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www.stlrcga.org
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The RCGA’s
web site is loaded with information and links to help grow your
business.
By William Poe
At the RCGA’s web site—www.stlrcga.org—you
would expect to learn everything you ever wanted to know about the
region’s economic development organization. But you might not expect
to find:
A monthly calendar heralding upcoming RCGA and other community events
that you can attend.
A link to resources about living in St. Louis.
Invitations to business networking opportunities, such as the popular
RCGA Business After Hours soirées or the rise-and-shine Breakfasts
with the Gazelles.
A detailed look at regional demographics, economic indicators, and
other business data.
The skinny on relocation.
Discounts on products and services.
The RCGA’s legislative agenda for Missouri, Illinois and the federal
lawmakers.
The latest infrastructure initiatives to keep the region moving.
Links to a variety of business and government contacts.
The web site is the place to learn, among other “where’d they come
up with that?” tidbits, that our Forest Park outdoes New York City’s
Central Park in size; that the region’s hospitality industry employs
more than 46,000 people; that Metro operates 575 buses, and that
the area’s average ACT score is 21.8, which is higher than the national
average.
While you may never need to know that the region has 115 school
districts, the RCGA’s web site puts a ton of useful information
right at your fingertips.
| The
RCGA web site receives over 1.2 million hits each
month. The average time per visit is over 12 minutes.
The St. Louis Commerce Magazine link alone generates
some 500,000 hits per month. |
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Let’s
take a tour:
Go to www.stlrcga.org, and the RCGA “splash” page quickly loads
and provides links to the files of St. Louis Commerce Magazine
and to 11 RCGA areas of interest: RCGA background, St. Louis facts,
a current calendar of activities, RCGA membership information, member
benefits, RCGA and other programs and events, the Environmental
Council, public policy, RCGA staff, economic development, and RCGA
news. Details follow:
ABOUT RCGA—Here you come face-to-face with the RCGA mission,
who the RCGA serves and what  the
organization does on an ongoing basis. There are links to membership,
upcoming programs and events, valuable networking opportunities,
St. Louis information, and member discount offers.
ABOUT ST. LOUIS—You can view a regional map, review
our economic profile, learn interesting facts  about
our community and click on links to the St. Louis Convention and
Visitors Commission and the Southwestern Illinois Tourism and Convention
Bureau. As a bonus, you can drop in the “Information Store”
which offers new resident guides, a relocation kit, the St. Louis
Welcome Book, and even a docu-ment on how to select the right school
for your child. Some of these resources are free, too.
CALENDAR—Get details on  upcoming
events, not only those of the RCGA but also other happenings such
as the thought-provoking St. Louis Speaker Series.
MEMBERSHIP—See a graphical breakdown of the types of RCGA
members (80 percent are small businesses with fewer than 50 employees)
and link to the RCGA membership
department and to a roster of members, complete with brief company
description, phone numbers and e-mail links. You can also obtain
detailed information on a wide variety RCGA volunteer opportunities
and ways to get involved with programs revolving around “Shaping
a Greater St. Louis,” which is a bundled initiative that includes
Forward St. Louis, the Regional Business Council and Revitalizing
the Region’s Central City. If you want to make a difference, Shaping
a Greater St. Louis is for you.
MEMBER BENEFITS—Here is an outline  of
discounted products and services available for members, including
group insurance benefits and wireless service.
PROGRAMS AND EVENTS—You can see that there is always something
going on for  RCGA
members. There are annually more than 150 programs from speakers
to legislative programs and business development opportunities,
and the upcoming events are detailed here.
ENVIRONMENT—Here’s the place for background on the  RCGA’s
Environmental Council, consisting of more than 200 member companies
which are addressing a variety of regional environmental concerns,
including air and water quality, waste management challenges, and
cleanup and redevelopment of so-called brownfields.
PUBLIC POLICY—Get up close and personal with the Public Policy
Council, a volunteer leadership group that helps shape  RCGA
positions on governmental and public policy issues that affect economic
development of the region. You can familiarize yourself with the
RCGA’s aggressive pubic policy agendas for Missouri, Illinois and
the federal government and direct e-mails to RCGA public policy
staff contacts, including Tom Irwin, senior vice president of public
policy, and Eric Schneider, director of public policy research.
STAFF—If you want to get in touch with a  senior
RCGA staff member, including President and CEO Dick Fleming, this
link makes it easy. You get phone numbers and e-mail links to staff
members in RCGA membership, economic development, marketing, public
policy, and other areas.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT—Get the latest scoop on major
development projects and link to everyone who is anybody in government,
including Missouri and Illinois lawmakers, federal elected officials
and federal government staff members.
RCGA NEWS—This  final
major web site hub transports you to recent news articles and news
releases about the RCGA.
From the RCGA web site, you can also link to other business related
sites including Technology Gateway, the science and technology council
of the RCGA; InvestMidwest, a venture capital enabling organization;
St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative, a collaborative effort
helping businesses develop a more racially diverse workforce and
supplier base, and Missouri Biotechnology Association, a trade group
dedicated to developing Missouri’s biotechnology and biomedical
industries.
Now, click on the RCGA and see what it can do for you and your business.
William V. Poe is principal of Poe Communications, a St. Louis
advertising and marketing communications firm.
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