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UMB BANK EXPANDS ITS PRESENCE IN ST. LOUIS
 Mariner Kemper, chairman & CEO, UMB Financial Corp. |
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After a change in corporate leadership last year, Kansas City, Mo.-based UMB Financial Corp. has launched plans to increase its presence in St. Louis and Denver, according to reports. Last fall, R. Crosby Kemper Jr. retired as senior chairman of the board, leaving the company’s future in the hands of his son Mariner Kemper, who has served as chairman and chief executive since May 2004.
The younger Kemper announced plans to significantly increase the company’s presence beyond Kansas City. UMB will aggressively seek new loans and depositors in the
St. Louis area and plans to double its local business within five years. The company may purchase other financial institutions, including brokerages, as part of the expansion. UMB has 26 locations in the St. Louis area but only receives a small percentage of the region’s deposits.
AMEREN COMPLETES PURCHASE OF ILLINOIS POWER
| Shawn Schukar, left, presents David Whiteley, Ameren senior vice president for Energy Delivery Services, with a photo collection commemorating the closing of the AmerenIP deal. |
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Ameren Corp. has completed its acquisition of Decatur, Ill.-based Illinois Power Company from Dynegy Inc. The former Illinois Power, now doing business as AmerenIP, serves approximately 600,000 electric and 415,000 natural gas customers in Illinois. As part of the $2.3 billion transaction, Ameren also acquired Dynegy’s 20 percent interest in Electric Energy Inc., which owns a coal-fired power plant in Joppa, Ill., and now owns 80 percent of Electric Energy.
“Acquiring IP provides a long-term growth opportunity for our company, while enhancing our ability to continue to deliver high-quality service to the nearly two million electric and natural gas customers we now serve in the state of Illinois,” stated Gary L. Rainwater, chairman, president and CEO of Ameren.
Ameren assumed approximately $1.8 million in Illinois Power debt and preferred stock, placed $100 million in a six-year escrow account for certain contingent environmental liabilities, and paid the balance in cash to Dynegy. The acquisition boosts Ameren’s total assets to approximately $17 billion.
PANGEA GROUP EARNS PIECE OF $800 MILLION CONTRACT
St. Louis-based Pangea Group, an environmental and remediation construction firm, has prequalified for a portion of an
$800 million contract to clean up former nuclear weapons sites and other hazardous locations for the Department of Energy. The company is one of the smallest firms selected for the contract, which is expected to be fulfilled during the next five years.
Pangea is a small but fast-growing firm that has thrived on government work. The company’s annual revenue soared from $3 million in 1999 to $30 million in 2003, thanks in part to government work for agencies that include the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, General Services Administration, and various Army and National Guard entities.
| St. Louis-based Pangea Group, an environmental and remediation construction firm, has prequalified for a portion of an
$800 million contract to clean up former nuclear weapons sites and other hazardous locations for the Department of Energy. |
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Pangea’s success at landing government contracts is featured in the November 2004 issue of Hispanic Business magazine. In an article titled “Contracting Success,” writer Anthony Limón notes that Pangea has become adept at landing government contracts because of mentorships that it has developed with larger government contractors. By working with companies such as The Washington Group International and The Shaw Group, Pangea has gradually learned the procurement process and increased its share of contract provisions.
OLIN CUP AWARDS $70,000 IN INVESTMENT CAPITAL
| The 2004 Olin Cup first place winner went to Luminomics Company. (Left to right): Eric Schroeter, Meera Saxena, Jeff Mumm, Nikki Dowland and Wayne Harvey. |
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The John M. Olin School of Business at Washington University has awarded a total of $750,000 in seed investment capital to two startup businesses in its annual Olin Cup entrepreneurship competition. The Olin Cup, along with $50,000 in seed money, went to Luminomics, a biotechnology company that develops regenerative drug therapies for degenerative diseases. An award of $20,000 went to The Blessing Basket, a not-for-profit company that imports baskets made by weavers in undeveloped countries. Core Devices, maker of a portable anesthesia machine, earned an honorable mention.
BANK OF AMERICA AWARDS $400,000 TO LOCAL INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS
Bank of America has awarded more than $400,000 to two local nonprofit organizations, five community heroes and five high school students for their efforts to strengthen their communities. The prizes were awarded under the bank’s Neighborhood Excellence Initiative, a two-year program that recognizes and rewards organizations and individuals in 30 of the bank’s major communities across the country.
Nonprofit organizations Beyond Housing/ Neighborhood Housing Services and the Regional Housing and Community Development Alliance won the Neighborhood Builders category and will receive $200,000 in grant funding and leadership training. Individual winners were Ceola Davis, founder of Emerson Park Development Association in East St. Louis; William Gillespie, pastor of Cote Brilliante Presbyterian Church; Kathleen Hummel, founder of Our Little Haven; Martin Mathews, co-founder of Mathews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club; and Mary Taylor, founder of St. Louis City Court Appointed Special Advocates (Voices for Children). Each individual will be able to direct a $5,000 contribution to an eligible nonprofit of choice. Student winners were Emily Brown of O’Fallon, Mo.; De’Ja Hayes of St. Louis; Michael Hundelt and Katherine Woodward, both of Ferguson; and Brittany Wynn of St. Louis. Each student winner will receive an eight-week paid summer internship with a local nonprofit organization.
BETTER DOWNTOWN AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED
The Downtown St. Louis Partnership has recognized 20 businesses and projects for their efforts to improve the physical environment of the downtown area. The awards are divided into two categories: Cityscape Awards and Better Downtown Awards.
The following projects and businesses received Cityscape Awards for improving the street-level environment of their immediate neighborhoods:
• 1010 Market Garden
• AIA St. Louis Windows Project 2004
• Campbell House Museum Exterior • Lighting
• Downtown St. Louis Children’s Center
• Gateway Metro Credit Union Banners
• Jacquin Photography
• Karen Harris Dental Office
• Lee J.
• Niche
• The Patio at McMurphy’s Grill
• The Thaxton
The following projects and businesses earned Better Downtown Awards for calling attention to downtown revitalization throughout the metropolitan area and beyond:
• 7th and Pine Garage
• Civic Center Metro Bus Center
• Filippine Garden
• Hampton Inn at the Arch
• Lofts @ 315
• Rudman on the Park
• St. Louis Gateway Classic Sports Foundation
• Terra Cotta Lofts
• Washington Avenue Flower Plantings
Two additional awardees—Charles Brennan and River Splash 2004—received the Vincent J. Bommarito—Special Merit Award.
VISITING WASH U PROFESSOR WINS NOBEL PRIZE
| Aaron Ciechanover, visiting professor of pediatrics, Washington University. |
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Aaron Ciechanover, a visiting professor of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine, has been awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in chemistry by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Chiechanover is a professor at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel, and has spent a portion of each year at Washington University since 1987. He shared the award with Avram Hershko, also from Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, and Irwin Rose from the University of California in Irvine. The three scientists were honored for their groundbreaking discovery of a process that cells use to eliminate unwanted proteins.
SLU RECEIVES $5.8 MILLION GRANT
The Saint Louis University Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research Center has received a five-year grant totaling $5.8 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A $3.6 million grant will fund the core operations of the center for the next five years, and additional funds have been awarded for special interest research projects. Those projects will examine the connection between public policy and physical activity, build a network of community partners to research cancer prevention in the African-American community, and examine ways to convince elderly African-Americans to get vaccinated against influenza.
David W. Bergmann
1949 -2004
David W. Bergmann, a respected executive and community volunteer, died December 24, after falling through the ice on a pond near his home while successfully rescuing his beloved dog, Red.
Bergmann was an experienced venture capitalist and investment professional. In 1992, he co-founded Advantage Capital Partners, a venture capital and private equity firm focused on raising investment capital for entrepreneurs in states and communities historically underserved by venture capital. To date the firm has raised $650 million in institutional capital with more than 40 employees in St. Louis, New Orleans, New York, Tampa and other cities. Bergmann’s tireless work through Advantage contributed dramatically to the growth of many entrepreneurial businesses and the creation of thousands of jobs at these firms, including such Missouri companies as Birch Telecom, Savvis Communications and Stereotaxis. Fulfilling the hopes and dreams of entrepreneurs was a passion of Bergmann’s throughout his career.
Reflecting his keen interest in small business capital formation, in 1995 he served as a delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business. In 1998, Bergmann was presented an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for being a supporter of entrepreneurship. In 1999, he received a Financial Services Advocate award from the U.S. Small Business Administration. He was a member of the National Venture Capital Association and the Missouri Venture Forum.
Bergmann was also active in the
St. Louis community. Most recently he was a business edition leader of the 2004 campaign of the Old Newsboys Charities, a non-profit organization formed by the Suburban Journal newspapers of St. Louis that annually funds more than 300
organizations serving children in the
St. Louis area. Bergmann was involved with Old Newsboys for several years and in 2003 received a Golden Plate award to recognize his commitment to the lives of area children.
Born and raised in St. Louis, Bergmann graduated from Horton Watkins High School. He attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., and Washington University in St. Louis, where he earned an MBA degree.
In 1991, Bergmann returned to St. Louis and soon afterward partnered with Steven T. Stull to found Advantage.
Stull moved to New Orleans to open Advantage’s Louisiana office; Bergmann opened a St. Louis office.
David is survived by his wife Peggy, daughter Katherine and son John.
Anthony Raymon
1952-2004
Ameristar St. Charles General Manager Anthony “Tony” Raymon died Dec. 30, 2004 of an apparent heart attack while jogging.
“Tony was an outstanding leader and played a significant role in the success of Ameristar’s property in St. Charles. He was extremely well respected and admired by Team Members, guests and colleagues. Furthermore, Tony was highly regarded for the active role that he played in the
St. Charles community. It was an honor to work with him, and we will remember him fondly, among other things, for his strong leadership, competitive nature, and passion for operations,” said Craig H. Neilsen, chairman and CEO of Ameristar.
While General Manager at St. Charles, Raymon presided over construction of the new $360-million casino and oversaw its successful grand opening in August 2002.
Raymon, a resident of St. Charles County, served on the Board of Directors for the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce, the James E. West Society (a fundraising organization for the Boy Scouts of America) and was Treasurer of the Missouri Riverboat Gaming Association for the past two years.
He is survived by his wife Donna and two children, Jeff and Cathy. |
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