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St. Louis RCGA
leaders celebrated the new regional branding and marketing campaign
for the region—St. Louis. Perfectly Centered. Remarkably Connected.—at
the organization’s 169th annual meeting in January.
Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond was also honored at the meeting
with the 31st Right Arm of St. Louis Award, given since 1975 to
a person who has contributed leadership and service to the community.
Bond, a two-term governor and senator, has served in the U.S. Senate
since 1986.
 Right Arm of St. Louis Award Recipient Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond. |
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Bond was honored for his strong and effective leadership in education,
housing and urban development, transportation infrastructure issues,
and support of the St. Louis region’s emergence as the BioBelt.
“When it comes to going to bat for St. Louis and Missouri,”
said RCGA Chairman Scott Schnuck, playing off the new marketing
slogan, “Sen. Bond is perfectly centered and remarkably connected.”
| RCGA Chairman of the Board Scott Schnuck. |
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The campaign builds on the economic development successes experienced
in the metropolitan area over the past few years, Schnuck told the
850 people who attended the dinner meeting at the Chase Park Plaza.
He ticked off a list of accomplishments that led Washington Post
columnist Neal Peirce to declare recently that St. Louis has experienced “the most remarkable turnaround that I’ve seen in a region
in my 40 years of reporting.”
Schnuck reflected on his experiences at the conclusion of his first
year as Chairman. He noted the region’s success in such key
priorities as tort reform, worker’s compensation reform, and
new economic development legislation. He also spotlighted a sampling
of several economic development deals and other successes that will
have significant positive impacts on the region, such as the new
Express Scripts headquarters, Chrysler’s investment of at least
an additional $1 billion in the St. Louis North and South Assembly
facilities, and Pfizer’s $200 million research facility now
under construction.
| RCGA’s Economic Development Chairman Rich McClure. |
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RCGA Board Chair for Economic Development Rich McClure, president
and CEO of UniGroup, presented the RCGA’s regional branding
and marketing campaign.
The campaign, which will be implemented through 2009, builds on
regional strengths that attract decision makers:
- Access
to an educated workforce.
- Access
to a variety of lifestyles, from suburban to metropolitan.
- Big-city
amenities without big-city hassles.
- A
sense of being connected to the global economy and centered
in location and character.
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On the flip
side, said McClure, St. Louis doesn’t suffer from congestion,
anonymity, expense and urban irritants. “We’re so hard
on ourselves, sometimes we mask the truth.” St. Louis, he said,
is an incredibly welcoming and remarkably livable community.
“Life is in balance here—you can work here, and live here
in a way that makes sense,” he told the audience. The branding
campaign includes a new Web site. It is aimed as much at those who
already live and work in St. Louis as at decision-makers outside
the region.
| National award-winning political satirist and musical humorist Mark Russell provided the evening’s entertainment. |
CORPORATE SPONSORS
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| A. G. EDWARDS & SONS, INC. |
| AMEREN CORPORATION |
| AMERICAN AIRLINES |
| ANHEUSER-BUSCH COMPANIES, INC. |
| ARMSTRONG TEASDALE LLP |
| AT&T MISSOURI |
| BJC HEALTHCARE |
| BKD, LLP |
| THE BOEING COMPANY |
| BROWN SHOE CO. INC. |
| BRYAN CAVE LLP |
| CENTENE CORPORATION |
| COMMERCE BANK |
| DAIMLERCHRYSLER NORTH & SOUTH PLANTS |
| DR. WILLIAM H. DANFORTH |
| EDWARD JONES |
| EMERSON |
| ENTERPRISE RENT-A-CAR |
| EXPRESS SCRIPTS, INC. |
| FIRST BANK |
| HOK GROUP, INC. |
| KMOX RADIO/INFINITY BROADCASTING |
| KPMG LLP |
| KWMU-FM |
| THE LACLEDE GROUP, INC. |
| MALLINCKRODT/TYCO HEALTHCARE |
| MARITZ INC. |
| THE MAY DEPARTMENT STORES COMPANY |
| MONSANTO |
| PARIC CORPORATION/MCEAGLE PROPERTIES, LLC |
| PFIZER ST. LOUIS LABORATORIES |
| POLSINELLI SHALTON WELTE SUELTHAUS PC |
| RUBINBROWN LLP |
| SCHNUCK MARKETS, INC. |
| SMURFIT-STONE CONTAINER CORPORATION |
| ST. LOUIS BUSINESS JOURNAL |
| ST. LOUIS COMMERCE MAGAZINE |
| ST. LOUIS COUNTY ECONOMIC COUNCIL |
| THOMPSON COBURN LLP |
| UMB BANK N.A. |
| UNIGROUP, INC. |
| UNIVERSAL PRINTING COMPANY |
| UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI COLUMBIA |
| UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS |
| U.S. BANK |
| WALTON CONSTRUCTION |
| WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS |
| WEBSTER UNIVERSITY |
| WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY, INC. |
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