building. The center needs to install the system professionally to comply with the city’s requirements. The Home Builders Charitable Foundation is the charitable arm of the Home Builders Association, a local trade association of more than 1,200 member firms from the residential construction industry.
ST. ANTHONY’S NAMED
SILVER PARTNER IN
STATEWIDE QUALITY PROGRAM
| Dr. Steven Eisenberg with cardiac patient. |
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St. Anthony’s Medical Center has been
designated a Silver Level Quality Partner by Primaris, a non-profit health care consulting firm and the federally designated Medical Quality Improvement Organization for Missouri. The distinction is given to health care organizations in the Primaris program that have demonstrated improvement in the quality of care provided to state Medicare beneficiaries in three clinical areas: heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia. St. Anthony’s is one of only 28 hospitals in Missouri to be designated as Silver or Gold Level Quality Partners.
AN AWARDING EXPERIENCE FOR JAMES-HATTER, BACHMAN AND BIG BROTHER BIG SISTERS
By Jane Beckerdite
The way flukes tend to happen, nothing exceptional was expected that day.
But as Becky James-Hatter, president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Eastern Missouri, sat on an airplane reading an article a couple of years ago, something clicked.
(Left to right): Christopher, John Bachman,
Becky James-Hatter and (in front) Daisjah. |
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“I was flying to Austin to go to a business meeting and there was a very brief article that talked about John Bachman’s relationship with Peter Drucker. And it occurred to me that nobody has guided me more than Peter Drucker—although he doesn’t know it—in running an organization,” James-Hatter says.
The article related a tale about the business relationship between Peter Drucker, world-renowned as the “Father of Modern Management,” and St. Louis’ Bachman, senior partner of Edward Jones. After reading the story, James-Hatter said she instantly found parallels between herself and Bachman that struck her as fascinating.
“First, I have always been a huge Peter Drucker fan. Second, John was chairman of the United Way that year and Big Brothers Big Sisters is a United Way (recipient), and third, Edward Jones was awarded the best place to work and we had been named an honorable mention in that category. So, here’s three things that we had in common, granted on a very different scale,” she laughs.
So upon her return to St. Louis, James-Hatter decides to contact Bachman.
“I wrote him a note to say, ‘We have three things in common. I would love to meet you personally and shake your hand. And if you’ll give me 30 minutes, I’d like to ask you a few business questions.’”
Two weeks later, Bachman’s assistant telephoned to set up a meeting. James-Hatter says she was thrilled beyond belief that someone as busy as Bachman would take the time to meet with her.
“Oh my God, I couldn’t believe this was happening. It was a 30-minute meeting. There was nothing remarkable, accept that he met with me! I don’t know what happened, but when the meeting was over and we got to shaking hands, I asked him, ‘Who do you mentor? Who do you take under your wing to take to the next level? I said take me. Help me to help this community.’ He looked at me said, ‘I guess I’ll see you in a month.’ That’s how it started about a year and a half ago. We’re still meeting,” she says.
As CEO of a mentoring program, it’s nothing short of ironic that James-Hatter would gain a mentor of her own. But the experience, she says, has helped her become a better businesswoman for her own organization. “I wish that everybody had a John Bachman. The real tangible thing that has been a result of the time he has spent with me is that he really helped me understand the power of a performance management system. That is, what value are you bringing to this community? Do you fully understand your mission? He can really get to the core of an issue.”
As her mentor, Bachman never gives James-Hatter answers. He simply poses questions to answers she must find on her own.
“He never lectured me. He would sit there for 30 minutes or for an hour-and-a-half and ask me questions or give me examples of things. He isn’t a professor, he’s a mentor. The result of all this is that we now have a wonderful professional management plan in place (at Big Brothers Big Sisters).
But as is the goal with the all mentoring programs, the most important aspect of a big brother or big sister is the bond the relationship bolsters. Bachman did what all mentors do. He instilled confidence in James-Hatter.
“It’s all very magical. He affirms me. He says, ‘I know you’re doing a good job. I know you’re going to come up with the right answer. That gives me a tremendous amount of confidence. So, when someone of his caliber tells me I can do it, then by golly, I know can. And the same holds true with kids and their mentors,” she says.
Big Brothers Big Sisters Eastern Missouri turns 90 this year and is the 12 largest affiliate in the nation. During its annual Legacy Award banquet May 3 (see page 39), the organization will honor Bachman for his lifetime of service to St. Louis and in particular to his commitment to the mentoring program.
“I have been a Big Sister for eight years,” James-Hatter says. “And John Bachman has made me the best Big Sister I can be.”
KIKU OBATA & COMPANY WINS DESIGN AWARDS
Kiku Obata & Company won two design awards in the 2004 International Store Design Competition sponsored by the Institute of Store Planners. The firm earned a first place award for its work on Pin-Up Bowl, a bowling alley and martini bar, and an honorable mention for its work at Big Shark Bicycle Company. Both projects are located in The Loop on Delmar.
GREAT RIVERS GREENWAY
TO BUY TWO MORE
TRAIL SECTIONS
The Great Rivers Greenway District has signed a sale agreement with Trailnet Inc. to acquire two trail sections—one in St. Louis County and one in St. Charles County—as key links to an interconnected system of trails and greenways around St. Louis. The purchase includes a two-mile undeveloped section of Grant’s Trail in South County for $1.5 million and the West Alton Trail, which is a key connector between the KATY Trail State Park and the Confluence Greenway.
“This is certainly a major step in our construction of the River Ring for the St. Louis region,” says David Fisher, executive director of The Great Rivers Greenway District.
S.M. WILSON COMPLETES SHILOH MIDDLE SCHOOL
| S.M. Wilson & Co. completed construction on the new middle school for the Shiloh Village School District. |
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S.M. Wilson & Co. completed construction of the new $11.8 million middle school for the Shiloh Village School District in Shiloh, Ill. The new middle school, located on a 63-acre site, features 18 standard classrooms, four special education classrooms, three computer labs, an industrial technology lab, two science labs, an art room, music rooms and a multimedia center. The school can accommodate up to 550 students in grades five through eight. Woolpert LLP designed the project.
CONSTRUCTION SAFETY AWARDS
“Safety is on all of our number one priority lists,” said David Volk Jr., president and chief executive of Volk Construction Company
and chairman of the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of St. Louis. “It is a very important night for our industry.”
| (Left to right): Bill McDonald, Area Director St. Louis OSHA Office; Wayne Hagin, Sportscaster, St. Louis Cardinals; and Mike Micnicky, Outreach Represenative/Safety Engineer, St. Louis OSHA Office. |
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Volk along with a record 835 others in the construction industry gathered at the Orlando Garden Banquet Center in south St. Louis County Feb. 17 to celebrate construction safety at the AGC’s 36th Annual Construction Safety Awards Banquet.
“The welfare of our field craft workers is very important,” Volk told those attending. “We want them to go home as healthy as when they showed up at work.”
Bill McDonald, St. Louis area director
for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration told the crowded banquet hall that when he goes out to meet with other area directors he tells them that St. Louis has the safest work-sites in America.
“You can all pat yourself on the back, because it all starts at the ground floor with the workers themselves looking out for each other,” McDonald says.
To honor safety, dozens of awards were
presented for no accidents on construction projects in 2004. Big posters lined the walls naming the honorees.
The featured speaker was Cardinals sportscaster Wayne Hagin. Those attending welcomed Hagin by singing Happy Birthday to him. Hagin said that he thought it was important to attend that night, despite it being his 49th birthday, because of the important job the workers are performing, especially at the new ballpark under construction.
“That one is going to be special,” says Hagin. “Your kids and grandchildren will all go to those games at that ballpark and have
wonderful memories.”
To thank the workers, attendance prizes were handed out totaling $39,000. Prizes included a two-year lease on a 2005 Ford Ranger pickup, vacation packages to Cancun, Mexico and Disney World, 32-inch flat screen televisions and 160 Cardinals tickets.
COMPETITIVE SUMMIT SPOTLIGHTS ST. LOUIS REGION'S ASSETS AND CHALLENGES
Over 120 St. Louis regional
business, civic and education leaders participated in the
day-long St. Louis Regional Competitiveness Summit on Thursday,
Feb. 17, at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel,
co-chaired by Washington University Chancellor and RCGA Board member Dr. Mark Wrighton and Commerce Bancshares Chairman, President and CEO David Kemper.
Sponsored locally by Washington University and the RCGA, the Summit presented findings
of a six-month assessment conducted by
the Washington, D.C.-based Council on Competitiveness, and fully funded by the Economic Development Administration (EDA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The project focused on the St. Louis region’s overall economic competitiveness and innovation capacity.
Based on the findings of a survey of regional businesses, as well as comparative evaluation of St. Louis with other metro areas, discussion throughout the course of the Summit centered around three critical issues for the St. Louis region: fostering our entrepreneurial culture; building stronger industry-university partnerships; and promoting our regional image. In their presentations, both Council on Competitiveness President Deborah Wince-Smith and the Council’s Vice President for Regional Innovation Randall Kempner underscored the importance of innovation and developing a strong entrepreneurial culture.
While the St. Louis region receives high marks in such areas as overall quality of public education, cost of doing business, educational attainment level and availability of a strong workforce, and high level of research & development expenditures at area colleges and universities, Kempner, in particular, noted that St. Louis, as a region, must be much more “entrepreneurial,” and that the region needs to restage its dated Rust Belt image in the eyes of the marketplace. Likewise, in his keynote address, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development,
Dr. David Sampson, suggested three overall priorities for the St. Louis region to ensure its economic success in the global economy: Innovate, Collaborate and Educate.
“Broadly speaking, innovation is the only sustainable source of regional prosperity, not protectionism, economic isolationism, or trying to just preserve the status quo,” Sampson notes. “We are no longer operating in a world where Chicago competes with St. Louis, where Missouri competes against Iowa, where St. Louis County competes against Jefferson County. Rather, St. Louis, and the surrounding counties, is competing globally. We need to face that reality.”
He also commended the St. Louis region’s institutions of higher education, specifically mentioning Washington University, the University of Missouri, and the St. Louis Community College District, for their collective commitment to strengthening the region’s economic competitiveness in the 21st century.
A major Summit theme focused on the importance of updating and strengthening a region’s image; speakers from Austin and Denver outlined their respective recent regional branding and marketing campaigns. A key component of the RCGA’s new five-year economic development campaign is creating an overarching marketing brand for the St. Louis region in the minds of corporate site selection and relocation consultants, as well as venture capitalists and knowledge workers who are considering
St. Louis for their careers.
RCGA Board Chairman Scott Schnuck, RCGA Economic Development Chair Rich McClure, and Senior Vice President for Economic Development Steve Johnson, led a very informative panel presentation and break out group discussion on regional branding and marketing, accompanied by case studies from colleagues in Austin and Denver.
Throughout the 2005-2009 economic development campaign, in addition to creating a positive regional brand, the RCGA will redouble its efforts to strengthen and sustain a favorable entrepreneurial climate in the St. Louis region, including continuing efforts already underway through the RCGA’s Technology Gateway Council, led by Tech Gateway Chairman Dr. Bill Peck, to build partnerships between the region’s business community and its universities in implementing the industry cluster strategies in plant and medical sciences, IT, and advanced manufacturing.
David Kemper and Mark Wrighton,
who co-chaired the local Steering Committee of business, education and civic leaders in conjunction with the Council on Competitiveness’ research, as well as Sigma-Aldrich Chairman and CEO David Harvey and Divergence Inc. CEO Derek Rapp, were among those who underscored the importance of continuing stem cell research in Missouri. They called for the defeat of proposed legislation to ban SCNT, a form of stem cell research, in Missouri, noting that criminalizing lifesaving SCNT research and cures would cause great and lasting damage to the State’s and region’s biotech efforts, as well as Missouri’s long standing record as a leader in discovery of cures for chronic
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